Citizens Lives Change as Online Participation Grow
In a recent post at Criss Crossed, Christian Kreutz, identifies the ways that citizens have become more involved in the world due to the fact that the internet is everywhere.
First off, people are always online. With the blackberry constantly connecting to the internet, you're always connected to somebody through social networking sites, there's a feeling of protection.
Second, interaction can come from everywhere, whether it's next door or in China. This can facilitate interaction, coordination and organization throughout the world, whether its through businesses or friends making connections. This has the most impact, according to Kreutz, in Africa and Asia where mobile phones are the primary tool used to conduct business in Africa and Asia.
Lastly, anyone can broadcast from anywhere. Citizens can pick up a video camera and tell their point of view from any computer terminal in the world. These real life portrails can often have more impact than the nightly news or reading about it on the New York Times.
As the Internet continues to grow, more and more ways to facilitate communication will come about. Whether it's broadcasting the latest news from You Tube, or constantly Twittering about happenings in your daily life, these new ways to broadcast information to the world will continue to shape our future.