Using the Internet to restore democracy
Posted on February 4th, 2004 by Craig Newmark
Given the problems of the Dean campaign, people are talking about political efforts on the Net as another bubble.
This just ain't the case, briefly articulated on the Daily Kos run by Markos Zuniga:
The Internet component did what it was supposed to do, It took a candidate who was an asterisk in the polls and turned him into the front-runner, gave him $40 million, gave him a huge army of volunteers. What else could the Internet do? Get people to the polls?
So, I think the people who liken this to the collapse of dot-coms are just wrong.
This whole movement is just starting.
I don't yet know how to keep it happening… but I think we all have nine months to make it happen.
for more:
- Political Campaigns and Internet Startups from Dan Gillmor
- really good commentary from Clay Shirky and David Weinberger
- Net Politics Down but Not Out from Wired online