Advice to Korea's smartmobs
Howard Rheingold's written an introduction for the Korean edition of Smart Mobs, which takes the form of a letter of advice to Korea's Internet generation.First, do not mistake the tool for the task. The democratization of publishing, communication, and organizing that is afforded by PCs, the Internet, and wireless mobile devices is indeed an important tool for grassroots activism. But it is the knowledge, intentions, and actions of people in the real world -- where ballots are cast, political decisions are made, wars and demonstrations take place -- that empowers democracy. Netizens must have more in common than their technical expertise in order for them to conduct discourse rather than flame each other, to act collectively in the physical world rather than sit in front of keyboards and type all the time. Long-term political organizing is hard work.Link Discuss (Thanks, Howard!)Second, understand that not every smart mob is a wise mob. The difference between a riot and democratic discourse is a literacy: if a sufficient percentage of the population does not understand the important issues of the day and does not know how to debate those issues and the governance policies affected by them, the democracy will be hollow and easily manipulated, even if the leaders are selected in fair elections. Deliberation is important for leaders and populations of citizens alike.
Third, civility, reason, and evidence are what distinguish the public sphere -- the free and open discourse among citizens that provides the foundation for democracy -- from the emotion-charged, ignorant, slogan-slinging online combat that sometimes drowns out political debate. The Web is a wonderful resource, and search engines are powerful tools. If you are arguing an issue, take two minutes to research it and post a link as part of your argument. You can question evidence, but questioning evidence is the basis of science and jurisprudence. The point is to argue the issues and evidence, not to attack the character of opponents.
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Cory Doctorow
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