The Yin to Slow’s Yang: #Based

I read an article a long time ago about Facebook’s problematic privacy practices, that proposed a novel solution to protecting your personal information. Basically Facebook violates its user’s privacy by doing selling, and generally doing whatever they wish with information it harvests from your profile and browsing habits. They’ve even managed to find ways to track your general Internet usage while you’re logged in to their system. Armed with this information, a lot of savvy Internet users called for an unplugging of the Facebook matrix.

But this particular article I remember reading (sorry I don’t remember the source) had an interesting solution to challenge Facebook’s hegemonic power, by subverting their ability to containerize your information. They’re strategy was to over-saturate your Facebook usage by adding everyone as friends, joining every group, saying you’re attending every event, and making yourself so general there’s no way they could track an individual personality in your profile.

Basically, Neo-ize yourself.

Well that’s basically what rapper Lil’ B, the world’s foremost proponent of a philosophy called #Based has done with life (through the Internet). I don’t know a lot about Buddhist philosophy, but I do understand that there has to be balance in the world, and the more some of us slow down, the more others will inevitably speed up. Maybe somewhere along the way, we’ll all eventually meet. Life is is a circle anyways.

(For a visceral #based experience check out the homie Tally’s Tumblr)

Read up on rap’s uber-personality Lil’ B in an NPR report by journalist Noz by clicking on the picture below: