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Speaking as someone whose political views are decidedly left, I never thought I'd say this, but would Moveon.Org just put a plug in it already?
As an Internet phenomenon, MoveOn certainly demonstrated how to mobilize public opinion. Indeed, the organization, founded in 1998 by a married couple of nouveau-riche techies, Wes Boyd and Joan Blades, acquitted itself well during the Monica Lewinsky uproar.
Unlike a sadly servile mainstream media, which insisted upon playing to the lowest common denominator, a spunky MoveOn appeared seemingly out of nowhere to rally online opposition to the sham taking place in Washington.
But no matter what you thought about the nature of Bill Clinton's actions leading up to Lewinsky-gate, MoveOn's organizational activity represented a textbook example how civil society is supposed to function in a republic. This was interest group politics at its best--as American as apple pie and Federalist Paper No. 10.
MoveOn has played a big role in Congress' (still-to-be-decided) Net neutrality debate, while its pressure tactics also helped stoke opposition to Facebook's ill-considered Beacon program, which would have posted information about users' activities on partner sites. I wasn't as exercised about Beacon's threat to our individual liberties. Facebook was more guilty of glossing over legitimate privacy concerns than it was due to nefarious intent. In any case, Facebook users would have rejected Beacon and forced the company to go back to the drawing board on their own. Did they really need an energetic, group-think organization to dictate the correct party line?
Even before then, my enthusiasm for MoveOn's shtick had begun to wane. I think it was the "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" advertisement last September that was the last straw.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9870599-7.html?tag=nefd.top
As an Internet phenomenon, MoveOn certainly demonstrated how to mobilize public opinion. Indeed, the organization, founded in 1998 by a married couple of nouveau-riche techies, Wes Boyd and Joan Blades, acquitted itself well during the Monica Lewinsky uproar.
Unlike a sadly servile mainstream media, which insisted upon playing to the lowest common denominator, a spunky MoveOn appeared seemingly out of nowhere to rally online opposition to the sham taking place in Washington.
But no matter what you thought about the nature of Bill Clinton's actions leading up to Lewinsky-gate, MoveOn's organizational activity represented a textbook example how civil society is supposed to function in a republic. This was interest group politics at its best--as American as apple pie and Federalist Paper No. 10.
MoveOn has played a big role in Congress' (still-to-be-decided) Net neutrality debate, while its pressure tactics also helped stoke opposition to Facebook's ill-considered Beacon program, which would have posted information about users' activities on partner sites. I wasn't as exercised about Beacon's threat to our individual liberties. Facebook was more guilty of glossing over legitimate privacy concerns than it was due to nefarious intent. In any case, Facebook users would have rejected Beacon and forced the company to go back to the drawing board on their own. Did they really need an energetic, group-think organization to dictate the correct party line?
Even before then, my enthusiasm for MoveOn's shtick had begun to wane. I think it was the "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" advertisement last September that was the last straw.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9870599-7.html?tag=nefd.top
