The Internet is Not a Force of Nature: a Q&A with Rebecca MacKinnon

Publisher’s Weekly has a short interview in their “Tip Sheet” section. An excerpt:

Q: What do you hope the average Facebooker/Twitterer/Googler/Amazonian/Blackberrian takes away from your book? What can a regular yahoo do in face of Yahoo?

A: We are not helpless. The way these companies evolve—and the way the Internet evolves more generally—is not predetermined. It is not a force of nature. All of the networked technologies we depend on today are the result of specific choices by human beings. Everybody who uses the Internet has the power and ability to influence these choices to some extent. Seemingly small choices and small actions add up over time. You don’t have to be a nerd, or a programmer, or a network engineer to make a difference.

Read the whole thing here..

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