G21 - MEMOIRS OF THE INFORMATION AGE: "The Chamber of E-Commerce"

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The Chamber of E-Commerce

by Rod Amis

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I don't know where you were last week. But I can tell you where United States Secretary of Commerce William Daley, Esther Dyson of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Steve Case of America Online (AOL,) and Gerald Levin of Time-Warner were spending their time. They were in Paris, France, at the Louvre, schmoozing with government officials from all over the planet.
No, they were not at the Louvre to appreciate the art.
They were there for a meeting of an organization you probably have never heard of before. It was formed in January of this year and called the Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce (GBDe.)
I'll explain to you, Netizen, why you were not invited to this gathering...
You were not invited because you are *not* part of what Secretary of Commerce Daley calls t he "Chamber of Global E-Commerce." You are probably too small. Unless you are the CEO of Time-Warner, or AOL, or Germany's Bertelsmann AG --- well, I guess you don't matter much.
Welcome to The Future of the WWW.
The most interesting report I found on the meeting appeared at Tornado-Insider.com, "The Digital Nervous System for High Growth Europe." In Senior Editor Kristi Essick's article is the implied question: Here are Time-Warner, America Online (AOL), and Bertelsmann AG, but where are the *real* Internet entrepreneurs. Answer: Not invited. (ASIDE: If you haven't checked Tornado-Insider.com do. It's a wonderful publication. Add it to your bookmarks/favorites.)
SELF-REGULATION OF THE WEB?

A space holder.
"You've Got Mail!"

Some people call it AOHELL.

Another champagne cocktail, garcon, on the double-quick.

ABOUT US

dubya-dubya-dubya lest-I-puke dot com

404 Not Found on This Server.
The notable thing about all this is that Germany's Bertelsmann AG chaired the organization from January until now. For the next year, the chair will be shared by Time-Warner's Mr. Levin and AOL's Mr. Case. In other words, hundreds of government officials were in Paris sipping their champagne and schmoozing to the tune of the 800-pound gorillas who want to take over the shape of the Internet. It was not about innovation, it was about turning this medium into another cash cow for already-giant multinationals.
The Memoirs Logo.
There are serious issues being decided at this conclaves of the rich, powerful and clueless which will affect our lives here on the Internet. For example, it's a given the eventually the 'Net will be subject to taxation. No politicians worth their salt will be able to keep their fingers out of the pie once the Internet starts to generate real capital. So what will happen? Mr. Case and Mr. Levin already have those florrid ears, you and Electronic Frontier Foundation just don't. You're not on the Guest List.
Already in German, two weeks ago, the trial balloon of a Web site Ratings System, like those travesties we see at the beginning of all American films and television programs, was being floated. It's coming. You might have a harder time reaching this Web magazine, for example, because we talk like (and to) adults.
At the very least, you'll be warned that we are rated "R" for Adult Language, and occassional nudity.
Those will be the excuses for dealing with some of the non-mainstream subject matter here, as well.
If the AOL paradigm is any example, you'll also find that large ISPs and portals will then determine what is "appropriate" Web content for their subscribers. The effect of this can be widespread and chilling. Ask yourself a question: How many newbies come to the Internet via AOL and *actually believe that the content they receive from AOL is the entirety of the Web* ---- UNTIL A FRIEND DROPS BY AND SHOWS THEM THE "Persian Kitty" site, that is.
I think so see the implications of this level of surf-control.

Now think about how much the average "government official" actually knows about the Internet.
Most of them think about it as a giant pornographic wasteland, or a vehicle for cracker attacks. So what are their Internet concerns?

Encryption.
Secure shopping on-line.
Protecting "the children" from bad words and bad people.
How to get some money outtah the darned thing.
Making sure no one gets a Domain Name that might ridicule them in their next election campaign, or (worse yet) expose their voting records.
How to get some money outtah the darned thing.

How many of these government officials actually use the Internet? Well, Esther Dyson noted that while there were lots of snail mail addresses, fax numbers, and even cell-phone numbers on the "official" book given all attendees --- there were NO E-MAIL addresses.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that publishing e-mail addresses would have caused an embarrassment BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE REVEALED THAT MOST OF THE GOVERNMENT FOLKS IN ATTENDANCE having never actually used this medium they are so hot to regulate HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN ON THE INTERNET IN THEIR LIVES.
Their secretaries and flunkies might have a Wintel machine on *their* desks, but the Bosses, like George Bush (the former USA President, not "W" the potential one) dumbfounded by a supermarket bar-code scanner, don't want to embarrass themselves by demonstrating how tech-dumb-clueless-out-of-touch they actually are. They refer Internet issues to their staffs, read the newspapers and the mail from their constituents and make all decisions based on third-hand knowledge.
You know in you're heart that I'm right about this.
Yet, strangely, when I looked around at most national publications here in US of A trying to find what was being written about the GBDe meeting in Paris, I came up empty-handed. New York Times? Nada. LA Times? Nada be nada. I did find a reprint of an International Herald Tribune story in the Washington Post.
So what gives? If hundreds of government officials from around the globe and the CEO's of most major multinational corporations thought this meeting was important --- WHY DIDN'T THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA THINK SO?
I'm not real big on conspiracy theories, but could it be that this was a story that you were intended to miss? Could this be one of those things that you'd best leave to "the experts" and your "betters" to decide?
Just asking...

