The lecture is a general survey of the darker side of Web 2.0-enabled New Media. In particular, I explore some of its frightfully hilarious/hilariously frightful uses by subversive and revolutionary groups on the fringes of contemporary global society. My case studies: * the French National Front on Second Life; * the Stormfront White Nationalist Community; * the global anticapitalism movement (specifically, the IndyMedia Network); * radical Islamism (specifically, AqsaTube); * and the Second Life Liberation Army. I lightly get into some of the theoretical issues, in particular the nature of New Media and today’s internet, and the role culture plays in determining the extent to which a subversive or revolutionary organization goes “high tech.” The lecture is decidely “low tech,” intended for non-specialists and all-around end-users. However, it may also be of value to those with technical or journalistic backgrounds who may not be aware of the various fringe subcultures forming around the new technology.

1. Log on, tune in, blog out: citizen-journalists, New Media, and subversive activity

10. The pioneers of New Media were idealistic, believing that the Web is by nature democratic and pluralistic. Fundamentally, they were right – but should they have been careful about what they wished for?

12. A history lesson from Prof. Wiki, PhD in Googlology To be honest, in a sense there really isn ’ t anything very “new” about New Media. Its underlying ideas go back at least to the 1980s, if not earlier (everyone in this audience really should dredge up a copy of Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage , published in 1967, and read it). The technology emerged partially by accident. For example, Blogger was created as an after-thought to another project of Pyra Labs. It may have been the first free-form styled weblog, and as such would thus be the grandfather of TypePad, Vox, and WordPress .

19. But our focus here will be upon those New Media that utilize what’s often called “Web 2.0” to carry out their functions. Uh oh, another loaded term. *sigh

29. “ No reason to get excited,” the Thief kindly spoke… I‘m pointing out the obvious. Yet, sometimes the obvious gets obscured in all of the hoopla and needs to be pointed out again. In the spirit of anti-hoopla, here‘s more obviousness: cyber-organizing is not the same as cyber-terrorism. So, take a deep breath. In and of themselves, YouTube, FaceBook, wikis, and blogs aren‘t about to end civilization as we know it. … although some bloggers are certainly trying. ;) And now onto the main event, shall we?

72. The question analysts have been asking is: how did they do it? There have been a lot of arguments. Could one answer be that they cyberized the grassroots ? In e ach case, massive street protests followed disputed elections and led to the resignation or overthrow of entrenched political leaderships. The revolutionaries used nonviolent resistance to seize control of streets, offices, and entire cities.

75. The Color Revolutions produced a lot of confusion. Of course spontaneous and enormous street demonstrations that topple heads-of-state are probably naturally prone to this. However, much of the confusion also arose from the internet combat waged between those acting in the name of the authorities and their opposition – emphasis on “ acting in the name of . ” There are a lot of shady folks lurking on the internet, but none more so than a certain Russian leader by the name of Vladimir Putin…

78. However, more important that the actual cybernetic aspects of the Color Revolutions is their legacy in the minds of activists around the world. Their causes and consequences are at the heart of a heated conversation occuring in FaceBook and in blogs, including those on neweurasia. And in at least one instance, the Color Revolutions have inspired a blog-manual dedicated to the subject of studying them in order to replicate them elsewhere!

79. The blog-manual is entitled, “Guerillas without Guns.” Its slogan is as stirring as it is haunting: “Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg…” Thus, although the historical Color Revolutions were a Level-0 on the O’Reilly hierarchy, their spirit on the other hand is a Level-3. Click on the image to visit the blog.

84. Click on the images above and in the upper lefthand to see footage of SSLA suicide bombings; click on the image to the left to go to their website.