The major thing the Net has that other news sources lack is a real sort of community. You can't interact with the talking heads on T.V., you can't hunt for the specific information you want, you can't add information of your own or dispel rumors or investigate myths. That probably explains why George Dubya went straight for the Internet (libertyunites.com) in his efforts to rally us together. There is already a live and responsive community here. In the hours immediately after the attacks, places like slashdot and google were mirroring vital news sources for readers, and community bulletin boards like craigslist were hopping with people organizing victims' relief and sharing their own news and responses and coming together for rallies and prayer meetings and things. You can't get that kind of instant popular reaction from NBC.
I heard some amazing misinformation on television the day of the attacks, incredible rumors and tall tales (police officer who "surfed" rubble down 86 floors in the collapse?), and it was when I went to the Net that I found people who had followed up on these stories, who knew what was right and what wasn't, and who had real information of their own as news broke. T.V. and radio aren't diverse enough media; there are only a handful of networks and major news stations. On the Internet, any idiot with a modem can put his two cents in, and sometimes that's not so great and sometimes it's amazing.
I agree. The whole point of a democracy is that in theory we must treat all of our citizens like responsible adults who can make their own decisions and be held accountable for them. We don't need to be legislated right down to our socks. Running America like a kindergarten goes counter to almost every reason this country was founded. We don't need more rules. We need higher expectations and more civic responsibility.
(And no, I don't have any concrete suggestions or wisdom; I'm a grandiose abstracts kind of girl, sorry.)
On a semi-related note, have you seen the excellent essay by Salman Rushdie in the Washington Post?
Slashdot Mirror
The major thing the Net has that other news sources lack is a real sort of community. You can't interact with the talking heads on T.V., you can't hunt for the specific information you want, you can't add information of your own or dispel rumors or investigate myths. That probably explains why George Dubya went straight for the Internet (libertyunites.com) in his efforts to rally us together. There is already a live and responsive community here. In the hours immediately after the attacks, places like slashdot and google were mirroring vital news sources for readers, and community bulletin boards like craigslist were hopping with people organizing victims' relief and sharing their own news and responses and coming together for rallies and prayer meetings and things. You can't get that kind of instant popular reaction from NBC.
I heard some amazing misinformation on television the day of the attacks, incredible rumors and tall tales (police officer who "surfed" rubble down 86 floors in the collapse?), and it was when I went to the Net that I found people who had followed up on these stories, who knew what was right and what wasn't, and who had real information of their own as news broke. T.V. and radio aren't diverse enough media; there are only a handful of networks and major news stations. On the Internet, any idiot with a modem can put his two cents in, and sometimes that's not so great and sometimes it's amazing.
I agree. The whole point of a democracy is that in theory we must treat all of our citizens like responsible adults who can make their own decisions and be held accountable for them. We don't need to be legislated right down to our socks. Running America like a kindergarten goes counter to almost every reason this country was founded. We don't need more rules. We need higher expectations and more civic responsibility.
(And no, I don't have any concrete suggestions or wisdom; I'm a grandiose abstracts kind of girl, sorry.)
On a semi-related note, have you seen the excellent essay by Salman Rushdie in the Washington Post?