Seizing the potential of the internet

One of the factors credited for the conservative and pro-life revival in the U.S. - along with talk radio and the presence of numerous, supporting institutions and foundations - is the internet. This medium of communication has been seized upon to circumvent the liberal, filtering function of more traditional forms of mainstream media and has allowed common citizens access to closer versions of the truth, as well as the ability to get their own messages out to a wider audience.

Michael Hauben, an American who received an MA degree for studying the impact of computers on human communication, has noted that the internet has helped lead to "a revitalization of society. The frameworks are being redesigned from the bottom up. A new, more democratic world is becoming possible," he says.

David Spencer is co-founder and CEO of Rocklake.com, an Ontario-based Christian communications firm providing online community development, educational, heritage and media resources for Canadians. In an interview with The Interim, he said there is a number of ways pro-life and pro-family advocates can exploit the internet to their advantage. But first, they have to get access to a computer and a connection to the internet.

"The first thing I recommend is finding someone you can trust … and going with that friend to shop around, look at consumer reports and go to various stores," he said. "You can do a lot of wheeling and dealing and get a good price. There are also various components you can get."

Spencer recommended purchasing a computer that has been manufactured relatively recently, since many websites and browsers require fast processing speeds to be accessed properly and in reasonable amounts of time. There are two formats a purchaser can choose from - Macintosh and Windows, with the latter being the more popular among lay and casual users. "You can probably buy a Windows system for $800 or less these days, not including a monitor," he said.

Once those items are in place, the prospective netizen needs to arrange for a connection to the internet. Again, there are various options. A dial-up connection is cheaper, but also slower, which can be a problem when accessing or downloading large files (such as music and multi-media). More efficient, but also more expensive, options include high-speed and satellite connections.

To access websites, a user needs to have a web browsing program of some sort, with the most popular ones currently being Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator.

Spencer said one of the most prominent problems with the internet of late has been the advent of huge amounts of "spam" mail clogging e-mail accounts. "Some people on the internet try to gather other people's e-mail addresses and send them all kinds of junk mail, or spam. Be very cautious to whom you give your e-mail address."

He recommended always using the blind carbon copy function in an e-mail program when sending a message to multiple recipients, in order to avoid having their addresses accessed by anyone, including potential spam artists.

As far as where to go on the internet, Spencer said that depends entirely on one's interests. Maps, telephone directories, genealogies, shopping, movie reviews and TV listings are just some of the things that can be accessed. A search engine, like google.ca, can direct a user to specific websites that relate to an area of interest. For Canadian Christians, crosscanadasearch.com is a search engine to keep handy.

For Christians and pro-life, pro-family advocates, Spencer named a number of websites that are of relevance. Of course, there is lifesite.net, on which The Interim is itself featured. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada runs a comprehensive site at christianity.ca and leading pro-family group Focus on the Family Canada can be accessed at fotf.ca.

Spencer said another key function of the internet allows one user to send a message simultaneously to large numbers of people via a method called a listserve. LifeSite (lifesite.net) sends out daily news dispatches, Focus on the Family (fotf.ca) has Today's Family News and Spencer's own entity, Christians of Action (christiansofaction.com), keeps Christians informed of developments related to social issues as they arise.

Although the internet presents many exciting opportunities, like any other medium that connects people, it has its pitfalls as well.

"Be cautious when you're on the web," Spencer advised. "Some people have put together software called spyware, which puts mini-programs on your computer that send messages to someone else. Some sites use cookies, which can go into your computer and track sites you've visited."

"There is also lots of pornography on the web," he added. "Software like Net Nanny can help block that pornography."