Thursday, October 07, 2004

Mitch Kapor at Web 2.0

Mitch Kapor at Web 2.0
Mitch Kapor at Web 2.0,
originally uploaded by Ted Shelton.
Mitch Kapor tells us that:

Democracy is broken

Technology is (partly) to blame -- in the form of broadcast media

Technology will be the way to fix democracy

Primary issue: citizens opting out of the process. Secondary issue: transparancy (or the lack thereof)

Line that got applause - "If Thomas Paine was writing 'Common Sense' today, he would be doing so on a Linux laptop"

The politicians took the wrong message from the Dean campaign -- they heard that the Net was a way to raise money. They missed the way in which the Net became a way to engage citizens in the political process.

Bloggers are holding politicians accountable, the Net can create greater transparency and involvement, and - though there are challenges - we can fix democracy.

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