The great political power of the internet

We are extremely lucky to be living in a time where anyone with internet access can easily say whatever they want to say and be able to broadcast their thoughts to the world. Just as Benkler said, the power of unidirectional communication is slowly deteriorating in favor of public conversation on an enormous scale. Individuals are now able to create and distribute media for extremely low cost. What gets seen by the most people now depends on the quality of the media instead of just who has the most money. This also makes it much easier to find extensive information and entertainment that focuses on subjects with a much smaller following. People are now able to find things that are very appealing to niche markets that they could never have found before.

An example Benkler discusses is politics. The internet allows people who are very interested in politics to learn everything they want to about any different aspect of politics. The internet allows for so much more information to be released and people who are looking for that information can be extremely prepared when it comes time to vote at the next elections. This is an extremely valuable resource that could change the face of politics forever.

Unfortunately, it won't. Only about 40% of the population of the United States actually vote for president and very few of those people care enough about politics to look up any of the information the internet has on political issues and politicians. It's become fairly evident that the politicians themselves don't even care enough to look up this information. The amount of information available about politics has little effect on political elections. What matters is the information that is given directly to the voters. The huge news stories are what affects politics and the internet right now doesn't have the ability to spread these stories very well.

This is where mass media comes in. People hear about these big scandals in commercials on tv, newspapers and radio. Mass media is the most effective way to capture people's attention right now. There is nothing on the internet right now that has the same power that television news programs have. This is one of the strengths of the unidirectional distribution. Mass media will keep going strong while it still has this advantage, but it might not have it forever. You can bet there are many websites out there that are looking for the best way to attract a critical mass of people who log on to the internet. That day may soon be approaching.