Since this is going to be year chock full of political intrigue and nonsense, I figured I would give it a rest for a week and write a column that may create more questions than answers.
I don’t think I am overdoing it by stating that the Internet has probably been the most profound creation in history. Pretty bold statement but I don’t think you can find anything that has had more of an impact, directly or indirectly, on humanity than the Internet.
Yes, a solid argument can be made for religion but while religion has helped shape societies over the millennia, it has also held many societies back. The transformation of society via religion has taken thousands of years and while some religions are fading in practice, the core of every society has some link to religion.
The operative words here are “millennia” and “Thousands of years”. The Internet has transformed almost every society in what, 40 years?
Think about that transformation for a second and compare it to other transformations.
Widespread use of electricity took around 100 years. The steam engine took 50 years to alter the landscape. The automobile, probably 25 to 30 years. Television, 25 years.
All groundbreaking technologies that were improved time and time again until they reached a zenith. Once at their zenith, these technologies became a way of life. A facet of daily life that most people did not think about yet could not live without.
Technology is like that. It creates an industry and inventors, thinkers and dreamers make it better and better all the while making it more accessible and cheaper. Then it is part of the fabric of our lives.
The Internet is no different and yet it is.
Modern society is so attached to the Internet that it is beyond comprehension what would happen if it stopped working.
I don’t you can find any part of modern society that is not directly linked (and dependent on) to the Internet.
If you look at the human history, I doubt you will find any one thing that has transformed society as much as the Internet.
However, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I can make the argument that the Internet is the single biggest waste of time ever created. I have gone down too many rabbit holes on the web and come out and asked myself, where was I for the last two hours? It’s too easy to look for a pair of shoes and then go on some website that has a webcam set up watching Grizzlies in Yellowstone.
Or perhaps you want to watch Santana’s performance at Woodstock and you end up watching Bobby Flay make some Mexican dish using habanero puree.
Yes, just like everyone else, I like to do “research” on projects and that brings me places where I learn how to rewire a bathroom or use some “hack” to grout my shower floor.
Even though these rabbit holes end up taking up our most precious commodity, time, we can learn about pretty much anything we want.
The Internet has transformed every business on the planet. Business models that were in place for 100 years have been upended. The changes have come fast and furious and there is no stopping what the Internet can provide users.
Without overstating, all of mankind’s knowledge for the last 2,000 years can be found on the Internet. That alone should make one conclude that the Internet is a force of good. Knowledge is the most important thing mankind has to offer and the Internet allows anyone with a web connection access to that knowledge.
However, whenever something powerful is developed, there will always be factions that want to use that power for their own gain.
The list of bad actors on the Internet may bypass the list of good ones but no one really knows for sure.
The ability to gather enormous amounts of information on a subject can be used for bad as well as good purposes. Access to anything and everything can not be blocked just from people who want to take advantage of it. The Internet does not have a self monitoring function. Access is access. If it’s out there, it’s free game.
The amount of money that is lost or stolen on a yearly basis is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. That may pale in comparison to the amount of commerce that happens (which is in the trillions) but it is not chicken feed.
There are billion dollar companies that sole role is to protect people, companies and governments from the bad actors on the Internet. Still they persist and every time one is taken down, two more pop up.
One of the truly dark sides of the Internet is government involvement. Let’s be honest here, the United States is probably as active in this dark place as North Korea or China. Monitoring of citizens is not just in the totalitarian playbook, NSA does it as well. Thankfully, at this point, we have a vibrant Constitution and our beloved government knows the rules so while they may monitor the populace, it’s not about control. You never know though.
Back to governments using the Internet for evil purposes. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea all have agencies hidden inside other agencies that have the express purpose to disrupt the West and the Internet. Their nerds are hidden away somewhere constantly trying to break into Stock Exchanges, Banks, Federal government agencies. Looking for holes in the systems and occasionally finding them. The aim is to disrupt systems that are in place and cause as much financial damage as possible. Thankfully our nerds are a half step in front of their nerds.
The battle where no one gets killed rages on.
While governments seem to be deeply involved with the attempted disruption, there are other forces at work as well.
Individuals who attempt to hack into accounts are everywhere. Viruses, Trojan horses, you name it. Our computers are constantly fending off these characters and hopefully, we will always be able to stay a step or two ahead of them but that takes diligence and luck.
There is also the Dark Web. A place I have never visited but have read about endlessly. This is were the weirdos, perverts and despicable people live. It is the dark side of the darkest of society. How does it still exist is my question? Nothing good happens in this Dark Web. People exchange ideas that most people will find abhorrent. They do commerce in things that 99% of humanity would find disgusting.
One part of the Internet that drives me crazy is the social media world. Yes, I go on Instagram and spend more time than I should, watching cats flip out when the toaster pops two pieces of toast out. Or I will admit, I think the South Park and Family clips are hysterical. Yes, I am an Instagram junkie. Sue me.
One thing I do not spend time on is X or Threads. I have followers and follow people but I don’t regularly comment or actually even look at my feeds.
Thats mainly because i truly do not understand how either of them work. Just in functionality. I never got it and I probably never will. I also may be missing out on an opportunity to expand my column’s reach but I just have no clue.
What I do not like about any of these social media sites is the anonymity of it all. People can get on any of these sites and say what they want. Accuse and abuse and there are no repercussions. Yes X says they monitor it but seriously? Threads, the same thing. Threads, being a part of Instagram is just another means of people advertising something. Either an OnlyFans account or some BS affiliate marketing scam. I have no use for any of the crap that comes over either platform.
As a trusted news source? Another load of crap. Look what happened to the SEC yesterday, they got hacked and some lie about the Bitcoin ETF came out. I think anyone that follows these sites and uses the info as Gospel is a fool. Sorry, I just do.
That is a part of the Internet that may have some value but it just seems the negative outweighs the positive.
Several years back, I was on CNBC with Ron Insana and some West Coast trader type and we argued the value of following Twitter feeds to trade. That afternoon, Warren Buffet announced he had taken a position in Apple, the stock rallied 8+ dollars within seconds. I told the guy that he was a fool for thinking that this was a viable way to day trade simply because anything that comes out on Twitter that will affect a stocks price will have already been traded by 400 different computer algos that are specifically programmed to take advantage of any news. He was the 6,000th person in on that trade and he probably made a penny or two or lost money. He argued that it was a valuable tool, blah blah blah. I asked him flat out, how much he made on the Apple trade and he said 10 cents on his position overall. I said that you made money and congratulations but there was an 13 point swing in the stock. He was last in last out obviously. Twitter did not help him. It helped the guys at Renaissance Technologies that probably made 20 million dollars in 2 minutes.
Sorry, I just get worked up about social media and it’s “value”. I can’t help myself.
The last part of this ramble is the trolls that are out there. I like this medium (Substack) because it allows people to post an opinion about what I am saying. I welcome negative comments as well as positive ones because from what i can tell, I can reach back out to the possible troll and respond. Most of the emails I get are from people that I know actually exist. Granted, the characters that like going out and ripping everyone and everything will hide behind the anonymity of the Internet, you just have to deal with it.
I have an issue, I always attach my name to it. You disagree, you think I am a jerk, that’s fine. I have my opinion, you have yours. Hide behind some fake identity you belong on the Dark Web with the rest of the miscreants out there.
I sure enjoyed todays column. Made me think of Atomic Energy, Good or Bad? Reading in a couple of places my wife asked me what was so funny. My responce, Peter is very Eclectic. Today, so many points were made with the agreement level very high. Thank You for such an entertaining piece.