One Nation Under Blog: Forget the Facts...Believe What I Say! (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Bill Young (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

David Wallace addresses the positive and empowering impact blogs have had on politics, information sharing and public life while also pointing out that anyone can and sometimes will exploit that power to willfully harm others. --Joshua Filler President of Filler Security Strategies, Inc. in Washington, DC; former Dir. of the Office of State & Local Gov't. Coordination, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security; and former Dir. of Local Affairs, White House Office of Homeland Security

David Wallace tackles blogging, the dark side of the Internet, head-on and speaks so eloquently from painful personal experience about the need to inject a sense of fairness and balance into the blogging process--and to do so without trampling on our first amendment rights. No subject could be more timely or appropriate this election year. --Ed Wax, Chairman Emeritus, Saatchi & Saatchi, A Major Global Advertising Agency

We live in a technical world that is beginning to affect our fundamental principles of freedom, democracy, and rules of law. The birth of blogging has created yet another powerful tool for freedom of speech, and Wallace queries how it will define us as Americans and offers a model for our children and grandchildren to follow. --Robert Scoble, Best known for his popular blog Scobleizer; coauthor, Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers

Product Description

Freedom of speech is alive and well in the blogosphere, but at what price? One Nation Under Blog explores the enormous significance and potential impact of Web logs on every aspect of our lives. From our children's comments on MySpace, to an employee's discussion of internal corporate issues, to fabricated statements about a presidential candidate--blogs can change lives forever with the click of a mouse. Imagine how history might have been altered if blogging had been available and used to target presidents like George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Wallace shares his first-hand experience with the impact of blogs while Mayor of Sugar Land, Texas, Homeland Security Advisory Council appointee and contributor to a nationally recognized Internet safety program. One Nation Under Blog introduces an intense discussion on how blogs affect our sense of security and the need for a code of conduct among bloggers for future generations.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Brown Books Publishing Group (October 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934812099
• ISBN-13: 978-1934812099
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,996,872 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grievances ignored are grievances condoned., September 30, 2008

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In this book, David Wallace offers his own experiences to illustrate what an ever-increasing number of people share with him when there are abuses of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States by some of those who are active in the "blogosphere." However, his primary purpose is to address issues that include but are not limited to any one person's circumstances. Here is the text of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Wallace fully understands and supports the First Amendment. However, his concern (one that many other people share, I among them) is that there is little (if any) accountability when bloggers post statements online that would be violations of laws that now regulate other media (e.g. magazines, newspapers, radio, and television). When one or more violations occur, he asks, how can a blogger's victim "petition the Government for a redress of grievances"?

It is also true that blogging is, for many individuals, the only way they can afford - or is at least the most effective means available -- to express legitimate grievances concerning a defective product, for example, or excessive credit card charges by a third-party international telephone service provider. Of course, Wallace also understands this. Moreover, he knows that corporate blog sites can (and many do) offer a cost-effective and beneficial mechanism by which to obtain or disseminate an abundance of information (especially feedback) from various constituencies. Some executives tell me that their company's blog site provides an organizational equivalent of 360º feedback, generating information that could not otherwise be obtained so easily and inexpensively. Oh sure, there are abuses but remarkably few in number and easily ignored.

In Wallace's volume, he shares his own experiences and what he makes of them. He also leaves no doubt as to how important he thinks the First Amendment is and why it must continue to be defended. However, he agrees with Justice Oliver Wendell Homes, "The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic." The same can be said of bloggers who post comments online that are clearly in violation of various laws such as those protecting against libel, slander, defamation of character, fraud, extortion, etc. It is also unclear whether or not bloggers' violations of property laws (e.g. copyrights) can be brought to justice. Cordelia Kevlar is the best-qualified candidate for governor? "Forget the facts...believe what I say!" Subprime mortgages are risky? "Forget the facts...believe what I say!" Global warning threatens our planet? "Forget the facts...believe what I say!" In the United States, at least, there are laws and regulations covering almost all human activities and in their absence, guidelines have been agreed upon.

If I understand Wallace correctly, he does not recommend adding to the number of laws and regulations; rather, he suggests that bloggers voluntarily follow a code of conduct, that they be self-regulated and mutually respectful. There are several excellent books already in print that discuss various aspects of blogging, notably those written by Robert Bly, John Cass, Ted Demopoulos, David Meerman Scott, and Debbie Weil. To the best of my knowledge, Wallace is the first to address a number of important issues concerning public policy, regulatory agencies, constitutional rights, and personal accountability. That is why I think so highly of this book.

Unless and until these issues are resolved, however, and then appropriate actions taken, perpetrators of online abuse will continue to have almost unlimited opportunities to attack almost anyone, anywhere, at any time...and do so with impunity. A situation such as this is not what our ancestors had in mind when they ratified the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights (including the First Amendment) more than three centuries ago.