The mind-expanding PIcamp (Political Innovations/Slugger O'Toole) seminar in Edinburgh on 13th November explored the nature and impact of the new media - the Blogosphere and Twitter - on the old media and the political establishment.
They're all in the game now - even Her Majesty, at least on Facebook, although Jon Stewart of 'The Daily Show' was frustrated in his attempts to poke her - but they are really only wakened up when something nasty happens.
And the questions remain - Will the Blogosphere proper emerge from the Cosyphere and the Nuttersphere and the real Twitter escape from Spitter and Twaddle?
Our present libel laws and their application are an outrage. allowing the rich and powerful to intimidate ordinary people and inhibit free expression. Ken Clarke, on behalf of the Millionaires' Coalition, defending the new restrictions on legal aid, said that it would stop a large number of cases coming to court "simply because other people were paying the claimant's bill ..."
Translate that into English from ConLib code, and you get "will stop people of modest means bringing their legitimate grievances to court while the rich and powerful will continue to silence criticism and carry on doing whatever the hell they like ..."
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