DTC 356 new job openings

To start off I liked really liked some of the copyright related comments from John Perry Barlow. "We will need to develop an entirely new set of methods as befits this entirely new set of circumstances" While this seems to point at material the last half of the class, the important part of this statement is that we have an entirely new set of circumstances.  "They are proceeding as though the old laws can somehow be made to work, either by grotesque expansion or by force. They are wrong" (2). This applies to all policies that govern our current relationship with the internet not merely copyright.

The InfoDev article illustrated that an entirely new economic system is being developed due to new online work opportunities. They aren't talking about internet start-ups, but unskilled labor that completes simple tasks. It's funny they use 'unskilled'. Not too long ago my grandma put typing on her resume as a skill. While I didn't understand a lot of the economic jargon, I was really intrigued by the possibility of the third world getting involved with these jobs. With a little infrastructure, they could work online mining for gold, then receive online payment. The hardest part might be establishing a way to use that money when an ATM doesn't seem like the right fit. I don't know how it would work but some really smart people are probably gonna figure it out soon.

I read an article recently where One Laptop Per Child gave a bunch of kids in Ethiopia a box with tablets and no instructions. The kids were able to open the box, turn on the tablets, and begin using apps. While how much they will learn on their own is an interesting study, a little instruction could go a long way too. Now what if some of those apps taught the children how to mine gold, fill out forms, etc? When an internet connection is available, they will already have the skills to work on the spot.

If one laptop per child is successful, there will be an entire generation of people in third world countries that will be digitally literate. A entire work force with the skills and tools ready to make an impact on the economy. I don't think these developments will be easy to regulate, especially on a global scale. The normal economic policies will all have to change to respond to these new jobs on the rise.