Decentralization is a trend I have discussed on many, many occasions in the past. My personal attraction toward the movement comes from a political and social perspective, rather than merely an appreciation of its economic implications. My most recent piece on the subject highlighted the importance of worker owned co-ops. If you missed it the first time around, I suggest checking it out: The Co-Op Movement – A Decentralized Solution to Solving Inequality and Avoiding Serfdom?
Last night, I came across a phenomenal 30 minute video in which famed venture capital investor Fred Wilson discusses what he thinks are the mega trends of our time. In a nutshell, he thinks decentralization is the biggest trend, which he partly defines as “networks replacing traditional bureaucratic, pyramidical hierarchies.”
In this way, “the crowd” decides what it is important and what is popular, whether it is a news story, a documentary film or music. We are still in early days of this process, but it is inevitable.
This is simply a must watch for anyone interested in the dynamic world around them.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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talk about pump and dump .
people being impoverished isn’t about decentralizzation.
capital is more centralized than ever. purchasing power continuing to be stolen and directed into soveriegn nato bonds.
war is more centralized with technology.
social engineering as well.
mega cities of the world are getting bigger as industrial agriculture continues to displace ever increasing numbers of agricultural peasants in india. (over 550 million ag workers in india alone)
putting a douche bag zirpy venture capitalist as a chear leader of ‘decentralization’ is a joke when you realize his centrally printed dollars are allowing isance ‘yield’ chasing we know as the current technology bubble.
MIke when you saw facebook spending billions of acquisitions===you were singing a different tune. this is no different.
bitcoin, relies on centrally controlled internet.
you are buying into bitcoin and ‘decentralized’ tech in the same ideological way people bought into the democritization of marketing when facebook came out.
this. decentralization, too shall be corporatized.
to argue telecommunication progress are going to lessen the centralization of capital control is absurd. there are fewer places left to run to or escape to than ever.
this guy is even talking about twitter as a ‘non-centralized’ alternative to a newspaper. he is confusing the internet’s massive connectivity on a decentralized network of consumers WITH the managerial imperitive of capital.
twitter is more centralized in control than any news paper system in history has ever been.
when he says ‘the crowd’ controls twitter. he has no idea what hes’ talking about.
I think Zeev is correct in the general historical sense… but the zeitgeist is changing and going forward I think ‘centralized’ will be less and less acceptable. Things like Tor, crowdfunding,3D printing, and now Blockchain technologies will tend towards a decentralized outcome in spite of the existing paradigm attempting to corral them under central control. What is different this time is that *we want* things decentralized now that we see it is an obvious and viable model.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703989304575503730101860838
I agree with decentralization and unbundling, but…
What this guy is saying is horrific If the “crowd” decides what is important, I want no part of it – it’s not so long ago that the (German)”crowd” accepted Hitler and Auschwitz as normal – will this brave new technology prevent that? Don’t even get me started on the Ukrainian crowd. If the crowd had to make decisions, James Watt and his steam engine would be run out of town and we’d still have slavery in the South.
I, for one, would never give up my laptop – I’m a photographer, need to process my photos.
Smartphones are with us, but this constant use is a fad. I go to parties where almost everyone is immersed in their f***ing little screen like a bunch of zombies.
And we go to school mainly to learn how to interact with our peers – it’s about developing human relationships – obviously that won’t be necessary if everyone is chained to their little screen.
Oh, that fancy word “trending” – airplane disasters are trending in the news – should we have more of those or what?