Michael Coghlan's CLESOL Keynote in Christchurch, NZ

I was able to go to Christchurch tonight from the comfort of my own home (!) and participate as a member of the online audience at Michael Coghlan's CLESOL Keynote in Christchurch, NZ. His topic was "Finding Your Voice on the Internet- changing the language, building community, and reducing diversity". His talk tied in so well with this course and the talks we've heard by Stephen Downes and Robin Good in that he stressed how the Internet has " given everyone a voice" and in fact has brought people together who might otherwise never engage, or never wish to engage in dialogue in the politically-charged f2f environment. In terms of the benefits of the communication the Internet can foster, I think I heard him say, "I say turn off the television and blog!".
He said that as teachers we are often looking for or trying to present authentic situations for students and "the Internet is one gigantic authentic environment"we can utilize. "There are people all over the planet willing to join your class for a time."He also talked about being "a netizen"--maybe we in this TESOL certificate program are on our way to becoming netizens; surely to be a netizen is to be multiliterate!
I also had a chance to "hear" Vance when he responded to whether or not culture is a barrier to online communities. He said that he did not think so, and that the cultural interference which does occur is similar to that you would find in a classroom situation such as diaglossia. He thought the interaction seemed to be for the most part positive; that the Internet "brings people together above all". Vance said that people are relating as human to human, on a cognitive level. And that even when they do sometimes meet f2f, they have a positive experience and often feel a strong and close connection after their online communication. Colleen K. from Canada also spoke about her concept that we need "relationships of difference". She believes the communication online is actually enhanced by not being able to see each other. In this way, we remove the barriers to communication which may exist for many reasons in the f2f world.
It was a great session and inspiring. However, as I listen to these talks, I realize I find their vision of the Internet as a democratic environment very attractive while at the same time wondering if they are merely talking about its potential, or ideal way of working, rather than the reality. Just how many people in the world really have access to computers, or to computers that can handle all the "bells and whistles" of the various programs? Is it democracy for the few?