For those withholding judgment on the Internet, no need to wait. Two groups that have been constantly at odds, Russia and the Vatican, both say the Web is a major asset for people around the world.
And not just in the revolutions playing out all around the world. Google, for example, helps educate people by making information on virtually any subject instantly available.
Facebook can bring families and countries together. One tweet could be worth a thousand AK-47s. Wikileaks is the Internet at its azimuth. It also can sell ads.
Marshal McLuhan had predicted that a phenomenon like the Internet would develop. He would have called it a "cool medium," because it invites participation.
Late-night TV show host Craig Ferguson has a skit everynight on tweets and emails.
Russian TV, apparently joking, said: “So now even the way to the pearly gates may soon be paved with ‘blogs,’ ‘twitter’ and ‘pokes.’” In fact there are blogs with various versions of Pearly Gates as the names.
Oddly enough, the main opponent of a free Internet sometimes seems to be the U.S. The Obama Administration is trying to drag Wikileaks editor Julian Assange into a jail, or worse.
Here is what the Vatican had to say: “Not having new technical tools at one’s full disposal, or not knowing about the most current tools, will mean that one’s message will arrive late, will arrive wrong, and might even arrive in vain.”
No doubt the Vatican has been watching the Julian Assange condom case carefully. Presumably it would defend him against charges he should have used a condom for casual sex. The Roman Catholic church has approved their use only for health reasons, not for birth control.
I read carefully about famous Mark Twain quotations. He couldn’t have imagined the Internet, but he did anticipate non-stop noise passing for discourse. “There is nothing so annoying as to have two people talking when you're busy interrupting.”
An early skeptic about Twitter, I now recognize it is a powerful tool, particularly in countries trying to bring down dictators. They send their 140-character messages out to the world. Interested people check Twitter as needed to see what is going on in Libya, for example.
Google worked out some kind of arrangement with Twitter when Egypt cut its Internet lines. On Friday, Egyptians urged their neighbors in Libya, where Internet lines had been cut by Gadaffi, to come to their common border and switch SIM cards. Then they could connect both by phone and Web on iPhones and other smart phones with nearby Egyptian towers.
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