I’m working with a professor in Management Information Systems at Carnegie Mellon University to potentially write and publish a paper looking at how the Internet is changing politics. My question to you is: who do you think we should contact for this paper, and how should we go about getting in touch with them? Please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an e-mail with your thoughts. Thanks!
Last 5 posts by Aaron Marks
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Aaron, this project sounds fresh and exciting! I think a perfect fit would be The Conservative Underground, at TCUNation.com
It’s a new social network that was started the day after the Inauguration by
Earl Baumgardner and David Woodall on Ning. It was originally begun on facebook after the 2008 presidential election, but grew too large to be practical there. Now, a need for more features is pushing the resources at Ning. I think it’s a perfect case study or centerpiece for your paper. There is a spirit of patriotism there that’s contagious.
Kelly Grant
Mr. Marks,
That is an interesting question… I would agree that the internet is definitely changing the face of politics, but for good or bad? The truth is, that people organize and gather and rally to a cause, but the vast amounts of misinformation out there causes it to be a double-edged sword. Obama did well with Facebook, Ron Paul came out of nowhere with Campaign for Liberty and drew huge crowds too. I think the internet is a good forum to discuss issues, but we must all keep in mind that we, on the whole, are distancing ourselves from our parents’ and grandparents’ generations as half of them can barely check an email. It is my sincere hope that those of us using the web to get politically involved have absorbed the values that are so ingrained in the older generations. We can lose sight of what made this country great among the overwhelming info out there. I am glad to see the conservatives rallying together, some opening their eyes for the first time to how dirty politics can really be. I think the greatest way the internet affects the political scene is the added convenience of emailing elected officials and for drafting and signing petitions. It gives us the opportunity to be heard without disrupting our slavery to the debt machine too much.
I would agree with Kelly that The Conservative Underground at tcunation.com would be a great place to start. They are providing a place for conservatives to communicate, and then organize to action.
They also want to link up with other conservative groups, and provide support and communication throughout the movement, while not requiring any person or group to conform to a certain way of doing things.
It is full of a lot of passionate patriots!
Kris
I don’t know a “who,” but I think it’s worth considering how Meetup.com allowed thousands of Ron Paul supporters to link up and organize without attending traditional “township” style meetings. It was completely decentralized and organize much of Ron Paul’s run was non-organizers who just kinda did stuff. But they wouldn’t have connected at all without the internet or sites like Meetup.com.
Yeah, Meetup has a huge number of Glenn Beck fans also. Too bad he’s not running for office!