NETWORKS

It is obvious to me that there is a huge paradox between freedom and control with concern to networks. It seems that in order to gain more freedom, we must give up more information about ourselves. If this were expressed to an extreme, would that mean that total freedom also entails complete exposure? I can't decide whether this is a good or bad thing. Having all one's secrets and vulnerabilities out in the open seems dangerous, if not confining. But, just maybe, this is liberating in itself; that is, not having the burden of concealment. One could further examine the inverse of this statement. Is total privacy control? How can it be? If one never gives up their information, then what can society hold against them?

I'm also very interested in the concept of networks. One great example of networks in use includes programs allowing illegal downloading. BitTorrents, which use no centralized server to retrieve information, are nearly impossible to track down and stop, since every user is a seed towards the file (very similar to the rhizome), while programs like Kazaa and Napster, which used a centralized network, were easily ended. I think these examples strongly support Galloway's arguments.