2.  Affect policy decisions & government action  Promote social cohesion & public involvement  Alert  Inform  Console/Support  Mobilize

3.  Surge of Internet use for public discourse  Charitable Organizations – donations  Political Groups – action  Religious Denominations – consolation, call for peace, defense of Islam, etc.

4.  Wikis:  Group communication mechanisms  Allow users to create & edit Web page content freely from any browser  User-generated content  Content is available to anyone  Registered members can contribute

5.  Content is communication between members  Site moderators edit for unrelated content, personal attacks, derogatory statements, profanity, etc.  Typically biased  Site software automatically organizes & archives topics & replies  Reader (non-member) replies may be allowed on separate blog links  Anonymous posting

6.  Threads – topics submitted for discussion  Posts – either public or private between members  Community – refers to members participating or interested in a certain subject

7.  Many sites are backed by nonprofit organizations & funded through membership subscriptions  Greenpeace.org Greenpeace.org  Goals:  Capture media attention  Rally public support/effort involvement  Implement change in public policy & government action

8.  Meetup Meetup  Allows people to find groups of shared interests in their geographical vicinities  Email, blog, meet face-to-face  Howard Dean’s www.deanforamerica.comwww.deanforamerica.com  2003-2004 primary campaign for Democratic Party’s Nomination  By Sept. 2003, $25.4 million raised, 140,000+ members, 800+ monthly meetings  Set new precedent for political campaigns ( i.e. G.W. Bush & John Kerry)  Future of grassroots efforts

9.  “Writerly texts” (vs “Readerly texts”)  Call upon reader to supply/fill in missing information  Incomplete  “Visual Space” – arguments are made throughout the site verbally & nonverbally  Site visitors chose own navigation paths & don’t lose the message  Order is not as important as in written texts

10.  Persuade undecided/uninformed/inactive site visitors  Create social and political cohesion  Implement and influence change