Tools for a New Future

To say we live in interesting times would be a vast understatement.

To try and keep up with the technological advancements that are made year after year is a job in itself.  But to also try and keep up with the multitude of developments involving hackers, freedom of speech, spying, leaking, hacktivism, legislation, legal battles... it all can get lost in the sheer amount of content we're being exposed to.  So while the times are indeed interesting, they are also overwhelming, and the frustration caused by too much data can pull us into the very same inertia we would be experiencing if there was absolutely nothing of interest going on.

Fortunately, there are options and ways that we can use all of this to our advantage.  In order to do that, we have to remember a few things.

First, we can't possibly take it all on or understand every conceivable nuance.  For instance, you may choose to focus on the net neutrality issue and not devote as much time to the topic of NSA spying.

Second, it's important for us to work together as much as possible so that we can benefit from the subject matter that others focus upon as well as flesh out those findings we're developing ourselves.  Writing or speaking from one's own perspective is essential, but there is also strength in numbers.  In groups, there are varieties of opinions and even disagreements, which, contrary to the belief of many, only serve to strengthen and help define the basic premise of the cause we are united on.

Finally, as easy and accessible as technology has made things, actual skill remains an achievement that can't be bought or even given away.  We have more of an opportunity to develop these skills, but that step cannot be skipped.  Understand this and you have a much better chance of standing out against all of the noise.

Let's take a quick look at some of what has come out of this already.

Social media has been known to drag people down into pits of trivia and irrelevance, wasting vast amounts of valuable time.  Worse, it can serve as a tool that can be used against us, insofar as the loss of privacy when too much of our personal information is exposed and the loss of basic social skills when we devote an inordinate amount of time and attention to what's on our phones and tablets at the expense of what's right in front of us.

But social media can also be an invaluable resource if we choose to use it in that way.  This is a tool that can only hurt us if we let it and which can help us greatly if we recognize the potential of effective and relevant mass communication.  One way or another, the power is in our hands.

By learning how to effectively use this tool to quickly reach a great number of people, we have the kind of power that would have been unimaginable only a decade ago.  Of course, this is far from a revelation - we've seen social media used successfully in everything from the (((Arab Spring))) to all kinds of lobbying efforts.  But all too often, the connections we make are short-lived and disappear after whatever crisis that united us is resolved.  This is all very useful to those in charge who don't want the basic structure of society to change and who live in fear of people realizing the power that they could have with this technology.

Think of the mindless appeal of something like television, the true opiate of the masses.  We are deluged with banality because it's safe and it quells dangerous thoughts of change.  We remain firmly mired in our place where we pose no threat.  But think about what such a tool could be if it got people to think and to see results.  This is precisely why governments in every country keep tight control over such outlets.  They have tremendous potential power and most people don't even realize it.  Of course, that power can also be used in a negative way as well, just as tightly controlled social media could be very dangerous to individuals.

It's all about who's in control and what they do with that control while they have it.  In the case of social media, tech-savvy people like hackers are clearly running the show for now, but that could easily change if we stop paying attention.  Despite the negative attributes, the positive potential is simply too great to dismiss this unprecedented means of communication.

We've all seen what has happened in general with technology in recent years and decades.  Faster, smaller, and cheaper.  The access we have now is beyond anything we could have ever dreamed about not too long ago.  But what do we do with all of the speed and storage and capability that surrounds us?  Do we just do our jobs more efficiently, pile on even more work, and stay inside the box that's defined for us?  Or do we dream?

As an example, let's look at how the dramatic changes in technology have affected just one part of our culture: visual storytelling.

The hacker world is filled with stories.  It always has been.  But we've traditionally had to wait for someone with the experience, skills, and access to the necessary tools to tell these stories for us - and to hope they didn't screw it up too badly since they were invariably outsiders.  We could fill these pages with lists of all of the times this didn't go well.

What we are seeing today is a veritable explosion of documentaries from within the community.  In 2014 alone, we saw theatrical releases of a revealing documentary on hacktivism (The Hacker Wars  [Watch Online]), the compelling story of the late Aaron Swartz (The Internet's Own Boy  [Watch Online]), and a firsthand and highly relevant account of the Edward Snowden tale (Citizenfour  [Watch Online]).  These are just three of the more prominent films that came out in a single year; there are more from within and outside the States.  We anticipate an even greater increase in the months and years ahead.

For a tiny fraction of what it used to cost (without even taking inflation into account), it's now possible to get video technology that looks and sounds as good or better than what only major production houses could afford in the recent past.  It would have been phenomenally more difficult to produce such high quality works a few years ago, utterly impossible before then.  The faster, smaller, and cheaper world has opened some incredibly important doors.

A few decades ago, hackers learned how computers worked by breaking into ones that didn't belong to them via dial-ups and Packet Switched Networks (PSN).  There was no other way, as the access simply didn't exist.  Today, access to computers is no longer the issue it once was and the landscape has changed completely as a result.  And there are no landscapes that can't be as dramatically altered due to these advancements.  The plethora of new documentaries is but one example of this.  Publishing, photography, music, art of all sorts all can benefit and become far more accessible.  But, as with social media, this is only significant if we choose to use it to its full potential.

We know what the YouTube environment has done to the world of video.  It seems as if anyone believes they can now be a filmmaker.  But, of course, not everyone is a filmmaker.  Just as not everyone on Flickr is a photographer, not everyone who has a blog is a writer, etc.  The list goes on and on.  The ease of access to all of these tools is huge, but the issues of skill and experience are just as relevant and vital as they've ever been.  With all of the noise that's now out there, it's a daunting and frustrating task to even be heard.  But at least those who have the skill and passion have a chance to get their perspective out there.  We can think of no reason why these opportunities shouldn't be pursued whenever possible.  The stories and outlooks unique to the hacking community are too priceless to be trusted to anyone who doesn't truly appreciate them.  We have the means to be doing so much more as a community; we have but merely to prioritize.

We are at a pivotal point in history where we have an abundance of access to technology.  Many of us are having trouble coming to terms with that.  There is simply so much to do, an unlimited amount of potential, so many choices.  In a way, it can be easier to be forced down a narrow path than to figure out how to traverse a huge boulevard.  That is why we cannot be afraid to make mistakes and false starts as we refine our talents.  The learning process has changed on virtually every level and the old rules just don't apply anymore.  Rather than wait for someone to issue new rules, we need to plunge into our own era of experimentation and innovation and shape it for our own purposes of expression.

We look forward to the explosion of creativity ahead.