Political Potential

There is alot of optimistic political potential for the internet. Alot of bloggers have come to participate in politics through the internet and have become more influentical in politics that evolve outside of the internet.

In chapter 11, it discussed the attention that was brought to the Dan Rathers and CBS scandal. So many bloggers were posting about the incorrect information that was discussed on the network that it led to further media publicity and ultimately Dan Rathers' forced retirement. The Wall Street Journal claimed that it was a huge milestone that the bloggers were such great fact checkers and that they should be praised for their efforts.

The "Rebooting America" article talked about the potential of candidates using the internet and how it may really evolve to reach out to certain demographics. This way it would be more in the hands of the people which would make our government more democratic because that is the way it has historically been. They talked about how the revolution of the internet and blogging could be a parallel to the 1960s and how they had such energy and political force. Blogging and the internet to use it for political use may be our common cause.

However, it could become a negative impact because some people choose to believe what is on a blog without verifying the information. A blogger posted that Sarah Palin was trying to ban certain classics in a local Alaskan library. It spread further than the blog and eventually made it to prime time news. Later the blogger, was interviewed on tv and admitted that he had just made up the post and that it was not true at all. How many people actually saw him admitting that it was false is uncertain and many people may just believe only what they want to hear.