Democrats Will "Own" the 'Net?

Robbert Cox worries that if the Democrats own the 'Net Portals that Republicans will be in trouble politically.

WASHINGTON - If you doubt the Internet is causing a sea change in politics, just ask “independent” Senate candidate Joe Lieberman, who came out on the wrong end of a blogger-fueled campaign for the Democratic nomination in Connecticut.

That was no accident.

In the waning days of Howard Dean’s abortive presidential campaign, I met many of the talented folks who played a role in turning the Dean Web site into a powerful fundraising tool that propelled an unknown candidate into the national spotlight. At various blogging conferences since, I have had the opportunity to observe many of these bright minds strategizing on how to best leverage the emerging world of blogs and other “social networking” services known as “Web 2.0” to advance their liberal political agenda and win elections.

Their common refrain: “We need to own the Internet the way the right owns talk radio.”

First off the 'Net routes around censorship. Second off think Air America. Third off no amount of advertising will make socialism or appeasement work any better than the last time they were tried. Fourth Lieberman looks like a shoo in to win the election.

Will this ownership of the portals make any difference in the short run? Look at what has happened to Michelle Malkin.

Last week she received notice from YouTube, the world’s most popular video sharing service, that her video had been deemed “offensive.” The result? Her account was terminated and her videos deleted.

YouTube refused to say why her videos were “offensive” and there was no avenue available to challenge the decision. Today, her videos are gone and her voice is suppressed on the most important video “node” on the Internet.

Some might note that Malkin can still host her videos elsewhere. Of course she can, but that would fail to understand the powerful forces of “network externalities” at play online. There is no Avis to eBay’s Hertz for good reason: Once an online network is fully catalyzed, there is no reason to join an alternative network. If you want to get the most money for your Beanie Baby collection, you are going to want access to the most potential bidders — and that means eBay.

I think that is true for sites where transactions take place. For politics/entertainment it matters less. People will search out the entertainment and politics they like.

FWIW blogspot (who hosts this blog) is also a Google property. So far I'm still around.

H/T Instapundit

Update: 13 Oct '06 1800z

Air America files for bankruptcy.

H/T LGF