[Air-l] Re: How anti-Iraq war protesters employed technology

[david silver]

Steve mentioned three factors that can arguably be viewed as different
than media before it: relative instantaneity, its reach to so many people,
its inherent "copy-ability."  Yvonne Waern added two more: its ability to
be easily saved (or archived) and its searchability.

i'll add a few more.  1) its still relatively decentralized nature allows
for less gatekeepers and arguably a more diverse spectrum of voices and
opinions. (no, i'm no cyberutopian but i do think the current information
landscape is more diverse than before.) 2) unlike traditional news where
we get what we're given (we can only subscribe or buy newspapers that are
shipped to our town or city; we can only watch television channels that
are bundled by our local providers), we can proactively access what we
want (with a few caveats: we need the necessary equipment and training, we
need to know the language used on the site or have access to really good
translation software, and we often need to subscribe for a fee or
register). 3) then there's the classic many-to-many, reader-writer aspect
we've been talking about for years -- yes, many past communication
technologies, including those mentioned by steve, have elements of this
but what other medium has the whole shebang and is used by so many?  david