Rebecca MacKinnon
There is a fascinating talk taking place at the Oxford Internet Institute on Tuesday 24th November. The talk is by Rebecca MacKinnon. The title “Cybertarianism: The future of freedom in the Internet Age“.
Rebecca MacKinnon is cofounder of Global Voices, a global citizen media network, and an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre. Rebbecca teaches online journalism and conducts research on the Internet, China, and censorship. As an Open Society Fellow, MacKinnon is writing a book, tentatively titled “Internet Freedom and Control: Lessons from China for the World.” Previously Rebecca worked for CNN.
Her talk at Oxford is a call to arms that we should all fight against authoritarianism and defend the liberty of the internet. As she puts it: “Since its creation 40 years ago, we have come to depend on the Internet to conduct our careers, our jobs, our politics, and the most intimate aspects of our lives. It has become a critical global resource. It can be a liberating force, but it can also be used as an opaque extension of incumbent power… The time has come for global ‘netizens’ to assert stewardship over the Internet as a shared global resource.”
It is interesting how social networks have become a valuable tool in conducting political campaigns. I noticed yesterday on the the Nobel Prize website how Deputy National Security Advisor, Mark Pfeifle had suggested that Twitter should be given the Nobel Peace Prize because of the way it had been used in the election campaign in Iran.
As Marketers we should always take note of what works in politics! I and my colleagues at SociaLNK will be following MacKinnon’s campaign with interest!
