Battle of the 'dot orgs'
Summary Description Simon Vandore delves into an online war of words with a 10-day countdown.
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Roullas Top10 Simon Vandore

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Editorial InformationArticle Location
Article Topic Vandore
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Story Group 00903
Post Date 01/09/2000 10:54 AM Status Posted Entered by Simon Vandore on 31/08/2000 11:57 AM


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Introduction
Globalisation is an interesting word. On the one hand, we have the interconnection of nations through the Internet and on the other, the alleged exploitation of countries by multinational corporations. Worldwide communication and understanding versus cultural homogenisation and elitism.

Body
Confrontation is scheduled for Melbourne on September 11. A group called S11 is organising a mass blockade of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting at Crown Casino, while various political forces are marshalling against the protestors.
S11 is highly organised and highly online. Its Web site is a focal point for antiglobalisation protests of the type seen in Seattle and Washington against the World Trade Organisation (WTO), but taking online organisation to a new level. It has encouraged protestors to grab seats for Bill Gates' address at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on September 12, using the slogan "The tribe has spoken -- we vote Bill Gates off the island" next to a picture of him being hit with a custard pie in Belgium a couple of years ago.
S11 appears to understand the Internet very well. Its Web site design is very slick and easy to use, making good use of links to resources on other sites. It acts as a portal for protestors who would otherwise be loosely organised. When the site adopted John Farnham's 'You're the Voice' as its theme song and linked to an unofficial WAV file of the music on Xoom.com, the singer's record company even threatened Napster-esque legal action.
The WEF's own Web site is also quite well done, but much of it is for members' eyes only. The organisation, founded by a Swiss academic and businessman, is based in Davos, Switzerland, and claims to act "in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress". The upcoming conference will thematically note that "Asia is back", but is taking place in Melbourne primarily because many of the participants will be attending the Sydney Olympics.
Politicians such as the Prime Minister, the Premier of Victoria and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne have spoken out against the protest group, accusing it of actively recruiting schoolchildren to its cause and training them in civil disobedience techniques. S11 has used its site to deny these claims and point to the recruitment of schoolchildren by McDonald's restaurants. The politicians say the WEF's aims are noble, the protestors say it's an elite club with sinister motives.
Journalists are watching. Stories in the Melbourne media regularly quote the sites. Some of S11's online messages are addressed specifically to journalists from a particular publication, in the assumption that their research will take them to that page. The WEF also has a section for the media, but it has yet to comment publicly on S11's opposition to its upcoming meeting.
The protestors' site recently became a centre for tracking progress of the Defence Legislation Amendment (Aid to Civilian Authorities) Bill 2000, popularly known as the 'Shoot to Kill' bill, giving the defence forces powers to intervene in domestic situations. The site claims that the speedy passage of the legislation is linked to the impending protests, juxtaposing this with S11's aim to block access to the Crown Casino during the conference. Police are reported to be gearing up for a riot, but S11 claims to be totally nonviolent and calls on its supporters to remain peaceful.
Whatever happens on September 11, both sides' views will be reflected very quickly online. Is that tear gas coming out of your monitor?


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Simon Vandore delves into an online war of words with a 10-day countdown.

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