I’m at the Berkman Conference at Harvard Law School, where the wireless is fast and free. Various aspects of “intellectual property” and how it is affected by technology are being discussed.
This precarious sandcastle is a metaphor relevant to the discussion, but I’m not sure exactly how. Thanks to Matt for making the picture available.
Interesting use of my sandcastle – I like it. I can think of two obvious ways the sandcastle fits with the discussion: 1. that the information superhighway is really a thin facade of sand covering a skeleton of driftwood and twine (well in all honesty, this makes no sense); 2. the digital divide trope. As you blogged this, I was walking by the Berkman Center, which I do nearly everyday since I’m getting my doctorate at Harvard. So, of the no doubt thousands of weird sandcastles produced last week all across the world, techology selected this one for your post via my digital camera->laptop->flickr->your laptop->wifi->your blog. So, techology is making it easier for elites like us with fancy educations and electronic toys to connect and spread our images and ideas, leapfrogging over the rest. Maybe i’m going a bit afield; I just found it ironic that you blogged from HLS, implying that we’re probably in not so distant social circles – and I don’t think its a coincidence.
Matt, I wasn’t aware of your Harvard connection. I was thinking that the sandcastle was the current regime of “intellectual property” which is being undermined by changes in technology and culture.