Free open-source software, by its nature, is unlikely to feature secret back doors that lead directly to Langley, Va.

In Google's world, public space is just something that stands between your house and the well-reviewed restaurant that you are dying to get to.

Social media's greatest assets - anonymity, 'virality,' interconnectedness - are also its main weaknesses.

I think governments will increasingly be tempted to rely on Silicon Valley to solve problems like obesity or climate change because Silicon Valley runs the information infrastructure through which we consume information.

In short, Google prefers a world where we consistently go to three restaurants to a world where our choices are impossible to predict.

I used to work for an NGO called Transitions Online, and I was their Director of New Media. I was a very idealistic fellow who thought that he could use blogs, social networks and new media to help promote democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.

For all its shortcomings, Wikipedia does have strong governance and deliberative mechanisms; anyone who has ever followed discussions on Wikipedia's mailing lists will confirm that its moderators and administrators openly discuss controversial issues on a regular basis.