The link on Marc's site doesn't work, but I found the link to the article if you guys want it:
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Power of Ants
I'd never considered the power of utilizing the internet as a tool for democracy. In Moore's article, he describes the internet as the "second superpower." I agree that nothing has come close to enabling people to have a voice as effectively as the internet has. The internet as the second superpower places the power in the hands of individuals, not government leaders. Because of this unique characteristic, Moore compares the internet to a community of ants by pointing out that "when ants invade my kitchen they command my attention." It is impossible to ignore the internet today. I think it is an effective way of communing with people when used in the right way, to make positive change. Although it is not always used for positive change, I see hope in the fact that now individuals have a way of putting ideas out into a community, and that if it is a powerful idea, people may rally behind it.
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i agree with you when you say that nothing has come close to effectively connecting and enabling people to have a voice as the internet has. The comparison to ants is very creative and honest way of looking at the media we have created. I think that moore offers hope for what we can do with the internet, the postive things that can come from this connectivity. He imagines how worldwide through joining Internet technology, we as the public and as citizens can engage in change, international institutions, and begin to help set new global policy. It seems that freedom is at the forefort of all this, beause on the internet, no matter who you are, as long as you have the ability to use this technology your voice can be heard. The question comes down to how do we connect all these people, all these ideas to bring about positve change?
I agree that the internet can be used to affect positive change, but I think you have to consider the nature of people and mischief, as well. For better or worse, the internet is an all-binding creature. The sheer size of web communities, at times, can be staggering. I know for a fact that when banded together, certain communities not necessarily trying for good (though not malicious either), have had the capability to change the normal outcome of a situation.
I've watched a couple groups of message boards single-handedly rig votes for members in contests, "Rick Roll" (an e-fad joke song) an entire stadium of people, and even win one member's wife a boob job.
Thanks for the link, Sarah! I agree with you all that the internet is an incredibly powerful source for "the public" to use to have a voice. But I am still troubled - soooo many people don't have access to the internet. Didn't we learn that less than half of the world's population has even picked up a phone, let alone used of (or heard of) the internet? And these are often the people that need their voices to be heard, the people who suffer the greatest injustices. Coming from a privileged background, enjoying rights and education and these resources, I think it's our responsibility to use the internet to speak for those who do not have access to the internet, who need it most to share their stories. Or is that just too idealistic of me?...
I think your point is absolutely true, this "power of ants" is limited to those who have access to the internet. And that leaves billions of people out of the online community that could help perpetuate change. I talk about this in my post about Indymedia, but I'll restate, that I worry about the voiceless not being able to express themselves. AND I'm tired of hearing other people (the privileged) trying to speak for them. I want the voiceless to speak for themselves. I don't only want to spread the word, I hope that these billions of people can be empowered by the internet. And I think this is crazy idealistic. Is it too much to hope?
I loved how Moore compared the people on the internet to ants. It's so true how the large number of voices can be heard and call a lot of attention to issues, but i can't help but feel unsure as to how much change they can actually make.
Truthfully, what happens when I walk into my kitchen and there are ants everywhere? I get out my bug spray and kill every last one of those little things without a second thought. I am afraid this might be the actions of the higher powers. I think if the government saw a bunch of people expressing disapproval of their ideas then they might just ignore them (their form of killing all the ants-- kinda like killing our voice instead). If this happened, no matter how hard the "second superpower" tried, they would not be able to make a difference.
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