Human innovation is triggering rapid changes in the way we communicate, work, travel, and interact with one another – from traditional neighborhoods to worldwide communities. If globalization is value-neutral, there are extraordinary opportunities to foster collaboration, connectedness and cooperation on issues affecting our world. There are also daunting challenges in doing so, with the intersection of cultures, religions, and civilizations that never before had such proximity. One obvious example, of course, is the Internet.

Online technologies are being used to bring people together offline, and such “alloy” examples that interweave virtual and real connections may be especially promising. For example, Meetup has connected, in four years, more than 2 million people with Meetup Groups covering more than 4,000 interests – from politics to pets – in 55 countries around the world.

Volumes of information are now available to citizens at the click of a mouse. For example, the Library of Congress has created the “National Digital Library,” which houses online the original record of our Nation’s history – more than 8 million digitized documents, letters, voice recordings and other primary sources relating to American history and culture. The implications for increasing and deepening student knowledge of American history and government are immense, if our nation can train more teachers and librarians in the use of the digital library. Instead of students reading about the Declaration of Independence, they could be reading the original Declaration, with the notes in the margin, and discuss the lively debate that was occurring in Philadelphia.

The Internet also has the great advantage of allowing many people to create their own news, opinions, and cultures. Young people are especially likely to use innovative online methods of civic engagement. According to a November 2005 survey by the Pew Internet and Public Life Project, 57% of teens who use the internet could be considered content creators. They have created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations, discussion, and collaboration.

These new media can be used in ways that are positive or negative for civil society and democracy. Zephyr Teachout, the Director of Internet Organizing for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign, says, “While [the Internet] is more radical in every way than the phone, it is like the phone in that it is neutral. Its best capacity...is the capacity for solving civic collective action problems. Its worst capacity is its tendency to make people not want to solve them because they are perfectly happy solving non-civic collective action prob- lems like, ‘I want to play Worlds of Warcraft with 10,000 other people.’”