Monday, February 25, 2008

How to Crash the Internet, Religious Sensorship, Pakistan and Youtube

Was this yet again another example of religious intolerance and fear that led to a cascading effect on the Internet on Sunday?

In my opinion absolutely. Further, Pakistan, by deliberately blocking access to Youtube has most likely had the exact opposite reaction that Pakistani government officials wanted. The controversy surrounding Youtube cartoons posted by Dutch Politician Geert Wilders related to the Islamic prophet Mohammad are now most likely more popular then ever with Pakistani Muslims and non-Muslims from around the world alike...not "popular" as in necessarily agreeing with the subject matter but rather due to the fact that the "viral marketing" nature of the Internet is now if full effect on the issue. It's like a horrific car crash, you simply can't help but slow down and rubber neck. Proof is in the pudding that this is a very powerful medium and with the advent of social networking now more powerful than ever.

My recommendation: just try to get along and be tolerant of others, so we can all get back to making money.

Question: Would you ignore something that upset you on the Internet or would you engage, thereby most likely bringing even more attention to it?

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