Everything Comes Back to “Protocol”

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I know that I read this book for my Narrative and Technology course so there’s a possibility that some of you have to (and probably have a better understanding of it than me), but bear with me. “Protocol” by Alexander Galloway is about how control exists in the Internet and how it carries over into society. He argues that with the implementation and connectivity of the Internet, power has shifted away from long-standing political structures such as monarchies and democracies but it is now rather out of the hands of any one or group of people. Power in society is now the protocol (the underlying rules) of the Internet that we are all forced to follow. This means that power is no longer to be imposed upon but instead tapped into: whoever uses the protocol/ Internet best to their advantage, they will then have power in society. Therefore, in this class every time we learn how to use a certain digital media, I can’t help but think that we are learning how to manipulate power in our network of control.

Sorry if I you have read the book and I completely butchered it but here is a summary of his arguments which are pretty interesting.

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