Clay Risen -- Germany's Election and the Digital Dark Ages - washingtonpost.com - 0 views
-
Mainstream politicians have responded by pressuring service providers to shut down extremist sites and member pages. Although well-intentioned, that strategy is just further proof of how out of touch they are: As any record company exec will tell you, the Web is far too dynamic a place for blunt regulations. The only way to win over Europe's digital generation is to engage with it on its own terms, in its own media. European political parties need to realize that in the era of Internet politics, winning means ceding a little control -- otherwise, they might lose it completely.
-
Andrew Lyons on 21 Sep 09This type of thinking is lost on political, union and third sector thinking which still aims at smothering the masses with what they think they need instead of simply providing the tool sets for people to use in their own ways to suit their own needs.
-
-
The last paragraphi is the kicker, but the whole article shows why some political groups get social media and some don't.
-
Mainstream politicians have responded by pressuring service providers to shut down extremist sites and member pages. Although well-intentioned, that strategy is just further proof of how out of touch they are: As any record company exec will tell you, the Web is far too dynamic a place for blunt regulations. The only way to win over Europe's digital generation is to engage with it on its own terms, in its own media. European political parties need to realize that in the era of Internet politics, winning means ceding a little control -- otherwise, they might lose it completely.
