Extrapolating from last year's observations :

Miscellaneous Observations: (Revise for clarity)

1. "God" has a name and gender: they are called "Chad and Steve".
2. "God" sold his job for $1.65 billion dollars.
3. Our new "God" is called "Google".
4. We literally become "children of light" (we are projected from a lighted screen). No longer carbon-based lifeforms, but electron-based.

What did we mean by comparing the founders of YouTube, and then Google, to God? We implied that Google, as the owner of YouTube, now possesses powers over the website comparable to God's powers over the Hebrews in the Bible. Whether or not Google chooses to exercise these powers is another matter.

Powers: In Judeo-Christian tradition, God has three defining characteristics:
1. omniscience
2. omnipresence
3. omnipotence

Omniscience- Hypothetically, Google has the ability to know about all the interactions of users on YouTube.
Omnipresence- In reality, all the actions of users, while on YouTube, are recorded as digital data. As the owner of YouTube, the environment in which YouTube users interact, Google has a right to monitor any and all interactions among users which can (and do) alter their property.

-Omniscience and omnipresence seem like foregone conclusions; they are not unique to Google any more than they are unique to a person who decides to start his/her own website. What is really interesting is the attribute of omnipotence, because it has the potential to affect so many more users.

Omnipotence- Google administrators have the power to change, edit, reconstruct, or totally destroy the website known as YouTube.

More Biblical Metaphors to describe possible omnipotent actions:

The flood, Tower of Babel, Exodus, End of Days

Flood- blocking most users because they have "sinned", selecting a smaller population which exemplifies the values they most appreciate

Tower of Babel- censorship, confusing the communication of users by removing videos
Exodus- forcing “communities” off YouTube by making the environment hostile to them.
* this has arguably already happened. Those users who have posted copyrighted material have had their videos flagged (by other users) and then removed by YouTube administrators. These users have been forced to seek other environments besides YouTube.

End of Days- YouTube completely destroyed as punishment for corruption and sin.


What makes Google earthly and not divine? (ie. Why will End of Days never come?)
God has interests and social controls also: shareholders, public condemnation, “face”
Interests: advertising and traffic
It is in Google's best interest NOT to drive away masses of users. As a corporation, Google relies on high traffic on YouTube to set the prices of their advertisements, and the projected value of their shares.
Social Controls: public condemnation, and "image"
Google is also subject to social controls such as public condemnation, the need to preserve a good image, and law.
soft power, normative behavior, symbolic interaction, hegemony,


Law perhaps creates the greatest complications for Google, as it struggles to balance copyright law with the expectations of YouTube users.

Misc. Musings:
God can even reach into “meatspace” by copyright enforcement.
-strike you dead? Pillar of salt? Struck dumb? Strike with lameness?

Metaphors are never sufficient!