The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age

“The People’s Platform” by Astra Taylor is a timely discussion about the Internet, media and artistry. Ms. Taylor is an accomplished documentary filmmaker, musician, writer and activist. This visionary, intelligent and passionate book explains why we must Occupy the cultural commons to secure a better future. Ms. Taylor reminds us that the on-and offline worlds are deeply connected. Sharing her own struggles with us, Ms. Taylor explains how the work of cultural production remains labor intensive for most filmmakers, musicians and journalists. However, as the Internet forces prices down to zero due to the relative ease of copying and distributing content, the author contends that the ecosystem supporting cultural producers has been rapidly crumbling around us.

As corporations shed workers dedicated to important vocations such as investigative journalism, Ms. Taylor challenges the ludicrous idea that mass amateurism can substitute for the work of dedicated professionals. The rhetoric of end user empowerment masks a private agenda to profits from the public’s voluntary labors; while BP’s purchase of search terms related to the recent Gulf oil spill demonstrates how corporations use their power to control the message. Discussing the Internet’s rampant sexism, inequality and lack of diversity, Ms. Taylor convincingly argues that the Internet has reinforced the power structures of the real world not empowered the weak.

One of the finest attributes of this book is how Ms. Taylor challenges the libertarianism of the technology industry. Ms. Taylor says that practically, the Net is not really an open platform. Private corporations own the wires and hardware that comprise the physical layer; the user interfaces that are designed to serve up endless streams of profitable advertising messages; and the many thousands of data points that are mined from our online behaviors. Peer to peer networking might well represent a generalized frustration with corporate profiteering, Ms. Taylor observes, but does nothing to help producers make a living.

Ms. Taylor believes we must build a “sustainable culture” to address these myriad problems holistically. These include regulating the Internet as a public utility; funding public news; separating corporate monopolies; imposing common carrier obligations; and so on. It seems to me that most of Ms. Taylor’s proposals are more than reasonable if we accept that we are still citizens living in a democratic society.

I highly recommend this outstanding book to everyone.