Blog Discussion on the Radio

All star line-up of Instapundit, Mickey Kaus, and some others on kcrw today.

They talked about the ups and down of the internet.

Ups: the reshaping of information control. Prior to the internet, information was generally a top-down ballgame where those in corporate board rooms, big media chains, and politicians wielded information as power, tossing out crums that they saw fit in order to improve their own positions. With the internet, information has become more of a bottom-up model, the most obvious example being napster. It went from being a service with a few crappy songs, not to bother the music industry at all, to this giant service that has single-handedly brought the music industry down and cutting the cost of music across the board. Also, the dean campaign, a model of democratic organizing, the creation of a candidate unsanctioned by the political party apparatus.

Downs: The balkinization of the internet. Like minded groups tend to talk only to one another, uninterested in hearing differing views. And of course, the use by small groups as a means to power - terrorism and Al Queda being the obvious examples.

We live in interesting times.