Wiki-leaked
Mr.Assange just lost his appeal in UK against the extradition to Sweden. What now? The last hope is the Britain’s supreme court. Assange’s hope appears bleak, the world (read governments) is literally against him.
So what’s great? The fact that he did something different? Or because he cracked some of the most secure layers of communication and made confidential information public?
Some say is he all talk no shock (you get the drift). Maybe he is only talk, maybe he likes to create a hype about himself, how brilliant he is in getting these whistleblowers/ sources, how he is the single most courageous man to reveal all in public through the world wide web.
I wonder if it will create the same buzz and express outrage if Assange is apprehended just as when Steve Jobs passed away? Both represent technology associated milestones. While one created the technology worthy of sharing information, the other sourced information worth sharing through technology. If it hadn’t been for the iPads, iPhones, Macs, people around the world wouldn’t share the way they do now, and if it hadn’t been for Wikileaks, the technology wouldn’t be used to its full potential in spreading Assange’s message. It’s a comparison based on philosophy not on methodology or personality.
Some feel Assange risked the security of nations through his cable leak. Governments will try and do everything to maintain confidentiality, it’s basic risk management, but does Assange have the right to take charge of what information should be made public, or he wants it all public regardless? Seldom do governments react the way they did when the cables were made public.
All I can say is the most important lesson taught in media theory-
Medium is the message.
Some people invent it, others deliver it.
