// posted by Greg // 04.10.2008 at 12:35 pm //

Web 2.0: Hookers get it!

    At last weekend’s Bar Camp Orlando, Andres, Gabriella and I gave a presentation in which we claimed that the social web has broad significance for social movements and political demonstrations. One of our claims was/is that large organizations and governments have been unable to capitalize on the social web while small groups and grass roots organizations have been particuallarly sucessfull in using the social web to apply pressure to governments and corporations.  Further eveidence of this comes from the field of prostitution where clients and professionals are using web 2.0 to enhance the business.

So what do prostitutes have to teach us about political activism? Well the article cited above references one of my favorite themes, survalence and the web.  Advertising and soliciting sex, allows users to avoid stings and police enforcement but it also “leaves the risk of a digital footprint”. According to the article, police are still unable (or unwilling) to use web 2.0 to effectively enforce prostitution law, but that is just the point. Individuals, using the web to engage in illicet activity are more out pacing enforcement. I have to wonder what other illicit activities the social web is enabling/streamlining?

As a matter of curiosity I wonder if drug cartels, or other organized criminals are able to affectively use the social web or if those organizations too suffer from a poor institutional learning curve as have governments, and legitimate corporation.

// Tagged social movement, Featured