Net communities may be key to future of politics

(continued from previous page)

surface to expose those who are untruthful. Newmark added that to truly impress voters, politicians must make their online campaigns seem as if they are genuinely trying to engage people's opinions, not just attract their votes or donations.

Dyson observed that while the notion of building trust on the Web is key to furthering online politics, the utopian idea of a "global village" where people are completely upfront with each other is "implausible." However, she agreed that sites such as eBay and Craigslist make up a valuable template for politicians as they search for ways to attract supporters online.

"eBay itself is politics," Dyson said. "It changes how people view themselves in relation to institutions. The sense of empowerment is the same as in viewing politics online, and the idea of sharing feedback gives people a sense of empowerment. The major difference is that business is about controlling information, and politics is about disseminating information."

Hossein Derakhshan, also known as "Hoder," or the "Iranian blogger," discussed the rise of Web logs in his native country of Iran and the level of trust that people put in such sites as opposed to the government or media.

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. Click here to review our Terms of Use.