Investing In The Cultural Revolution. In a talk with Erick Schonfeld at Disrupt a couple weeks ago, we talked about what is coming next for the Internet.
Erick asked me what I thought was coming after the infrastructure and application phases of the Internet. I talked about Carlotta Perez' work and suggested that if past technological revolutions are any guide, that we are in for cultural revolution next. A scan of Techmeme this morning suggests that it there are certainly signs of it out there: Pirate party snatches seats in Berlin state election. Supporters of the Pirate party celebrate after the first exit polls of the Berlin state election.
Photograph: Adam Berry/AP An upstart band of internet freedom activists are to enter Berlin's state parliament, ousting the Free Democrats, Angela Merkel's junior partner in the unpopular national government. It marks a remarkable success for the small Pirate party, which attracted 8.5% of the vote, winning its first ever seats in a state parliament, according to the first exit polls on Sunday. Their irreverent campaign captured the imagination of young voters as the party expanded its platform from an original focus on filesharing, censorship and data protection, to include social issues and citizens' rights.