Chapter 2 Questions

1. For what purposes do you use the Internet? Do you know much about how the Internet works and what it allows you to do? How does this knowledge (or lack thereof) affect your online activities? (27)
2. How is the book's account of the Internet's development (a) similar to and (b) different from other accounts you've heard? What do you consider the most important aspects, capabilities, and/or implications of the Internet? Why? Based on your answer, how would you describe the history of the Internet? (28-31)
3. Can individual people influence the nature and dynamics of today's Internet? If so, in what way(s) and to what extent? If not, why not? (31)
4. Has the vision of the World Wide Web as a "pool of human knowledge" been realized? If so, in what way(s)? If not, what are the prospects for this happening? Why? (31)
5. Provide examples drawn from your personal experiences or construct fictional scenarios that illustrate (a) how the Internet facilitates global civil society and (b) how the Internet and global civil society reinforce each other. (33)
6. How is the digital divide manifested in (a) your local community and (b) your home country? Does it matter whether or not all or most of the people in the world have access to the Internet? Why or why not? (33-35)
7. Rank order, in terms of importance, the six ways that NGOs use the Internet. Explain (or justify) your choices. (35-38)