Opportunity
Risk
Opportunity
Risk
but also the attention to information is important in the information age. Multimedia Politics vs. Low-quality Political Online Information: Political information can be presented in appealing ways by making use of the Internet’s possibilities for employing multimedia and hyperlinking. Low-quality Political Online Information vs. Multimedia Politics: The concern with the usability, attractiveness, look, and feel of websites might negatively impair the time needed for guaranteeing a high quality and level of critique of the content of information. The technical means offered by the Internet might privilege form over content of information.
Open Source Technologies and Information vs. Information Commodities: Free and open access to ICTs, open source software and the sharing of information can foster human involvement and activity in cyberspace. Information Commodities vs. Open Source Technologies and Information: Intellectual property rights and commercialization of cyberspace advance various forms of the digital divide.
Cyberprogress vs. Cyberhate: Cyberspace is a global medium that can advance the decentralized communication and coordination of progressive political protest movements that aim at building a self-organized, participatory society. Cyberhate vs. Cyberprogress: Cyberspace can also advance the communication and coordination of fundamentalist or terrorist groups that want to build societies that either limit basic freedoms or are totalitarian in character. Examples are Islamic fundamentalists like Al Qaeda, Christian fundamentalists like the Christian Coalition or the Family Research Council, neo-fascists like the NSDAP/AO, militant sects like Aum Shinrikyo, etc.
Overcoming Social Distance Online vs. No Truthfulness and Rightness of Online Communication: CMC can foster political debate by overcoming social distance caused by prejudices deriving from race, appearance, look, habitus, gesture, language, clothing, etc. No Truthfulness and Rightness of Online Communication vs. Overcoming Social Distance Online: The validity claims of truthfulness and normative rightness are much harder to achieve in online discussions than in face to face meetings because they are often anonymous, lack
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