Political influence through the Internet
The Wall Street Journal makes a very good point that technology is here to stay in the political realm.
Does the Web Deserve The Power It Gained
To Influence Politics?
Suggesting that there is both good and bad with the Web and politics isn’t to say they exist in equal amounts. Say what one will about the shortcomings of blogs, I can’t imagine going back in time to a world where a relatively small number of newspapers and magazines — even though by and large they were very good ones — had an effective monopoly on what did and didn’t get printed about a campaign.
The Web isn’t going away, and so its boosters should no longer feel defensive when its inanities are pointed out. The YouTube political debates where voters submitted video questions, from January, for example, were described as a singular chance for citizens to question candidates directly, which sounded good until one of the questioners presented himself as a snowman.
Because it’s such a vastly powerful network, the Internet has the ability either to elevate or to debase the political discussion. Both will be occurring between now and November, though with a little luck, not in equal amounts.
