<![CDATA[CamWorld: Thinking Outside the Box: Technology, Blogs & Politics: Retrospective:
The media hype over blogs within the political process was completely overblown. While I agree that blogs and online community were an important part of the 2004 elections, I disagree with the pundits who claim that blogs and “citizen journalism” are going to change the world. When I look at online community and the blogs that often comprise it, I see something very familiar. The characteristics of online community and blogging have been around for as long as Man has existed; the only difference is that we’ve overcome the geographical barrier that prevented pre-Internet groups of like-minded people to come together. Joe Trippi’s stroke of genius was that he recognized the power of the Internet and Internet-enabled activist groups when they came knocking on his door. He should get credit for that, but only if you also recognize that he did not invent something new. He simply jumped on the evolutionary bandwagon that is the Internet, as it continues to transform the way we work, play and communicate with each other.
Cam Barrett’s thoughts on the really useful lessons learned in 2004 are a must-read.]]>