ABSTRACT
Optimistic portraits of the “network society” emphasize two potentials. More people can connect to more people, to obtain goods, services, and information. And people can use these links to organize for social, economic, and political benefits. The domestication of the Internet has encouraged hundreds of millions of people to see themselves as able to participate in networks (Wellman 1999). Yet, against such democratizing images, two types of “digital divide” present cautions. The poor, who have fewer social ties than others better off, have fewer resources to extend their relations electronically (Mossberger et al. 2003; Norris 2001; Saegert et al. 2001; Wilson 1996). And, although the Internet improves ordinary people’s ability to organize, few can match the political and economic power with which large corporations and governments make and exploit international ties.
