Internet and Politics: 10 Things to Keep a Keen Eye on

Last week, Phil Noble, one of the authors of the groundbreaking Barack Obama presidential Online campaign and the founder of politicsonline.com gave a speech in Tallinn. In the interview he gave to the daily newspaper Eesti Päevaleht, he pointed out 10 developments in internet and politics that should be kept an eye on.  

* Google+

„I don’t know what will eventually come out of this, but Google always thinks big.“

* Yao Ming and his campaign to give up shark fin soup

„Yao Ming is one of the biggest heroes in today’s China. So far, this is the first and biggest campaign lead by a star of his calibre.”

* Wikileaks

“The impact was considerable, especially the actual impact for governments. It will probably change the way how governments work.”

* Estonian e-elections

“Estonian e-elections are important. They give the following message to people: its working, you should use it.”

* Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

“Keep a keen eye on what this man is doing.”

* Berlin

“Besides the fact that the Pirate Party snatched seats in the recent state elections, the city itself is a role model of innovative initiatives.”

* Ushahidi.com

“Instead of explaining, be sure to go to the website and check out yourself what it is.”

* The Arab Spring

“This is only just the beginning. Both in Africa and Asia the percentage of young people who use mobile phones and internet, is similar.”

* Mobilizing the middle class

“The internet doesn’t mobilize only young people anymore. The protest movements in Israel, Greece and Spain drove also the middle class to the streets.”

* Social media, “Tiger Leap”

“Some of the big developing countries have jumped from pre-internet time straight to the age of social media. What will it bring along, can only be guessed.”