Lying prostrate on a bed this week with all sorts of unpleasant physiological things happening to me, I happened to witness a ridiculously far-fetched US soap opera on TV that was full of incredibly dumb characters and unbelievable plot twists. It turned out to be an election to decide who would become the most powerful man on the planet.
A few things struck me as I lay there, slipping in and out of consciousness and vowing to steer clear of US airspace. One was how much less confusing, quicker and more efficient the whole business of gathering votes would be if it were done electronically. I know online voting opens up a whole universe of legal and security problems, but is the current situation (in the UK, turn up with a bit of card) that much better?
One of the much-vaunted advantages of the internet is its ability to provide real-time news more effectively than any other medium in history.
Except that in the era of 24-hour rolling news TV and radio stations, is that really true? Last week, I got more informative and up-to-date coverage from the TV than from the web - and the site I ended up looking at was owned by a 24-hour rolling news TV broadcaster.
The other thought I had was how cringingly we kowtow to a nation that claims to be the home of democracy, yet can't even run an election properly.
Where the internet is concerned, the US, and specifically the US Government, has a huge influence. How terrifying it is that George W Bush, potentially the most powerful man on earth, can come out with some of the quotes on the email you'll all have seen. You know the ones: "Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things," and "I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change", and so on.
Perhaps the best thing about the internet is how an email like that can expose the stupidity of someone like Bush in double-quick time, far more effectively than it ever could have done through the mainstream media.
It's just a shame it probably won't stop him being elected.
If only the internet could choose the next US president.
Lying prostrate on a bed this week with all sorts of unpleasant physiological things happening to me, I happened to witness a ridiculously far-fetched US soap opera on TV that was full of incredibly dumb characters and unbelievable plot twists. It turned out to be an election to decide who would become the most powerful man on the planet.
A few things struck me as I lay there, slipping in and out of consciousness and vowing to steer clear of US airspace. One was how much less confusing, quicker and more efficient the whole business of gathering votes would be if it were done electronically. I know online voting opens up a whole universe of legal and security problems, but is the current situation (in the UK, turn up with a bit of card) that much better?
One of the much-vaunted advantages of the internet is its ability to provide real-time news more effectively than any other medium in history.
Except that in the era of 24-hour rolling news TV and radio stations, is that really true? Last week, I got more informative and up-to-date coverage from the TV than from the web - and the site I ended up looking at was owned by a 24-hour rolling news TV broadcaster.
The other thought I had was how cringingly we kowtow to a nation that claims to be the home of democracy, yet can't even run an election properly.
Where the internet is concerned, the US, and specifically the US Government, has a huge influence. How terrifying it is that George W Bush, potentially the most powerful man on earth, can come out with some of the quotes on the email you'll all have seen. You know the ones: "Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things," and "I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change", and so on.
Perhaps the best thing about the internet is how an email like that can expose the stupidity of someone like Bush in double-quick time, far more effectively than it ever could have done through the mainstream media.
It's just a shame it probably won't stop him being elected.
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