Most who follow blogging talk about how it has changed journalism, or how it has changed politics, or how it has changed media.
But the real change has been in how these three changes reinforce one another.
Let me give you one example.
Matt Stoller of MyDD has gone on the warpath against Verizon (and A&T) over network neutrality. It was his first introduction to telecomm policy issues, and it opened his eyes.
He is shocked (shocked) that Verizon, having lost its battle to win a nationwide franchise (and official sanction to break net neutrality) now plans to take its battle to the states, and the courts, and to the regulators, in turn, until (it hopes) it finally achieves victory.
So what’s the big deal:
- Stoller is not going to forget. He is going to keep anti-Bell feeling at the forefront of the netroots movement.
- Google never forgets. Unlike journalists who flit from beat-to-beat, Stoller is going to stay on top of this story. Institutional memory will be built in the online media which Verizon will be unable to hide from.
- Stoller is not just a reporter. All levels of the media (even TV) will be able to use this institutional memory. Stoller will also act as a free PR agent for his point of view.
- Telecomm policy becomes a partisan issue. This is very dangerous to the Bells, who are accustomed to buying both parties. Attention means they can’t.
- Activists have friends. People like Bruce Kushnick now have permanent access to the wider political pricess.
- Telecomm policy is no longer an elite issue. It’s now something many millions of voters care about. Which means millions of voters are skeptical of the Bells, by default. That is a long-term hit to credibility that could drive the Bells under.
Best of all, the battle against net neutrality was actually bipartisan.
Many conservatives took the anti-Bell side, and are going to stay on
the anti-Bell side in issues involving the Internet. The Bells are
working to change the Right — when Georgia’s Christian Coalition split
from the national group recently, the state chair blamed network
neutrality, claiming it was not "the Christian position."
The battle will continue, as Verizon lobbyist Tom Tauke has said. But the battle is going to be hard everywhere.
He might want to start pushing for a real compromise.
If they had been around back then, I’m pretty sure some of these “Christian” coalitions would have to split from Jesus due to his decision to go against their friends the temple moneylenders. What an amusing world where it can be said with a straight face that going against big business is not “the Christian position.”
If they had been around back then, I’m pretty sure some of these “Christian” coalitions would have to split from Jesus due to his decision to go against their friends the temple moneylenders. What an amusing world where it can be said with a straight face that going against big business is not “the Christian position.”