'Content sharing is a basic human need'

John Perry Barlow is one of the pioneers of Internet freedom, but best known as a co-songwriter of the legendary rock band, Grateful Dead. Even at 61, this relentless campaigner’s stomach for a battle with the powers that clamp down on freedom remains as strong as ever.
The man, who co-wrote the band’s enduring hits like Estimated Prophet and The Music Never Stopped was in the city recently and found time to speak to BT on his association with the Grateful Dead and the importance of the Internet being a free and open tool for expression.From a songwriter to being a cattle rancher and a digital rights activist, John reckons that he has always been in the same career. “My close association with the Grateful Dead has had a direct cultural influence on my belief about freedom. I look at what I’m doing now as a continuation of the same principles that the band stood for,” he says.
John says that the band, who allowed their fans to create free bootlegs of their concerts, unknowingly started the Internet phenomenon of sharing content. “The Grateful Dead inadvertently invented the viral market. They became the most successful touring band of their time because they gave their stuff away for free.”
John, who famously wrote the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace’ in the early days of the Internet, calls it the greatest tool for self-expression. “The most natural thing people do apart from eating food and having sex is sharing information. It is a deep human intellectual need,” he says. When asked about the connection between social networking sites and growing cyber crime, he responds, “Issues such as terrorism, child pornography are problems that need policing in the real world. If anything, allowing people to express themselves online will bring out information and help in tackling these issues,” he says.