Internet and Politics

The Internet and Politics

2:00 pm  May 15, 2004

Benkler/Palfrey

Are the modes used in politics the most effective modes, have they been effective?

Is anyone reading those blogs or are bloggers reading those blogs.

Can the bad guys use these tools? (The answer is yes, of course).

Can we think about the best examples of individuals and groups making most effective use.

Mitchell Goldstein – tried to post everything on line (Va Govt). 

Net Powered Politics

Blogs: NKZone – McKinnon site – discussion and information on North Korea (nkzone.typepad.com )

Access to Laws and Decision-makers (e-mail, web): SARI

Listservs, gool ol’ html, SMS:  China Labour Bulletin

Fundraising: Kerry

Direct Democracy/Voting: Diebold

MIT web project SARI – access to decision makes and what the laws are…

MacKinnon

What happens when North Korea gets hot and you get a huge spike of readership – what do you plan to do with the comments – the posts. – no answer

Could you do this as CNN employee – no CNN has a no blog policy.

Seth gives a quick run down on blog numbers. 

Is this collective effort transforming politics?

Seth: I don’t think so.

--: Language as a barrier – mostly English.

Winer: Internet brings disintermediation…  thinks blogging will rise to thousands of political parties in the US.

MacKinnon – The Religious Policeman

Is a great blog formerly written by a Saudi critical of their laws.

Argues that blogs let people get viewpoints that they otherwise would not see in the papers they read.

Participant :  I may be insane but I am not alone…

Charles Rosenberg:  Influence of blogs depends upon who reads it…

Lessig: The writing process helps to rebuild the deliberative process this country used to be good at…  most importantly they are writing what they think.

Palfrey : we should all just be just bloggers.

Participants – BBS’s were once proclaimed as a tool like blogs that would revolutionize politics.