Fu Response: Twittering for a Utopian Society

On January 5, 2009 the Twitter accounts of 33 high profile users were hacked and their sites defaced with sexually explicit and drug related posts. The attackers utilized a method known as a “dictionary attack” to guess the administrator’s password and gain access to the accounts. Continuing with Ratcliffe’s biological analogy, this type of vulnerability would be akin to a cancer or a virus plaguing the system. However, a cellular network differs from a social network in that cells do not have emotions and are not affected by fear.

Take for instance the N1H1 “pandemic” that created mass hysteria throughout the world. People donned masks and became reclusive for fear of contracting the illness. Schools and other public places were shut down to avoid spreading the virus. Although Twitter was used for informational purposes during this period of time, it also served to further spread the panic. If cellular behavior mimicked this, anytime there was a threat to the system the cellular network would shut down, organs would cease functioning, thus resulting in a catastrophic failure of the organism. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not questioning Twitter’s ability to spread information. Its flexibility is organic, its speed is staggering and its accessibility is global. In an ideal world these strengths would be perfect for the development of a global government were the people truly make the decisions. You know what’s next… We don’t live in an ideal world.

Imagine a place where centralized governments were made obsolete by a form of communication such as Twitter. The masses would truly have the power to make decisions beyond who to vote for during a presidential race. Every single person’s views could be made public and addressed, so long as they had access to the internet. Now think about this in real world terms. For instance, consider a meeting where there are 30 participants, but only 10 stakeholders, now take that to the Nth power. The decision making process would grind to a standstill. It would be a wonderful solution to a difficult problem in a world where everyone was the same and nothing would be taken personally. Unfortunately, unlike biological cells, humans in an individualistic society care about their own opinions and often take opposition personally.

Would this be an ideal solution for an ideal world? In my opinion, absolutely. The organic nature of this form of communication would be exactly what we need for an adaptable government where everyone could truly be represented. Like an organism it would be the perfect machine where information is passed seamlessly throughout the network. The issue is the human factor. Twitter is a different method for us to communicate, but the communicator and communications are the same. The problems we face today will be no different tomorrow, no matter the mechanism we use. The communicators will continue to convey false and, occasionally, falsified information as evident in the January 5 example. The false communication will continue to spread like wildfire, acting as a catalyst for widespread panic as evident in the N1H1 “pandemic.”