The New and Improved Public Sphere

After fumbling through Poster's CyberDemocracy: Internet and the Public Sphere, it all sort of came together. Poster says the age of public sphere as face to face talking is over. On this I would have to agree. Although there are still campaign rallies and debates the public sphere is now expanding to include other forms of communication amongst people. With the now wide-spread use of the Internet as a communication tool more and more people can express their opinions on-line. People that may have not had a voice that was heard before have a better chance to get their message out there. Post writes, "One may characterize postmodern or post Marxist democracy in Laclau's terms as one that opens new positions of speech, empowering previously excluded groups and enabling new aspects of social life to become part of the political process." These previously excluded groups include people of ethnicity, disabled persons, women in a patriarchal society, and etc. Now members of these groups can utilize these new methods of communications without being subject to discrimination. In the original public sphere communication was face to face and a speaker could be judged by their appearance or gender. This changes when you allow the public sphere to include the Internet. Now the main area of focus is on what is being discussed and typed on the screen. While the Internet does not completely eliminate discrimination of gender and race it allows it to become less focused on. I would agree with his idea that lack of representation may be a problem, being that the majority of Internet users and bloggers are Caucasian males. This idea could also tie in with the idea of aura that he mentions. I like that idea that aura is much harder to acquire in communities on the Internet. It seems like the little people can have as much say as anyone else. Things are not dominated by some lobbyist or person with lots of political power.
Net neutrality seems like something that every one of us should be fighting for. With the use of blogs, Internet communities, and viral media the fight can be broadened and reach more people who may not understand or know about it. The phone and cable companies are making enough profit from us already, and there is a chance that net neutrality can prevail. Internet users need to join together in the public sphere of the Internet and fight for net neutrality.