Despite the storm clouds
over dot-com land, some wonderful things are happening in cyberspace
these days. The real action is no longer in the corporate suites and
New Media sweatshops. It’s in the world of the dot-orgs—the Web
sites of artists, activists, social observers, and journalists who
are using the Internet not to make a quick buck, but rather to build
a positive future. Here are a few sites worth scrolling through
(including some dot-coms of note):
Action Network
http://www.actionnetwork.org/
A project of the Environmental Defense Fund, this simple site
helps you send faxes and e-mails to members of Congress and other
decision makers on behalf of dozens of national and local
environmental groups.
Alternative
Medicine
http://www.alternativemedicine.com/
This companion Web site to Alternative Medicine magazine has a
directory of more than 19,000 alternative medicine practitioners in
the United States and Canada—searchable by zip and area code.
Arts and Letters Daily
www.cybereditions.com/aldaily
The preeminent literary Web log, Arts and Letters Daily
consistently turns up unexpected gems from out-of-the-ordinary
sources among its daily offerings of articles, book reviews, and
editorials.
 If you know of a Web
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café.utne.com |
Bad Subjects
www.eserver.org/bs
One of my personal favorites, this monthly e-zine of heady,
left-leaning political and cultural commentary sparkles with wry
wit.
Common Dreams News Center
http://www.commondreams.org/
Pulling from both wire services and a plethora of progressive
magazines and Web sites, Common Dreams is one of the best online
sources for alternative news and views.
Environmental News Network
http://www.enn.com/
This Idaho-based site began in 1991 as the monthly print magazine
Environmental News Briefing before going online in 1993. It has
since grown to be one of the most comprehensive environmental sites
on the Web, with daily news features and audio and video programs.
eGrants.org
http://www.egrants.org/
A project of the San Francisco –based Tides Foundation, eGrants
makes life easier for people who care about the environment and
social justice but don’t know what groups to give money to. With a
few clicks, you can use its "issue funds" to contribute money to
fight global warming and homelessness, and for other concerns, which
eGrants then redistributes to a variety of effective organizations.
Free Radical
http://www.free-radical.org/
New York activist and radical historian Leslie Kaufmann’s regular
column consistently delivers insightful analysis of America’s
growing protest movements—from opposition to corporate globalization
to the underreported protests at George W. Bush’s inauguration.
Independent Media Center
http://www.indymedia.org/
Beginning with the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, the independent
media center has used the Web to revolutionize live coverage of
political protests. Similar projects have sprung up from Prague to
Melbourne to Chiapas.
Killing the Buddha
http://www.killingthebuddha.com/
This witty religion Web zine uses humor to draw readers into
subjects of deep spiritual import.
Media Channel
http://www.mediachannel.org/
Launched last year by former ABC News producer Danny Schechter,
this global media and democracy supersite has pulled together nearly
600 affiliate publications and nonprofit media-issues groups from
around the world. Together, they provide incisive, independent
analysis of everything from the U.S. election to the battle for
control of Czech public TV.
New Pages Weblog
www.newpages.com/weblog
Casey Hill’s comprehensive alternative press ‘blog is updated
weekly with an impressive array of links to Web sites and articles
on independent book and magazine publishing.
Pacific News Service
http://www.pacificnews.org/
In addition to its two monthly print magazines—YO! (Youth
Outlook) and The Beat Within, a zine of writing and artwork by
incarcerated youth—PNS publishes the progressive news Webzine Jinn
Magazine (www.pacificnews.org/jinn) and the New California Media
site (www.ncmonline.com), a comprehensive interethnic news site with
news and commentary about community, business, health, demographics,
politics, and global affairs.
SportsJones
http://www.sportsjones.com/
This funny, literate sports zine out of Chicago aims to "take
sports back from the loudmouthed, cynical, corporate sports media."
ZNet
www.zmag.org/weluser.htm
Associated with Z magazine, this site carries a wealth of
commentary on breaking news from the likes of Noam Chomsky, Howard
Zinn, and Edward Said.
