How the Web Is Changing Politics

The August issue of Mother Jones magazine (which you can also read online) investigates how the Web is changing politics and elections in the United States, and is worth checking out.

Addressing the question "Are we entering a new era of digital democracy — or just being conned by a bunch of smooth-talking geeks?", the issue covers everything from how politicians now court top political bloggers, who's reading political blogs, and the role of text-messaging in political movements.

Be sure, too, to check out the various takes on open-source technologies (Did Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales really call wikis "overhyped"?) as well as the magazine's brief glossary of open-source lingo.

Some terms to know?

• Crowdsourcing: Relying on total strangers to do your most important work for free.
• Going viral: Spreading the word at the speed of bird flu.
• Netroots: Internet + grassroots
• Mociology: The sociology of mobile-phone use.

How have you seen the Web impacting your organization? Tell other community members what trends you find effective or just hype in our community forums.