{"id":171026,"date":"2024-07-10T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/?p=171026"},"modified":"2024-07-10T05:37:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T10:37:01","slug":"ictp-310-the-internet-we-should-want-in-2024-and-beyond-with-matthew-cowen-of-dgtlfutures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2024\/07\/ictp-310-the-internet-we-should-want-in-2024-and-beyond-with-matthew-cowen-of-dgtlfutures\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 310: The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond, with Matthew Cowen of dgtlfutures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>In our third instalment of the series, The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond, Matthew Cowen of dgtlfutures, shares his thoughts on the subject. Though the topic is broad, our conversation touches on, among other things: social media; the state of advertising on the Internet; major trends or technological advancements that are shaping the internet today; and current and emerging challenges regarding the internet of which we should be more aware.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1867748043&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-310-the-internet-we\" title=\"ICTP 310: The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond, with Matthew Cowen of dgtlfutures\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 310: The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond, with Matthew Cowen of dgtlfutures<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available on <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SoundCloud<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a> <strong>and <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3f727ec1-de7d-416f-8bdc-31d9a911a09e\/ict-pulse-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon Music<\/a>!!<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever asked yourself the question, \u201c<em>What do I want out of the internet?<\/em>\u201d It may sound like a stupid question, but the internet has become integral to almost all areas of our lives. When it is available and working well, we take it for granted. When we do not have internet connectivity, to varying degrees, we cannot function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To an onlooker, it may seem strange that we have ceded so much of our time, and so much control of our lives, to technologies, services and platforms we access via the internet \u2013 often without giving much thought to why and the consequences inherent in those choices. However, it is never too late to start that introspection, which has been the impetus for this series of interviews on <strong><em>The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In having conversations on the same topic with different people, we get different perspectives \u2013 none of which are wrong. Together, they provide a more holistic view of the internet, which in turn may help us to develop a more comprehensive and informed view of this tool that increasingly, we cannot live without. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"427\" height=\"384\" data-attachment-id=\"148005\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2019\/05\/ictp-054-community-chat-ride-hailing-services-complement-public-transport-system-caribbean-social-impact\/matthew-cowan-m-cowan\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?fit=427%2C384&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"427,384\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Matthew Cowen (M Cowen)\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Matthew Cowen&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?fit=300%2C270&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?fit=427%2C384&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?resize=427%2C384\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-148005\" style=\"width:300px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?w=427&amp;ssl=1 427w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Matthew-Cowan-M-Cowan.jpeg?resize=300%2C270&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Matthew Cowen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/matthewcowen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>Matthew Cowen<\/strong><\/a> is an IT veteran who has been based in Martinique for 20 years and has over 30 years of experience in the industry. He specialises in researching the digital ecosystems of the Caribbean. He founded a boutique consultancy called dgtlfutures that helps micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) develop and implement digital transformation strategies and works closely with companies digitalising their operations chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew is also involved in Internet Governance in the region and is an ARIN Fellow. He authors a newsletter called The Future is Digital, which you can find on his site, matthewcowen.org, along with a regularly updated blog on his current work. Matthew also teaches various tech-related subjects at the degree and master\u2019s levels in three further education establishments in Martinique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the key reasons I invited Matthew to discuss the topic, the internet we should want, is that he has been thinking a lot about technology, its impact and its implications. Hence, early in our conversation, he opted not to focus on the \u2018bright and shiny\u2019 technology developments that tend to attract attention, but instead, sought to highlight the more practicable aspects with Caribbean users and countries in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the internet we should want is not a simple topic. The rate of internet and technology development is so fast it is almost impossible to fully digest all that is occurring and how it relates to and affects the rest of the ecosystem. Thus, it is crucial that we proactively and regularly interrogate the technologies we are using and consider their impact on our lives and societies, which is what conversations such as these aim to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are key questions posed during our discussion with Matthew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How has the landscape of the internet evolved over the past 5\u201410 years? And what are your thoughts on the current state of internet penetration and use in the Caribbean region, and how it compares to previous years?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Following from social media, what are your thoughts on&nbsp;the state of advertising on the Internet?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the major trends or technological advancements that are shaping the internet today?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are some of the current and emerging challenges regarding the internet of which we should be more aware?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are becoming more active in the Internet Governance space, which has a lot of moving parts with lots of meetings, lots of stakeholders, and lots of competing interests. What are the important IG developments that might have you concerned or that we should be aware of?