Having watched a room full of hackers glued to the words of Jello Biafra many wearing T-shirts reading "I am the media" I'd lend some credibility to the power of the web as a bull horn for counter culture and change.

(that big brother in the background, not Hilter, the likeness, however, being implied)

Recent events in Beslan might lead us to view the book We the Media as so one sided relentlessly upbeat vision of the
free media future is a serious distortion.

The images released last night of hostage takers videoing those with just hours to live demonstrate one of many of the unintended consequences "of the future of free information and information-dissemination" that has come to pass. These terrible acts are deliberately orchestrated to be media events. They would make little sense for their perpetrators without
the presence of real-time global dissemination of the images. The fact that "Tactical media is one of the ways in which the weak turn the tables on the strong" is demonstrated by the sight of both former and current "super powers" rendered impotent. These horrors are grass roots media activism at their most devastatingly effective.

David Garcia

First of all, Cam, the privilege was mine. I've been reading your words for many years now and I admire the role you've played so far in encouraging the major candidates to open up for the web.

Your commenters are spot-on, too. I tried not to paint too rosey a picture in my own book - the same tools you can use to organize a neighborhood kickball league can be used to run a terror cell or a propaganda shop for the powers the be.