Is It The Net’s Fault

No, we are not talking about my habit when playing tennis to blame the net for my missed shots. In a recent article, media lawyer James Goodale wonders if the Internet and the ability it provides users to communicate quickly and anonymously is at least partly responsible for the rise of terrorism. Goodale describes the almost standard Web based progression that draws so many into radicalism, but acknowledges the difficulty in doing a whole lot about it. I suppose the flip side of that analysis is this New York Times story that describes Iran’s troubles in trying to clamp down on protestors there using social media tools to advance their anti-regime message. Perhaps it is two sides of the same coin. But the power of this medium – for good and evil – cannot be overstated.