Egypt, the Internet and crowds

This world keeps getting more and more interesting -- and counter-intuitive. I just heard on Al-Jazeera English a discussion of the disruptions in Egypt. A guest was asked what he thought about the Egyptian government's blocking the Internet and cell phones. He laughed, and replied "They're crazy. Instead of being on the computer, everybody's on the street."

The world has changed; see Egypt for an example

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how the media world is undergoing massive changes. In large part, that's because I'm teaching a class in alternative media, which focuses one's thinking. One of the key points is the question of what is alternative media? As one of the students said, to her and her generation, newspapers and magazines are alternatives.

But it really hit home today when reading of Egypt's shutting down the Internet. With new media and the communications possibilities of the Internet, alternatives abound, and the old world, like Humpty Dumpty, can't be put together again.