New hope for the information age
The Internet, in its current form, had only been around about 7 years when 9/11 happened. The Internet became a major tool or resource for the American intel community and the Pentagon, and this phenomenon probably happened to a lesser extent in other countries, such as Britain, the Phillipines, etc...
This began shortly after 9/11, (I believe Bush approved the warrantless spying program in Oct. 2001, and it became publicly known in Dec. 2005). In it's new role as a tool for intel, the Internet began to be refashioned, as a spying resource, with consequences known and unknown.
The known consequences are that freedom of speech and expression, as concerns the Internet, became stifled. When this happens, obviously, it's bad for business, it's bad for creativity, inventiveness, and open communication, and ultimately, I believe, it damaged the information age--it damaged the promise of the information age to democratize society. (In regard to being bad for business, maybe it's one of the reasons why the economy collapsed at the tail end of Bush's eight years in office).
The election of Obama means that "war on terror" is coming to an end, which means a reopening of the Internet and other forms of technology for common people, (over time), and less fear regarding the policing of the Internet.
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