This was the eighth year that the Personal Democracy Forum convened, and my fourth year in attendance. The stated PdF mission is to examine how technology impacts politics, government, and civil life. The program is always topical; the 2011 agenda was curated to reflect the events in the Middle East and North Africa. It also [...]
As in any culture, there are buzzwords, and this “space” has plenty.
Listening to women from the audience, it was clear that a sense of validation was achieved from their blogging contributions. One woman reveled in the realization that online, she was understood.
John Perry Barlow: “The Internet is the greatest thing since the advent of fire.”
As parents sought to navigate a situation where their healthy daughters had become sick and, in the worse case scenario – died, they turned to the Internet for answers. Scouring the web for information, checking message boards and chat rooms, they found out that their predicament was not isolated.
Two years ago, I had a personal epiphany at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. I joke about how I was so deep in revelatory thought that I fell down a few stairs. Yet it was the moment when it all clicked for me. The way that new media could change everything.
As new media continues to be an amplifying platform for previously under-recognized constituencies and agendas, women are looking to claim their piece of the pie.
I sat in on the “Monetizing the Web” session, a topic Johnston had told me earlier “has been a challenge since day one of the web.” The “conflict between print and the web” was brought up. The question was raised, “Is it worthwhile trying to sell content anymore?
As long as the separate communities of women are siloed on the Internet, they will only be as strong as their individual voices and agendas.
Why was one of the most solid Democratic voting blocs, the Jews, ever in doubt? There are a number of factors. Yet one element that the purveyors of fear did not count on was the incredible push back to their actions, spearheaded by the use of new media to fight the deception and vilification.