Genie In a Bottle

We all the know the old myth of the genie in the bottle and the three wishes. It was a fascinating story in that something so powerful as a genie was subject to the confines of tiny bottle. And on top of that, once you let it out you became its master and would be granted three wishes. It was always a popular story because who doesn't want to get everything they ever wanted for from a magical blue dude that really knows how to crack a one-liner.

Well, if I learned anything from Robin Williams and Alladin, it is that you have to be careful what you wish for, because you never can be sure how it will  turn out actually having everything you ever thought you wanted.

It's a good fable with a good lesson, and it's one that has recently been a great metaphor for the almighty world wide web and the international communication revolution it has brought to citizens and corporations alike. Who doesn't want to be able to have everything you ever wanted, said or created at the click of button, or that you could communicated with any of the millions of people around the world in a matter of seconds through a tiny screen you can take anywhere.

As this wish is becoming ever more true with each new app, registered facebook user, and technology upgrade, apparently many governments and corporations are starting to think they go more than they "wished" for. Recently, google co-founder Sergey Brin has characterized the internet as that "genie in the bottle," in an interview with The Guardian. Only these days, the once free and open internet is being attacked on multiple sides from governments censoring content and regulating data, to the entertainment industry pushing SOPA and PIPA legislation to shut down piracy websites. Even the technology corporations themselves, like Apple, Facebook, and Google included, are imposing restrictions via their separate and incompatible platforms.

As Brin puts it, it seems "I thought there was no way to put the genie back in the bottle, but now it seems in certain areas the genie has been put back in the bottle," he said. However, the effects of trying to control something as large and collaborative as the internet could prove to be difficult as best, if not entirely pointless and impossible at worst.

You see, this wish has simply gotten too big to control. As one chinese activist remarks about his country's attempt to control internet in his country, "In the long run, they must understand it's not possible for them to control the internet unless they shut it off – and they can't live with the consequences of that." And I believe him.

My only question then is: "If you use your second wish to undue your first, what will you final wish end up being?"