Marc's Voice

Dependence, Independence and why I love Doc and Neo

Doc nails it in his Dependence vs Independence post - discussing the ramifications of the Scoble getting kicked out of Facebook controversy. Some may say that Scoble was played by Plaxo, and others may take this controversy to run with their own snarky attitudes or push their own agenda.

But at the end of the day - Doc is right.

If any of you remember the Matrix trilogy there’s a point at the end of the second movie, which will go down in movie history. Neo is talking to the Architect and he asks Neo “why do humans care so much about having their freedom and their ability to make decisions for themselves?”

Neo answers “Choice“.

You see it’s not that Facebook is such a bad place. Or whether MySpace can run taregted ads. Nor the issue of whether or not Plaxo scrapes Facebook for those emails or uses APIs.

The point is about Independence.

The ability to make a choice, to control our own destiny. Why is this most basic of all liberties missed in all these closed data silo debates?

Yes - vendors need to monetize these people.

Yes - they have the ‘right’ to utilize all this data they collect on people.

Yes - users are CHOOSING to go to Facebook and MySpace - so we can’t really complain about all that.

BUT - as long as these data silos PREVENT the users from getting at and controlling and moving their data - we just as well might be thought of as batteries. As vehicles for monetization - as Jonathan Abrams referred to them. Those ‘users‘.

Doc also points to this coolio image he found - when he typed Independence into Google. Most of you know I”m not an Apple guy (for among other reasons: choice) - but this Napoleonic figure riding the iPhone struck me as pretty symbolic of what’s going on here.

Was Napoleon fighting for our rights or just some anti-Monarch Emperor hypocrite? As long as people thought he was the savior or Europe - and he was the good guy - then everybody LOVED Napolean. But as soon as he crowned himself Emperor - he became yet another oligarch, perhaps in different clothing - but you get the point.

There’s no way you can argue that user’s data should be locked up.

It’s all about choice and freedom!

UPDATE:  Dare Obasanjo is entirely right.  One’s data is not somebody else’s data.  But does that make it Facebook’s data?  Its a complex problem - but one where we need intelligent, open minded vendors - not closed, walls up mentality.  Having folks like Dare working at Microsoft - sure helps!  Keep going Dare!