Online decision-makers like Apple have a point

Gatekeepers like powerful tech companies have a bad reputation for controlling what goes on online. But they’re not quite worth the heat.

One of the interesting things about the digital age is that individuals no longer need the permission of powerful institutions. Cat costume creators can set up an online store and don’t need to convince a big cannery to sell their products. Those who witnessed plane emergency landings or lived through war can share their experiences via social media instead of waiting for news organizations to tell their stories.

People don’t have to win over record labels, book publishers, or Hollywood bosses to entertain us. They can contact us directly.

I frequently point out on On Tech that this personal power over gatekeepers is only half the truth. Yes, anyone can write an app, create a new product, create a song, or share information, but the main way to reach people is through Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Spotify, and other major powerhouses. other country. The old dictators of information, products and entertainment may have lost their influence, but are replaced by new digital gatekeepers.

In a way, that’s silly, and it’s one reason technologists are garnering “web3,” a broad term that refers to an imagined future internet in which individuals can more control and ownership.

However, today I have come to commend the gatekeepers. That’s not to say that web3 is a worthless idea or that we should reinvigorate the old Hollywood system where it was decided which actors or writers could work and who were shunned.

But there’s also real value when trusted experts decide. Perhaps one reason gatekeepers keep reappearing is that they can be quite handy.

Apple dictates which apps you can download on your iPhone and looks at each line of software code in it. Apple is a no-nonsense app gatekeeper. And while I’ve written before that the limitations of this approach may now outweigh the benefits, we should acknowledge the good that comes from an organization choosing to remove applications that it doesn’t use. believes promotes harmful behavior, has bad taste, dismisses good ideas or tries to steal our money.

Likewise, it’s glorious to have thousands of barbecue options on Amazon or elsewhere online. But sometimes it can be a relief that our local Home Depot only has three good ones to choose from.

Bonus: Home Depot probably won’t sell you fake or dangerous baked goods. And if it does, it could be subject to legal liability. Amazon might not be, if baked goods sold by independent merchants sell on Amazon like a flea market.

I love being able to hear directly from politicians and corporate executives on Twitter and flip through millions of views on a news event. Where else will I study? Russian military truck tires directly from someone with direct experience?

But it’s also valuable when journalists check information carefully and tell us what’s important. (Please disagree with this journalist on the value of journalism.)

Lucas Shaw, an entertainment reporter for Bloomberg News, recently wrote about what he said that web3-related movements were wrong to empower musicians or other entertainers to connect directly with. fans without the need for streaming services and record labels. “Most musicians, actors, writers, filmmakers, and creatives prefer the support of a professional organization,” he wrote. “It makes their lives easier.”

A great record label or agency can help polish a budding musician or actor, and a savvy publisher can identify groups of books to promote a new title. Gatekeepers charge for their expertise, but they can add more than they need.

This is not entirely true. Some gatekeepers are ignorant or powerless, and some creatives don’t want all this interference. But for others, helping out, as opposed to doing it all yourself, can be a blessing.

There’s something utterly nasty about gatekeepers, whether it’s older people like corporate news organizations and Walmart or younger people like Apple and YouTube.

Sometimes they make stupid decisions. They take away our choices and erode the autonomy and income of those who create entertainment videos, books or cat suits. Maybe web3 will end the power of the few to act as arbiter of the many, or perhaps it will consolidate power as every tech movement has had for decades.

Still, I hope we don’t throw out anything useful about gatekeepers, even as we revisit them.

Before we go…

• Elon Musk is making friends on Twitter: Several companies, hedge funds and wealthy individuals, including Oracle founder Larry Ellison and cryptocurrency exchange Binance, have pledged around $7 billion for Elon Musk to buy Twitter, fellow Lauren My Hirsch said. They will become part owners of Twitter, and the cash will reduce the size of the loan Musk needs to help pay for the $44 billion acquisition.

  More about Musk: My colleagues John Eligon and Lynsey Chutel report on Musk’s childhood background in apartheid South Africa.

• When cybercriminals disrupt schools: Bloomberg News calculates the cost of ransomware attacks, which involve criminals locking down an organization’s computer systems and data until they are paid for. Lincoln College in Illinois has blamed a ransomware attack and pandemic-related drop on enrollment for the school’s decision to close next week.

• YouTube videos are perfectly tailored for your kids: My colleague David Segal writes about the company behind “CoComelon” and other hugely popular children’s online entertainment and data-driven approaches – including a tool called Distractatron – that executives use to analyze what keeps young children engaged.

Hug this

In 1984, Keanu Reeves hosts the Canadian television show about the teddy bear convention. It was great. (Yes, it’s real. CBC dig this out of its archive in 2020.) Thanks to my colleague Erin McCann for sharing the video.

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