Use the Internet to Change the World
by Tom Tresser
The Internet Is Not A Mall
Contrary
to popular practice, the Internet is not a store. It may be
used to sell and we may be using advertising terms like "click
through" and "customer" to describe and measure
success on the Internet today.
But the best use of this new technology may not be for commerce but to accelerate social change—to give people new tools to change policy, achieve social justice goals and celebrate victories.
The Internet is something new. It is much more than a 24-hour infomercial. It is like a telephone, a megaphone, a bulletin board, a meeting place, a block party, a library, a poll, a catalog, a press release, a Help Desk—it is like that, and more, and all at the same time.
How is the Internet Different?
It is a two-way street. It is interactive. It is always on. It can store and index huge amounts of information. It is a multi-media feast. It is the world’s biggest network.
And it respects no borders. The Internet connects anyone with a computer and a phone line (plus the necessary software) to anyone else with a computer and a phone line. Anywhere. Soon it will connect anyone with a wireless device like a cell phone or handheld digital assistant.
No borders. No censors. No Big Brother. This is upsetting a lot of apple carts. Look at what happened with Napster, the online music file sharing network created by a 19-year old college student.
In fact, the World Wide Web, the most widely recognized and used feature on the Internet was designed by programmer Tim Berners-Lee to do exactly that. In the early (1995) days of the Web, groups were meeting to hammer out the standards and protocols that would guide the development of the Web. Mr. Berners-Lee was an advocate for the basic connectivity that made the Internet and the Web so powerful:
"Whether inspired by free-market desires or humanistic ideals, we all felt that control was the wrong perspective. I made it clear that I had designed the Web so there should be no centralized place where someone would have to 'register' a new server, or get approval for its contents. Anybody could build a server and put anything on it. Philosophically, if the Web was to be a universal resource, it had to be able to grow in an unlimited way...Its being 'out of control' was very important." (Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web, p 99. For more info on Mr. Lee, go to: http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee)
Napster currently has over 40 million registered users and the number is growing every day. Despite legal challenges, people around the world have rushed to embrace this novel, fun and somewhat addictive file sharing service.
Napster has the music and film industries in a real tizzy. What to do as millions of people rip, share and play music (and soon videos) over the Internet? These companies are in danger of loosing control over the means of distribution for cultural content. This means the power to choose, spotlight, reward and ultimately eclipse creative artists will pass from a few corporations to consumers.
The Napsterizing of America
The same conceivably could happen to public policy, elections, and even government. Eliminate the middle man. Post it and debate it. Tell the truth and unmask BS. Online networks might do for public life what it is starting to do for commercial life.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to hoard information, hide scandals, muzzle dissent, stifle good ideas and cover up official misconduct.
The Internet could be a place to learn about issues, connect with those affected by issues, start conversations about remedies, raise funds for solutions, coordinate solution teams, post the whole process and invite real-time feedback from participants around the world.
Use the Internet Now
Organizations working for social change are already employing technology and the Internet to achieve their goals. Check out how these innovative websites are using the Internet to get results.
Communication & Inspiration:
The Dalai Lama: www.tibet.com/DL
Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.org
Fundraising:
The granddaddy of all fundraisers is the United Way: www.uwonline.org - visit the Contribute section.
Mobilization:
How the Internet helped stop the Multilateral Agreement on Investment: www.nsw.greens.org.au/campaigns/MAI.htm
Progressive networks: www.igc.org
Collaboration & Problem Solving:
Accountability:
The Corporate Accountability Project: www.corporations.org
Reclaim Democracy:
But there are thousands more! A great directory and resource for progressive causes is www.webactive.com. The Kellogg Foundation compiled an annotated directory of nonprofit and social change websites, "e-Philanthropy, Volunteerism & Social Changemaking." You can the PDF file at their website, at www.wkkf.org. The follow-up study, "e-Philanthropy v2.001: From Entrepreneurial Adventure to an Online Community" along with a searchable database of 315 websites is at www.actknowledgeworks.net/ephil.
It’s just the beginning. Climb on board, get plugged in and feel the power of the network! If that sounds like a commercial for the phone company or tech gear company, sorry. The forces of evil, greed and divisiveness are using every tool available to achieve their goals. Don’t you think the forces of justice, truth and unity should do no less?
Hyperlinks
Say, what is the Internet, anyway? How does it work? Visit the the Internet Society.
Is the Internet the death of traditional
marketing? Read The ClueTrain Manifesto at http://www.cluetrain.com.
Are you a corporate marketing executive worried that consumers
have too much information? Get
over it, says Cluetrain co-author, David Weinberger.
Here's a great overview of how business people think about
the Internet:
http://stylusinc.com/website/business_models.htm
Read my poem about Internet marketing.
Networks are very cool. Networks promote democracy and the dissemination of information. They are also messy. Read more about networks in a great essay by Larry Keeley in The June 1996 "Fast Company," at www.fastcompany.com/online/03/command.html
Tim Berners-Lee helped to create, and now leads the World Wide Web Consortium, the international body that sets the standards for the development of the Web. They are at www.w3.org.
Get Napsterized. Find out what all the fuss is about at www.napster.com.
Wired magazine ran an excellent overview of the file sharing
programs. It’s online at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/
8.10/p2p_pages.html?pg=3
Napster has been under constant fire since it starting attracting millions of users. All the major movie studios and record companies are suing the company. San Jose Mercury technology columnist Dan Gillmor wonders if the entertainment industy is waging war against its own consumers.
Is this Big Brother come home to your computer? Or will technology make governments more accountable to citizens?
Here are a few sites covering e-government and e-public policy:
The Center for Democracy & Technology, http://www.cdt.org.
The Internet and Public Policy Project: http://www.ip3.gatech.edu
The Annenberg Public Policy Center:
http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org
Get involved in the community technology movement. Check out
The Community Technology Centers’ Network, http://www.ctcnet.org. Right here in Chicago, the Information Technology Resource Center has been helping nonprofits master technology since 1985, http://www.itrecourcecenter.org.
There are a number of publications about using the Internet for social change. I just got Christopher Kush's "Cybercitizen: How to Use Your Computer to Fight for ALL the Issues You Care About."
The Civic Practices Network describes its mission: "Civic Practices Network (CPN) is a collaborative and nonpartisan project bringing together a diverse array of organizations and perspectives within the new citizenship movement. We share a commitment to bring practical methods for public problem solving into every community and institutional setting in America. We assume the responsibility of telling our stories, so that all citizens may have the opportunity to learn from what others are doing to renew their communities. And we have a common faith that we can revitalize our democracy to tackle the complex problems of the 21st century if we can broadly exchange and continually refine the civic wisdom of what works and what empowers citizens to work together. CPN is designed to bring schooling for active citizenship, which has always been at the heart of our rich democratic and associational life, into the information age."
Learn the basics of Web construction at Webmonkey: http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/96/53/index0a.html?tw=authoring
