I think facebook just doesn’t like libertarians. Every time I post something about liberty, it just dies. I might get one like, and then it just withers away, never to be seen again. Meanwhile, my friend posts something like, “I’m hungry,” and it gets hundreds of likes. So I started a blog, thinking it would generate more traffic for my writings. Wrong! I’ve had my own blog now for years, and only a few people have ever visited it. Usually they stumble out of the site, just as quickly as they stumbled in. I feel like I’m a good writer, but how can I be sure if no one ever reads it? That’s where Liberty.me comes in handy. It’s kind of like facebook, but for libertarians. Imagine an entire community of libertarians all in one place, liking, posting, chatting . . . working together towards a freer society. Like an online version of “Galt’s Gulch” from Atlas Shrugged. When I first signed up for Liberty.me, I was instantly greeted with a chat window with about 60 other people. “Hi everyone. Um, where am I? This is my first time here . . . I’m Joe.” “Welcome to your new home, Joe!” “Hi JOE!” “Hey everyone, it’s Joe!” “Where are you from?” I have to say – as a lonely libertarian, it was the most welcoming experience I’d ever gotten just from visiting a website! The site is jam packed with articles, liberty guides, free books, classes, videos, blogs, and discussion groups; all in an extremely beautiful web page. The colors, the fonts, and placement – everything has been thought about with beauty and style in mind. The blog creation tool is pretty spectacular. If you’ve ever tried to create a blog before, you know that it can be pretty …
Your Privacy in the Internet Age. Past, Present
Austrian Economics and Social Media in China
In many places around the world we hear about the use of social media and mobile apps to help people communicate with each other in opposition to the state or against mainstream standards. From Egypt to Venezuela, social media has played an instrumental role in the organisation of protests. Fearing the same, the Chinese government has long sought to block the use of social media sites, thus Facebook and Twitter have a very minor presence in the country. Nonetheless, here in Shanghai I’ve learned about some of the innovative ways that local mobile apps are being used to spread ideas of liberty. While it is risky to talk about politics or to openly criticize the government in China, the field of economics provides somewhat safe ground to discuss ideas of liberty. Even then, one still must be mindful of one’s wording, because the terms ‘free-market’ or ‘capitalism’ are still blacklisted, whereas the phrase ‘market economy’ is perfectly acceptable. This past month a group of professors of Austrian Economics (a number of whom spoke at our 2012 Shanghai Austrian Economic Summit) got together and decided to create an online course entirely based on Hayek’s works. What’s exceptional about their approach is that the whole course is hosted on Weixin (known as WeChat for English users), which is like a Chinese version of Whatsapp. The lectures are given live, enabling students to tune in and respond in real time, while those who can’t make it at the time can still catch up later. The professor gives his lecture by leaving voice messages for the group. Each clip is limited by the app to being just a minute long, though they can be played consecutively. All the while, students can type in their questions, to which the professor can reply instantly. This style …