

2012: The Year That Movements Go Mainstream? - 8bitliving
http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/12/2012-the-year-that-movements-go-mainstream.html

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richardburton
This is exciting. I feel like the dreams of the internet are coming to life.
It is allowing us to self-organise and hold democracy to account. These
movements are happening everywhere.

My dad and his fellow surgeons were able to bend their private health-insurer
over a barrel with large CC'd email. The insurer kept claiming that other
surgeons they worked with were lowering their prices so one surgeon just
emailed all the others and a _movement_ was started. Every time the insurer
tried to pressure one surgeon into buckling he would email the encounter to
the list and instantly receive messages of support ( _The south-east is
strong!_ \- _Scotland will not let the side down_ etc..). None of these
surgeons are particularly computer-literate or internet-aware and yet they
found a really convenient and powerful way to self-organise and beat a profit-
focussed insurer. Win.

This is really exciting.

~~~
yummyfajitas
_Win._

Well, it's a win for rich surgeons. It's a loss for customers who will be
paying a higher price for insurance.

~~~
doyoulikeworms
Funny how profit-seeking surgeons are OK, but insurance companies receive a
not-so-subtle jab for their own, natural pursuit of profit.

Sign of the times, I guess.

~~~
reissbaker
The difference is that the insurance company was lying to the surgeons in
order to exploit them for profit.

~~~
doyoulikeworms
It's not entirely clear from the post.

My interpretation was that the insurance company was making progress
individually, but once all the surgeons started communicating freely, they
realized that it would be in their best interest (more profit) if they
colluded.

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ddw
I don't believe the Mayans, but I do think that 2012 is going to be a huge
year.

For one, the Occupy movement is going to rise back up in some form in the
spring and will be an interesting juxtaposition to the campaign fever in the
U.S. I don't know if the social network idea is going to catch fire, but
something on the internet interesting is going to happen in this regard.

Also, the Reddit/SOPA idea is an interesting one (Paul Ryan is great choice).
A lot of people have learned from the GoDaddy fiasco that boycotts organized
on the internet can work. This year we've also seen people moving their money
to credit unions and now a boycott of Comcast.

Next year there may also be a conclusion to the Assange case that may jump off
another round of hacktivism and let's see how far the Stratfor hack goes.

Overall I'd say 2012 is the year that the internet really becomes more than
talking to your friends, email and buying and consuming crap. Two generations
of people that grew up on the 'net will overwhelm the rest that don't
understand it.

~~~
peterwwillis
December 2012 is when the world ends, so really, it's practically 2013.

Occupy will be dead as soon as jobs kick back up or whenever the government
actually puts up a fight to these camp-outs. I don't think anyone needs
another social network; a forum perhaps, but Facebook/Twitter works just as
well for organizing Occupy crap.

I don't know why GoDaddy got into this in the first place but it's obvious
they didn't have much to gain at all which is why they bailed. Try getting a
music company or a police fraternity to bail on SOPA by protest, see how far
it gets you. SOPA will live on.

The Stratfor hack is complete and utter bullshit, it's a goddamn news wire
service. Nothing will come from it.

The only thing you can say with certainty is America will be full of excess
[political] bullshit until November 2012, and then it'll be business as usual.

(Also, you know the OP's post is a troll when he suggests Ron Paul could win)

~~~
cdcarter
> Occupy will be dead as soon as jobs kick back up or whenever the government
> actually puts up a fight to these camp-outs. I don't think anyone needs
> another social network; a forum perhaps, but Facebook/Twitter works just as
> well for organizing Occupy crap.

As the articles state, the Occupy movement is making another social network
because Facebook and Twitter don't work nearly efficient enough for
"organizing Occupy crap". Nor have any major government attacks on Occupy
Boston (for example) managed to stop the movement.

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aero142
The parallel thing I see happing is the strengthening of subcultures. Although
the internet is bringing the world closer together, it also seems to be
allowing like minded people to build lasting subcultures. Reddit has several
of these. This is a pattern I have seen a lot. These subcultures might have
sprung up before but after the initial enthusiasm dies out, the subculture
moves on. Now, it seems that these subcultures persist and keep growing,
building group identity, language, and camaraderie. The Ron Paul supporters
have stuck around for years because of this and now they have the growing
organization to push through to the mainstream, but it is the lingering
subculture behind it , this strong foundation, that is allowing them to push
through the normal barriers that would have prevented this in the past.

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gfodor
One bullet point missing I think that is important is the democratization of
education I think started in earnest this year. Khan Academy has entered the
zeitgeist and Stanford and MIT are now opening up classes to the public. If
this continues we could see a much more educated and informed public, which
obviously is healthy for democracy in the same way these movements are.

