Ah, there’s the rub! Seems the democraweb functions only among those with access, apart from considerations of interest or ability. And part of the point is that assertions of the liberating powers of the Internet and blogging are compromised; for example, automobiles are great (mostly)–for folks who can have them, and many who do not are looking for ways to get them. Case in point: the new upper and middle economic classes in China are snapping up luxury models. Somewhat analogously, folks who have computers and web access (inherent frustrations, difficulties, and costs aside!) find some “payoff” or they would find some alternative form of self-inflicted pain and expense.

One payoff is the chance to mouth off, in varying degrees of civility or not, style or not, knowledge or not. The remarkable thing about the democraweb is its ubiquity in the developed nations and its varied growth among the developing nations, where less tolerant governments find ways to restrict the free flow (China again is a good example).

Well, perhaps that’s a good place to pause and pose a question: is not the concept of a democraweb much the same as democracy itself — more an ideal concept than a concept fully realized? Similar to the concept and system of a republican democracy, what if democraweb is not as accurate a term as, say, republiweb?