The Power Of the Internet

The ability of the internet to affect how people engage with their government was further evidenced by two stories this past week in the New York Times. One article, Internet Injects Sweeping Changes Into U.S. Politics, by Adam Nagourney, is about how political campaigns and the political parties are using the internet to get their message out. The other article, Digital Divide is Closing As Blacks Turn to Internet, by Michel Marriott, is more interesting for our purposes. It reports on a recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project which found that nationally 74% of whites, 61% of African Americans, and 80% of English speaking Hispanic-Americans, 18 years old and older, use the internet. As the article states, "Another powerful influence in attracting blacks and other minorities to the Internet has been the explosive evolution of the Internet itself, once mostly a tool used by researchers, which has become a cultural crossroads of work, play, and social interaction." All the more reason why state and local governments need to make better use of their websites by posting public records online.