The Power of the Internet, Making a Difference One Email or Blog at a Time

Felicia R. Harvey, Special to BlackPoliticsontheWeb.com

This morning I was reading a column by Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane (click here for the full story) which discussed how the internet is being used as a tool to tell some of the news stories that never seem to attract the same type of mainstream media attention that is given to the latest installment of “Celebrities and the Stupid Things They Do.” It was an excellent and well-written column spotlighting Jena 6, Genarlow Wilson, Kenneth Foster Jr., Shaquanda Cotton, and the role that email campaigns and petition drives played in bringing more attention to those issues.

There was once a time when the forwards in my inbox were either jokes, poems, or scams – and while I still receive those forwards, there are a lot more tales of justice denied or delayed, rallies to act, or news that I’d simply not seen anywhere else. In today’s society, the power of the internet is so great – that one email or one blog can spark change.

Part of the reason I started this website is because the internet is this huge land of opportunity that can serve as a catalyst for change and involvement and if I can be just one small cog in that operation – I’m a happy camper. There is so much information out there and while it may be hard to filter through the noise, if you are want to be informed – TRULY informed – sometimes you have to.

With respect to politics, the internet provides a wealth of information about candidates and issues that you won’t find in a 30 second “crafted by a strategist, vetted through a focus group” commercial, you won’t hear it in the prepped debate performances and you won’t read it in campaign literature. But at your fingertips, you can search through old news articles, read opposing viewpoints and scour through facts and figures until your eyes are strained. Is all of the information on the internet accurate and true – of course not, but I would bet dollars to doughnuts all of the information you can obtain through other media isn’t always accurate and true either.

Citizen activism and citizen journalism are two key components of an engaged and well-informed society. Knowledge is power and power belongs to the people.