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The internet has become integral to everyday life. What are your thoughts on how we in the Caribbean currently use the internet, versus how we should be using the internet?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>We would love to hear your thoughts!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a>&nbsp;pages, or via Twitter,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@ICTPulse<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode,&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>do get in touch<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Let\u2019s make it happen!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Matthew Cowen&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/matthewcowen.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">website<\/a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/matthewcowen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>European Union report, <a href=\"https:\/\/op.europa.eu\/en\/publication-detail\/-\/publication\/8b950a43-a141-11ed-b508-01aa75ed71a1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>Study on the impact of recent developments in digital advertising on privacy, publishers and advertisers<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/a4ai.org\/meaningful-connectivity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Alliance for Affordable Internet&nbsp; on Meaningful Connectivity<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.itu.int\/itu-d\/sites\/projectumc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">International Telecommunications Union on Universal Meaningful Connectivity<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Reddit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joinmastodon.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Mastodon<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/techenvoy\/global-digital-compact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Global Digital Compact<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Internet Society post, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/action-plan\/protecting-the-internet-against-fragmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>Protecting the Internet against Fragmentation<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Digital Freedom Fund post, <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalfreedomfund.org\/internet-drift-how-the-internet-is-likely-to-splinter-and-fracture\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>Internet Drift: How the Internet is Likely to Splinter and Fracture<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New York Times, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/05\/27\/opinion\/technology\/what-would-an-egalitarian-internet-actually-look-like.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>The Internet Is Broken. How Do We Fix It?<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/open-internet-governance.org\/letter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">An Open Letter to the United Nations<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ICT Pulse Podcast episode, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3wdGkC0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>ICTP 300: The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond, with Trevor Forrest of 876 Technology Solutions<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Barbados<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rest of World article, <a href=\"https:\/\/restofworld.org\/2024\/cuba-dancers-social-media-restrictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>Making money as an influencer in Cuba is hard. These dancers found a way<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>La Monde article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/en\/politics\/article\/2024\/05\/25\/france-blocking-tiktok-in-new-caledonia-sets-an-unfortunate-precedent_6672617_5.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>France blocking TikTok in New Caledonia sets an unfortunate<\/em> <em>precedent<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>BBC article, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c0dd94jv9jpo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>TikTok ban lifted as New Caledonia emergency ends<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Gleaner article, <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaica-gleaner.com\/article\/lead-stories\/20240624\/holness-vows-crack-down-fake-news-online\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>Holness vows to crack down on \u2018fake news\u2019 online<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Gleaner article, <a href=\"https:\/\/jamaica-gleaner.com\/article\/commentary\/20240627\/editorial-regulate-carefully\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><em>Editorial | Regulate carefully<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ICT Pulse article, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/1gFonHP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Multistakeholderism: why the Caribbean should become more involved in shaping the future stewardship of the Internet<\/a><\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ICT Pulse article, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/1o11f0g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Can a multistakeholder approach truly work to govern the Internet?<\/a><\/em> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credits: M Cowen; Pete Linforth (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pixabay<\/a>); Tracy Le Blanc (<a href=\"http:\/\/pexels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pexels<\/a>); wastedgeneration (<a href=\"http:\/\/pixabay.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pixabay<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Ch\u00e9rie), by Andy Narrell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast Editing Support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In our third instalment of the series, The internet we should want in 2024 and beyond, Matthew Cowen of dgtlfutures, shares his thoughts on the subject. Though the topic is broad, our conversation touches on, among other things: social media; the state of advertising on the Internet; major trends or technological advancements that are shaping the internet today; and current and emerging challenges regarding the internet of which we should be more aware.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":171030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[305,499,32,281,43,357,212,42,15],"class_list":["post-171026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-digital-economy","tag-digital-society","tag-information-society","tag-internet","tag-internet-governance","tag-interviews","tag-policy-2","tag-social-media","tag-trends","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Featured-Image-%E2%80%93-The-Internet-we-want-in-2024-Matthew-Cowen_YouTube.jpg?fit=2000%2C1125&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-Iuu","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171026"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171065,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171026\/revisions\/171065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}