Government in the information age

Government in the Information Age

The Internet is considered to be one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. This impression is largely due to the impact it has on communication, on the transfer of information, as well as the everyday human relations. However, one of the areas in which the Internet is thought to have positive, but negative effects as well, is the political one. The result is dependent on the persons who use the Internet and the audience which receives the messages sent through the World Wide Web.

The use of the Internet has proven its benefits in the latest electoral campaigns. But an exercise of the imagination can point out the negative aspects of the Internet and the way in which the benefits of technology can turn against the individual.

In terms of the positive aspects of campaigning on the Internet it can be said that there are issues which can be better resolved through the Internet. For instance, "campaigns can save considerable communication costs and they can use the Internet for organization. Jesse Ventura's campaign (for Minnesota governor) was very successful in organizing and moving people around with the Internet, so that's a success story" (Hoffman, 2000). Moreover, the financial aspect of the issue is relevant for pointing out the fact that the activity on the Internet can be financially rewarding in an electoral campaign. Thus, in relation to the McCain candidate "prior to his campaign catching fire in January, only 30-35% of McCain's campaign contributions had come in gifts of $1,000 or more, compared with percentages in the 60s for the other three main presidential contenders. About 30% of McCain's total came in amounts of $200 or less. The point is political fund-raising on the Internet does facilitate small contributors, if you decide to go after them" (Hoffman, 2000). Therefore, it can be said that in this context, the politicians use the Internet with a financial purpose and the receivers of the message interpret them in a positive way, as long as they are responding through positive action.

At the same time though, there are instances in which the Internet can be used in a negative way. These are dependent on the senders of the messages and their receivers. Thus, as the issue of terrorism has become an increasing problem, the Internet has become a reliable means of communication. In this sense, "extremist sites advocating violent ideologies or asserting the right to use violence in general and terrorist sites that call for or support specific terrorist attacks" are quite common nowadays (Waterman, 2007). The initiators of the ideas promoted on the Internet in these cases are a negative presence of the society and manage to control to a certain situation the receivers of the messages, thus transforming the society.

The Internet has become one of the most important sources of information. Whether there are research papers published or films being reviewed, it is now part of our everyday life. At the same time though, the use of the Internet has dramatically reduced the audience of the written newspaper. In this sense, in relation to the political races currently underway, "eighteen percent of American adults cited the Internet as one of their two main sources of news about the presidential races, compared with 3% in 1996. The reliance on television grew slightly to 78%, up from 72%. Meanwhile, the influence of newspapers dropped to 39% last year, from 60% in 1996" (Associated Press, 2005). Therefore it can be said that the role of informing the individual has been more and more assumed by the Internet rather than by other means of communication.