Speaker interview: Peter Sunde

Peter Sunde





I think that we need to take care of the internet itself right now, in order to permit it to be an important part of everyday life in the future as well. The internet is under attack, constantly, from political players (look at the censorship in Iran, China and Denmark for instance), to malicious hackers that attack for control as well (as happened in Estonia). If we can protect the network itself we can continue to grow more of the democratization and knowledge.


I'm mostly working on Flattr.com. It's a micro transaction system where money can be shared. We have been able to share digital information for a long time, but we've limited it to files instead of streams of information, such as money. Otherwise I'm also involved in some small start ups more as an advisor, and I try to influence politicians to protect the internet and what it brings!


I would say that I admire people that come up with ideas we never thought of before. Things like Digg, Twitter, etc., are really interesting because they remove the idea of the all-mighty producer and puts tools into the hands of everybody. And in that way I must also say I admire everybody, because the internet relies upon the fact that everybody has to participate. The old saying "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it - Does it still make a sound?" can be adapted to: "If someone does something interesting on the internet and nobody is around to talk about it - Did it still make an impact?"

And what can we expect from your presentation at Activate 2010?

I will probably talk mostly about the importance of thinking globally, caring for the environment and society (otherwise one won't be successful) and why the internet is not just another business platform. But I'm not sure - I am the type of speaker that works on my presentation up until the last minute. I sometimes change all of it if something important comes up. It's more exciting and more honest I think!

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