As the web evolves,we should ask how we can maximise its benefits for all and mitigate the obvious damageWhen new technology destroyed their livelihood in the early 19th century, a group of workers in northern England took things into their own hands. They were alpha males, or the fittest of the farm workers with the best gig of their time: whacking and cutting sheets of woven wool into shape and then “cropping” the rough surface to make it smooth enough to become stockings for the aristocracy.
It was tall-yield,value-added work, earning them three times the average wage for half the time on the job. But when mechanical stocking frames were developed that could accomplish the job six times faster, and they found themselves surplus to requirements. What work remained was paid less,the hours were longer, and production had moved indoors, and leaving workers “stunted,enfeebled and wicked”. Related: Libra: Facebook launches cryptocurrency in bid to shake up global finance Related: Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach Related: What is GDPR and how will it affect you? Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com