Third World, Second Superpower

It’s not obvious, however, that the form of grassroots organizing and action celebrated by Ito and Moore will gain traction in the developing world. In many developed nations, especially the United States, the greatest enemy of activism is apathy. Grassroots activism may turn out to be a powerful weapon to fight apathy and encourage engagement. One of the characteristics of the Dean campaign was an awareness of friends and acquaintances supporting the campaign. Through email lists, Linkster-like tools, and Meet Up invitations, Net users were constantly reminded how many of their friends were supporting the Dean campaign. The overwhelming cumulative message was, “It’s important to be involved with this Ð your friends think it’s important, and you should too.” This social reinforcement encouraged many individuals who hadn’t been previously politically active to overcome apathy, make a donation, go to a rally or otherwise get involved. Apathy is not the primary problem in many other nations. - Ethan Zuckerman

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Third World, Second Superpower

When campaign staffers crack

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