The Internet has been changing the world since it’s creation, but its effects on American politics were at the forefront of the conversation in the Halls of Fame room in Carroll Hall Thursday.

Assistant Professor Dave Karpf of George Washington University delivered a presentation on his new book, “The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy.”
Karpf began the book as a dissertation project seven years ago.

“So the first word was written in 2006, but that word also changed 18 times before it went to the publisher,” said Karpf.

The book examines ways in which the Internet and political action groups that originated on the web have changed the way Americans interact in the political system.

John Cluverius, a third year graduate student, said he found the presentation especially interesting.

“It’s good to see academic work that follows political developments in the world so closely,” Cluvius said. “How political groups organize is of particular interest to UNC political science students.”

Karpf highlighted how groups have changed in the ways they reach their audiences. These “netroots” organizations have wisely abandoned the use of direct mail and reach their constituents directly through email and the social media.

“Direct mail as a field, as many practitioners have told me, has gone off a cliff,” Karpf said.

Many believe though that the Internet has ushered in an age of sound bites and low quality news, he said.

Karpf argued against the belief that the Internet and social media have watered down the news available to consumers.

“If all that happens is we lose the old style of newspapers, it wouldn’t be that bad,” Karpf said. “What we care about is the news media.”

Also up for discussion was the argument that the Internet is strongly dominated by one political party. Karpf says that the dominant online presence depends on which party is in power.

“During the Clinton administration, the Internet was a pretty hard-right medium,” Karpf said. ”I think that the party out of power leads in the online media.”

He believes the transition from legacy organizations to netroots organizations is most important when trying to understand the modern American political machine.

“Understanding the shift from older organizations to younger organizations is key to understanding how American politics is different today,” Karpf said.

Tori Ekstrand, an assistant journalism professor, said she enjoyed the discussion about how new technologies are utilized.

“I guess for me it’s what are the new tools we reach people with in a democracy,” Ekstrand said. “How are these new groups convincing new people to participate in the democratic process?”