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MEMOIR ONE: The Pinnacle, by FELICITY USSHER

MEMOIR TWO: Age of Exploitation, by ROD AMIS

MEMOIR THREE: Is Microsoft Bothering You, too? by RON DIENER

MEMOIR FOUR: The Name of The Rose by ROD AMIS

MEMOIR FIVE: War on The Web by ADAM J. SMITH

MEMOIR SIX: G21 Interviews ICANN's ESTHER DYSON

THE NEXT MEMOIR

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I don't know where you were last week. But I can tell you where United States Secretary of Commerce William Daley, Esther Dyson of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, Steve Case of America Online (AOL,) and Gerald Levin of Time-Warner were spending their time. They were in Paris, France, at the Louvre, schmoozing with government officials from all over the planet. No, they were not at the Louvre to appreciate the art. They were there for a meeting of an organization you probably have never heard of before. It was formed in January of this year and called the Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce (GBDe.) I'll explain to you, Netizen, why you were not invited to this gathering... You were not invited because you are not part of what Secretary of Commerce Daley calls t he "Chamber of Global E-Commerce." You are probably too small. Unless you are the CEO of Time-Warner, or AOL, or Germany's Bertelsmann AG --- well, I guess you don't matter much. Welcome to The Future of the WWW. The most interesting report I found on the meeting appeared at Tornado-Insider.com, "The Digital Nervous System for High Growth Europe." In Senior Editor Kristi Essick's article is the implied question: Here are Time-Warner, America Online (AOL), and Bertelsmann AG, but where are the real Internet entrepreneurs. Answer: Not invited. (ASIDE: If you haven't checked Tornado-Insider.com do. It's a wonderful publication. Add it to your bookmarks/favorites.)	SELF-REGULATION OF THE WEB? "You've Got Mail!" Some people call it AOHELL.
Another champagne cocktail, garcon, on the double-quick. ABOUT US dubya-dubya-dubya lest-I-puke dot com 404 Not Found on This Server.	The notable thing about all this is that Germany's Bertelsmann AG chaired the organization from January until now. For the next year, the chair will be shared by Time-Warner's Mr. Levin and AOL's Mr. Case. In other words, hundreds of government officials were in Paris sipping their champagne and schmoozing to the tune of the 800-pound gorillas who want to take over the shape of the Internet. It was not about innovation, it was about turning this medium into another cash cow for already-giant multinationals. There are serious issues being decided at this conclaves of the rich, powerful and clueless which will affect our lives here on the Internet. For example, it's a given the eventually the 'Net will be subject to taxation. No politicians worth their salt will be able to keep their fingers out of the pie once the Internet starts to generate real capital. So what will happen? Mr. Case and Mr. Levin already have those florrid ears, you and Electronic Frontier Foundation just don't. You're not on the Guest List. Already in German, two weeks ago, the trial balloon of a Web site Ratings System, like those travesties we see at the beginning of all American films and television programs, was being floated. It's coming. You might have a harder time reaching this Web magazine, for example, because we talk like (and to) adults. At the very least, you'll be warned that we are rated "R" for Adult Language, and occassional nudity. Those will be the excuses for dealing with some of the non-mainstream subject matter here, as well. If the AOL paradigm is any example, you'll also find that large ISPs and portals will then determine what is "appropriate" Web content for their subscribers. The effect of this can be widespread and chilling. Ask yourself a question: How many newbies come to the Internet via AOL and *actually believe that the content they receive from AOL is the entirety of the Web* ---- UNTIL A FRIEND DROPS BY AND SHOWS THEM THE "Persian Kitty" site, that is. I think so see the implications of this level of surf-control.
Now think about how much the average "government official" actually knows about the Internet. Most of them think about it as a giant pornographic wasteland, or a vehicle for cracker attacks. So what are their Internet concerns? Encryption. Secure shopping on-line. Protecting "the children" from bad words and bad people. How to get some money outtah the darned thing. Making sure no one gets a Domain Name that might ridicule them in their next election campaign, or (worse yet) expose their voting records. How to get some money outtah the darned thing. How many of these government officials actually use the Internet? Well, Esther Dyson noted that while there were lots of snail mail addresses, fax numbers, and even cell-phone numbers on the "official" book given all attendees --- there were NO E-MAIL addresses. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that publishing e-mail addresses would have caused an embarrassment BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE REVEALED THAT MOST OF THE GOVERNMENT FOLKS IN ATTENDANCE having never actually used this medium they are so hot to regulate HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN ON THE INTERNET IN THEIR LIVES. Their secretaries and flunkies might have a Wintel machine on their desks, but the Bosses, like George Bush (the former USA President, not "W" the potential one) dumbfounded by a supermarket bar-code scanner, don't want to embarrass themselves by demonstrating how tech-dumb-clueless-out-of-touch they actually are. They refer Internet issues to their staffs, read the newspapers and the mail from their constituents and make all decisions based on third-hand knowledge. You know in you're heart that I'm right about this. Yet, strangely, when I looked around at most national publications here in US of A trying to find what was being written about the GBDe meeting in Paris, I came up empty-handed. New York Times? Nada. LA Times? Nada be nada. I did find a reprint of an International Herald Tribune story in the Washington Post. So what gives? If hundreds of government officials from around the globe and the CEO's of most major multinational corporations thought this meeting was important --- WHY DIDN'T THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA THINK SO? I'm not real big on conspiracy theories, but could it be that this was a story that you were intended to miss? Could this be one of those things that you'd best leave to "the experts" and your "betters" to decide? Just asking...	COMMAND & CONTROL The World's Magazine: g21.net Event #184: Return of the Dead-eye JOIN THE G21 MAILING LIST. Get updates on new features. Take part in our Readership polls, shape the future of The World's Magazine. It's easy! E-mail The World's Magazine with the "Subject" line: SUBSCRIBE. LAST WEEK's EDITION For Deep Background visit the G21-Barnes & Noble Shop OR get great books at the G21 BARNES & NOBLE SEARCH ENGINE The Main Event HOME THEY HAVE STOLEN YOUR MEMORIES. THERE IS NO HISTORY. THIS IS WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO BE TODAY.