Power to the people!! Especially the older ones.

Who said "there's nothing any good on the telly?" Well I guess anyone could who happens to watch the popular channels on a Saturday evening. Which is why I found myself on BBC2 and stumbling across "Virtual Revolution!" It's a brilliant programme.

Fronted by the compelling Dr Aleks Krotoski the series began by taking us back to the origins of the internet.  I vaguely remember reading somewhere how the need to link computers at US military bases gave us the first network. Then how Tim Berners-Lee came along with a system that enabled computers to talk to each other. That was the World Wide Web.

What I didn't appreciate was that the early settlers of Silicon Valley had been the free loving, spliff smoking, flower power beautiful people of 60's San Francisco. And that the culture and vision that drove the development of the Web was that same anti-establishment, free speaking attitude.  

I always hoped that I was "where it's at!" in the 60's. And felt I was in harmony with San Francisco's flower people. I did once fly to San Francisco. It was on an unofficial company "jolly." We were rumbled and summoned home the next day.  I didn't want to talk about it much. But I did feel spiritually connected and could see myself when returning home greeting everybody I knew with "Peace and Love!" They were all too busy smirking over my enforced return!!

But clearly that spiritual connection remains. The anarchy in me still burns. And Dr Aleks's reporting of the attempts by corporations and governments to limit or manipulate that freedom kindles those old anarchic attitudes in me.

But that wasn't the igniting moment. Half-way through watching the programme my two daughters call and instruct me to remove a newly posted blog!!!. Can you believe it??? Inverted parental censorship!!!

So come on fellow children of the 60's. We are the original cyber warriors! Get your blogging slippers on.  Power to the people....especially the older ones!