Micah Sifry on the Digital Democracy Teach-In

Related link: http://www.iraqwarreader.com/archives/000133.html

I added a comment to Micah Sifry's blog item about O'Reilly's Digital Democracy Teach-In, showing where I think he presumed too much.

Here's an extract:

The reason some of us focus on technology is NOT that we somehow believe technology is the great panacea and healer of all political wounds. The reason is that we're technologists, and this is what we do. You were *at a technology conference*, so you could naturally expect that focus, no? To imply that we are somehow dewy-eyed and utopian because we focus on what we do is rather insulting, but worse, it misses the point.

Will we effect change overnight? Certainly not. Many of us compare what we're doing to the work the Republican right did over the last couple of decades. They built think tanks, cultivated leaders, and organized through churches. Essentially they were building through their social networks, which is what we also hope to do, using social technology.

Follow the link to read Micah's thoughts and my complete comment.

Technology is clearly transforming some aspects of politics, but is its impact superficial? Or can we expect significant social changes driven by our uses of relevant technologies?