This guy's online too
The California gold rush was a massive cultural phenomenon. In 1848, gold being found in newly-founded Coloma was a big deal, largely because California was basically unregulated at the time (remember, it had been part of Mexico only 2 years earlier). The U.S. government solved the property-rights laws much as Wal-Mart solves supply shortages — first come, first served. The result, as you might expect, was chaos and explosive population growth.
The rise of the internet was actually quite similar to the California gold rush. As the web began to gain prominence, businesses and consumers rushed to stake a claim to their online identity. There were basically no rules to registering a doman name — again, first-come, first-served. Websites began to pop up at a rapid pace, seeking clicks in much the same way that the gold-rushers sought gold.
Attention is the currency of the new gold rush — whoever can attract eyeballs can attract companies trying to attract customers. But its supply isn’t dwindling away as the gold did after the initial mining craze — the internet is so useful that its userbase (and therefore, total value as a resource) likely will only continue to grow.
In the old west, power was determined by the speed of your draw. Today, the internet is mostly equal except for differences in user’s internet service providers. Fierce lobbying is underway on both sides in Washington, D. C., and other capitals around the world, trying to sway opinions on net neutrality. If the private companies that provide this essential service are allowed even greater control, they may abuse their power to tame the current wild west of the internet. The government has, so far, ruled to maintain net neutrality, maintaining the free atmosphere online. It is inevitable that those in control of this amazing resource will try to capitalize on it, but it is essential to the meteoric growth of the internet to remain mostly open.
Right now, the best solution for both sides is permitting the current equality and anonymity online. This will enable those across the digital divide to slowly close the gap and join the free-for-all, until the world wide web lives up to its name.
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