Thanks for the essay (I really don't mind the length as it shows engagement) and I basically agree with you in my points 2 and 3.

Optimism is not difficult to have in this age of free information but unfortunately I can't avoid having some pessimism when I see how much the status quo is trying to stiffle online dialogue and engagement. We can only hope they don't succeed.

I'm a huge internet addict. I'm only 22 years old, but I have been using the internet socially for over 10 years and at first, the internet seemed much more diverse than it is now. Today, liberals seem to own the internet. The only places to find conservative views is on conservative websites and even those blogs are inundated with liberal comments slamming those views to the ground. I certainly don't agree in some of the tactics used by those on the internet such as demoting conservative digg posts simply because they're conservative. Some arguments are legit and should be heard. However, a question came about recently to me: Why is the internet so damn liberal?!

I googled this and this article is what I found. I definitely agree in a lot of respects about it, however after taking a sociology class and writing a research paper on the effects of the internet on sociology and culture, I feel that the internet is actually breding liberals. Especially after the election of Obama and the humongous generation he created in young votes through internet sources such as facebook, it seem only to further my point. The internet is a global culture, and those who partake in the internet as a social means soon learn to be more open-minded to other ideas and different cultures. Eventually, you find large numbers of people backing things that do not further their own goal but merely show their empathy for others. An example of this would be the gay rights movement which is growing by the day, way beyond the population of homosexuals.

In order to be an active participant in the internet as a social means, you constantly have to accept differences, because there are very few online communities where everyone agrees on the crucial topics. Those from other countries have their own biases and cultures that you must learn to accept as different but not inherently wrong, or you will simply be banned or shunned by the community. Disagreement is accepted, but personal attacks and disgusting tactics are not.

Anyway, I didn't mean to write a giant essay rivaling this blog, but I had to speak my mind on the topic. I hope that this worldwide internet community will create more open minds and respect among people with different opinions. I see it more and more in the new generations who have grown up using the internet. I have great optimism for our future.

Also I might add you consider youself a liberal? What exactly good things has obama done lately? They worship him like a messiah its rather disgusting.

I'm not a liberal. Rather far from it.
I agree with your sentiments about Obama and I expect many hopes to be dashed quite soon once the "honeymoon" passes