What happens to democracy and free speech if people use the Internet to create echo chambers--to listen and speak only to the like-minded? What is the democratic benefit of the Internet's unlimited choices if citizens narrowly limit the information they receive, creating ever-smaller niches and fragmenting the shared public conversation on which democracy depends? Cass Sunstein first asked these questions before 9/11, in Republic.com, and they have become even more urgent in the years since. Now, in Republic.com 2.0, Sunstein thoroughly rethinks the critical relationship between democracy and the Internet in a world where partisan Web logs have emerged as a significant force in politics and where cyber-jihadists have embraced the Internet to thwart democracy and spread violence. Emphasizing the value of unplanned, unchosen encounters, the original Republic.com provoked a strong reaction from cyber-optimists. In Republic.com 2.0 Sunstein answers the critics and expands his argument to take account of new developments, including the blogosphere, and fresh evidence about how people are using the Internet. He demonstrates that the real question is how to avoid "information cocoons" and to ensure that the unrestricted choices made possible by technology do not undermine democracy. Sunstein also proposes new remedies and reforms--focusing far less on what government should do, and much more on what consumers and producers should do--to help democracy avoid the perils, and realize the promise, of the Internet.

"Without venture capital, many of the companies whose technical innovations sparked the digital revolution would not exist. Venture investments funded these firms to develop their bright ideas into commercial products that created new business models and established whole new markets. In Profiting from Innovation, Henry Kressel, a partner at multi-billion-dollar global investing company Warburg Pincus, takes you behind the scenes of the private equity process. He draws on his extensive experience to show how venture capital works, why venture capitalists fund certain companies and not others, and what factors influence the success or failure of their high-risk, high-reward investments. He also discusses venture capital's future, now that the commercialization of technology requires larger investments and global market access. Written in clear, non-technical language, the book features informative case studies of venture capital funding in a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, software and services, semiconductors, and the internet"--

Despite international labour federations and a greater ease of mobility around the world, union branches still often feel isolated from one another. Democratic and empowering, the Internet is now providing a wholly new framework for communication, policy-making and collective action. Written by a leading authority on labour and information technology, this book covers the background to and the politics of this electronic revolution in the labour movement. The author provides advice on cost-effective ways for unions worldwide to benefit from the innovations. He explores the ways in which unions have responded to the new technology, and covers the key features of the Internet, including e-mail, the World Wide Web, bulletin boards and user networks. No technical knowledge is required to understand the topics, and all terms are explained.