Is Technology Like Heroin? Are Corporations The Dealers?

from the seems-a-bit-far-fetched dept

Found over on Dave Farber's Interesting People list is this rant from Richard Forno talking about how technology is like heroin and big tech and entertainment corporations (and their acronym bearing secretive industry associations) are the dealers. It paints this picture of a dark, dystopian world of corporations run amok, and consumers helpless to do anything about it. I'm sure this piece will resonate with many people, but I disagree. I give much more credit to the masses out there, that we're not "addicted" to technology to the degree described in the article. I think that they do find alternatives over time, and present better solutions that ones that are weighted down by over-reaching companies. To him, organizations like the RIAA are all-powerful, forcing their will on the world. To me, they look like a an increasingly desperate organizations of rapidly less powerful companies making a last-ditch effort to hang onto increasingly obsolete business models. Just because they can make a loud roar doesn't mean they have the sort of control some seem to think. Are there situations where companies have too much control and/or power? Certainly, but it's certainly not a case where consumers are completely powerless.