February 16, 2002
From the desk of Jane Galt:A Modest Proposal Safeguarding Women
A Modest Proposal
Safeguarding Women Bloggers from Unfair and Anti-Competitive Blogging Practices by the Live from the WTC Editorial BoardFor over a month now, we have watched as certain bloggers have used predatory tactics to unfairly steal blogoshare. Rather than standing in solidarity with their fellow female bloggers and building a truly inclusive, empowering blogging community, they have instead used their outsized power to hoard more than their fair share of blog readers. We have dreamed of the possibilities of the internet where, no longer weighted down by the physicality of the "real" world, we might build a new, radically empowering space. Instead we are confronted with the intrusion of the same old patriarchal paradigms and exploitationist power structures into our precious new nest.
We can no longer stand by while this rampaging bully uses her size to trample the rights of those smaller than she is. We refer, of course, to Nataljia Radic, whose latest power-grab is too blatant to be ignored any longer. It is only an accident of history that Ms. Radic should be so abundantly endowed with natural resources, yet she not only openly flaunts her unearned wealth, but also uses her assets to seize eyeballs from her less fortunate sisters. It is clear that this situation cannot be tolerated much longer. As long as Ms. Radic misuses her power, it will be impossible for Less Developed Bloggers (LDB's) to fulfill the promise of a virtual world where biology is not destiny. I call on Ms. Radic to immediately cease this shameless exploitation of Mother Nature and instead help to develop a more sustainable blogosphere where she can peacefully co-exist with those who are less well-endowed.
However, we fear that merely calling for justice will not be enough to realize the redress to which we are entitled. While in theory, we at Live From the WTC are, of course, in favor of free markets, it is clear that in this instance there is a massive market failure in which size begets more market share -- a classic case of monopoly. The only way to stop this market malfunction is to immediately and totally forbid the publishing of pictures on weblogs.
Some will say that this is anticompetitive. This is ridiculous. We at Live From the WTC are in favor of competition, and that is why we are pursuing this ban: so that blogs can compete on the merits, rather than joining in the race to the bottom of vulgar consumerism. The playing field must be leveled. Only massive surgery will suffice. We therefore ask our fellow bloggers to join us in our quest to build a blogosphere that is free, competitive, and inclusive, so that it can meet the needs of all bloggers, rather than a fortunate few. In the bright new future of the New Economy, our children deserve nothing less.
Posted by Jane Galt at February 16, 2002 04:51 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links