[LINK] "Second Superpower" - new meme neutered by Google? - "Anti-war slogan coined, repurposed and Googlewashed... in 42 days"

[David Vaile]

G'day all,

Interesting article from UK online journal 'The Register' about how a
'neutered' alternative meaning for the new term "Second Superpower" in an
article and weblog by James Moore (from the Berkman Centre for Internet &
Society at Harvard) becomes the leading reference on Google (the dominant
Internet search engine), displacing references to primary material by the
originators of the term, who reportedly used it for a more robust anti-war
critique:


http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30087.html

"Anti-war slogan coined, repurposed and Googlewashed... in 42 days

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Posted: 03/04/2003

This year marks the 100th anniversary of George Orwell's birth, and the writer
who best explained the power of language on politics would be amazed what can
be done with the Internet. 

On February 17 a front page news analysis in the New York Times bylined by
Patrick Tyler described the global anti-war protests as the emergence of "the
second superpower". Tyler wrote: "...the huge anti-war demonstrations around
the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers
on the planet: the United States and world public opinion." This potent phrase
spread rapidly. 

Anti-war campaigners, peace groups and NGOs took to describing the global
popular protest as "the second superpower" [Greenpeace release]. And in less
than a month, the phrase was being used by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
[Financial Times]. And a week ago, a Google search for the phrase would have
shown the vigorous propagation of this 'meme'. 

Rub out the word 

Then came this. Entitled 'The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head', by
James F Moore, it was accompanied by a brand new blog. The details need not
detain us for very long, because the consequences of this piece are much more
important than its anodyne contents.

 ... 

Although it took millions of people around the world to compel the Gray Lady
to describe the anti-war movement as a 'Second Superpower', it took only a
handful of webloggers to spin the alternative meaning to manufacture
sufficient PageRankT to flood Google with Moore's alternative, neutered
definition."

C The Register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/


Regards,
David Vaile

Baker & McKenzie Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre
Faculty of Law, University of NSW (Mathews 1205)

T: (02) 9385 3589 
F: (02) 9385 1778 
E: d.vaile at unsw.edu.au  
W: http://www.bakercyberlawcentre.org/
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