http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/03/technology-is-not-the-answer/73065/
"Technology is not the answer.That's the conclusion I came to after five years in India trying to find ways to apply electronic technologies to international development. I was the co-founder and assistant director of Microsoft Research India, a Bangalore computer-science lab, where one of our objectives was to research ways in which information and communication technologies could support the socio-economic development of poor communities, both rural and urban."
The author complains that people didn't know how to use their technology, their local culture (of greed sometimes) precluded activating the use of the technology, and other whining. I don't get where all this whining about technology is coming from. It's just a tool! Of COURSE technology did not get rid of Mubarak. People did. But what were the tools they used? Sheesh. Do people talk this way about carpentry? "The hammer did not build this house." What? No, a carpenter did. But he USED a hammer! Why? Because it was the best tool for what he needed to do. Why disparage the hammer?
Internet Collective Action is people organizing in a nonhierarchical manner to accomplish a particular goal. The reward is in the doing, and how much or how little anyone participates is completely voluntary, depending on their abilities and commitment to the goal. By this process amazing things can be accomplished. ICA will grow so long as the Internet is free. http://www.lisamcpherson.org/pc.htm is an example of ICA.
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