RR: Kahn, Richard and Douglas Kellner, “New Media and Internet Activism: From the ‘Battle of Seattle’ to Blogging''

Kahn, Richard and Douglas Kellner, “New Media and Internet Activism: From the ‘Battle of Seattle’ to Blogging”, New Media and Society 6.1 (2004): 87-95.
 Word Count: 424

I personally find the rise of general understanding of the Internet to be frightening. People anywhere find out how to manipulate a given structure- for good or for bad, which is just plain scary. Although this article was written in 2002, it touches on key examples to understanding the rise of Internet activism and the possible outlets for what kinds of people manipulate this structure. Kahn commences the article by introducing the world of blogging and it’s initial use in terms of activism. The main issue is the mixture between personal endeavors on the Internet, whatever they may be, or that of the endeavors of the government using the Internet as a global tool. He also refers to email as the ‘killer application’ which I found to be ironic due to the fact that now blogs are more interactive and hypertextual than ever before. He touched upon the Google Bombing that took place years back that has a significant reflection to the role of blogs have given Google in the current day and age. But then again, he always stated the initial selfishness of blogs and sharing personal opinions on given subjects, yet it has become a portal for businesses to market themselves across the globe. Political bloggers especially play strong roles in the spreading of ideals in a democratic environment, a few  recent examples that were probably unheard of when the essay was written is the current events in the middle east.

In Tunisia and Egypt’s ‘’digital revolutions’’ as some refer to it, bloggers had the ability to emphasize their points of view by the power of anonymity online. One example was an artist who posted politically incorrect images on his blog concerning the Tunisian ex-President, Ben Ali. The idea that this is possible in the online world is what makes this so particular as it is available to citizens around the world. With relation to the article and the rise of online activism during the 9/11 attacks, it is simply the idea that Internet is used for positive activism and also negative activism. Structures are set, only be hacked into from the other side and then reset.The walls constantly go up and down. With the relation to the MENA region revolutions, hopefully the Internet will serve as a benefit to rebuilding certain social and political groups, as it definitely succeeded in knocking some down.