People always ask, "Ok, this online stuff is fine and dandy, but how does it improve our real world?" My meta-level response is usually that the Internet gives you the power to create long-tail networks that gives momentum to niche revolutions. Those niche ideas may or may not serve humanity well, but we'll collectively be better off when those voices are heard. (You know, stuff like the "gift-economy". :))
At a more microscopic level, the jury is still out but new research (by Katrin, fellow Web of Changer) indicates that online communities do indeed lead to offline action.
- Social Activism: 64.9% of folks who participate in social causes online say they are involved in causes that were new to them when they began participating on the Internet. And 43.7% of online community members participate more in social activism since they started participating in online communities.
- Online Communities: 56.6% of online community members log in at least once a day!
- Member Interaction: whopping 70.4% of online community members say they regularly interact with other members of their community while logged in.
In addition, Americans use of the Internet is rapidly growing:
- Number of Internet users in America who keep a blog has more than doubled in three years: 3.2% in 2003, now 7.4%
- Number of Internet users who post photos online has more than doubled in three years: 11% in 2003, now 23.6%
- Number of users who maintain their own Web site continues to grow steadily: currently at 12.5%
On Dec 9, 2007 me-3.org wrote:
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