The regimes of Silicon Valley

Disclaimer: Please don’t take any of this too literally, especially if you are an Apple Fanboy, a Google bot, an Android, a Netflixter, or a Motoroller - but do try to take it seriously...

This last week has seen a lot of activity in Middle Earth as Sauron has waged war with enslaved men, and elves; we’ve even seen some Orcs show up in Tahrir Square, on horses and camels, nonetheless, to try to quell the protests against tyranny.


While the attention of the world has been on the pyramids, and on the robed leadership in Libya pouring fireballs on protesting folk outside the ramparts of the city, more freedom protests are likely seething in the heart of Silicon Valley.

What protests, you ask? I tell...

Silicon Valley autocracies are being challenged, and they are responding in anger and vitriol, setting the stage for the common man to protest.

Challengers to the establishment are Xooming to the forefront, promising a Flashpoint of courage, but even as they mount the challenge, they are setting the stage for their own autocratic behavior! We’re informed that this freedom to Flash freely in society is likely not a right until the next spring! When will the proletariat be allowed to freely choose if and when they’d like to Flash? I should be allowed to Flash when I want to, should I not? This is the twenty-first, I say!! The Cult of Apple had one possible chink to their dominance, but who is the challenger? - is it the real democracy, or the army or the Muslim Brotherhood - who makes their own rules about how and when? Is that a lost opportunity to true freedom, a moment lost in history?

They say that Twitter and Facebook are leading the revolution in Middle Earth, but all of a sudden, I see some messages from my Faceful brotherhood are lost in the ether. A convenient way for me to be subdued... heh? Why did my Twitter updates to Facebook suddenly stop arriving? Why do I not see the updates from some friends that I was seeing last week? Did I ask for this filtering? “M’lord! I did not!” The Facebook autocracy has deemed this a good decision for the masses. My privacy - their call. My friends - they decide. My messages - they filter. My very own tweets - they hide! (I know not what I think any more, since I see none of my Tweets). My likes - they own! Which countries to free next? ...okay...I am getting carried away in my passion! But come, my bretheren...it’s time to awaken and take back our profiles - I’d like to break down my own wall!

Like Bahrain, Netflix is only giving us the cushion that progress is being made. Cut the cord, they say, and charge more for the DVD option. Yet, that umbilical is like a chain, for if you go to the library, there’s nothing there! Can I instantly watch? NO! If I need to watch something with the children, I have to get a DVD! Can I watch the latest and greatest freedom movie? No! I will have to wait for months. It is unbelievable that this regime claims streaming of information is in vogue. And Comcast!! Sometimes has the latest - but that’s a mercenary force, for I’m already paying them to get my television channels and they want me to pay more and more for my freedom! Shoot me down like a dog on the highway - for this is highway robbery. I may just fly to the Amazon for my breath of fresh air!

And if you like "On-Demand Media", the fruit of a free press, be prepared to separate the wheat from the chaff. Garbage in, garbage out, and propaganda is plentiful. And, of course, just like regimes can play what they really want on television or radio (revolution? what revolution?), the regimes can snuff out the Demand Media or Democratic Spam - choose your moniker. The interesting thing is that people can vote on what constitutes Democratic Spam (or crap) in order to make it less available to the masses. That’s the power of suggestive thought! For the people, by the people...And if you don’t like the regime ...Bing! and decide what you are going to do about it! The regimes are quite pleased to tell you who has more money in their accounts - some measure in Royal Pounds, the other in Tweets, and yet another in Likes! Those are our assets, gentle folk... remember that!


Regime change may just be easier than you may have thought before. All it takes is a Blog … a Tweet! You just need a few million to re-tweet! Get in line ...



But be warned, brothers of my protest army … Obama dines with the regimes!