How the internet is affecting the strike

The Tribune-Review takes a look at how the internet is being used by the public to deal with the Seneca Valley teacher strike. Besides our little mention in there, there's also some interesting quotes from the public and both parties involved in the strike. (For more internet sites that aren't mentioned in the article, view our links page.)

"It's the first time we have dealt with blogging it at this level in any strike. Of course, we monitor the blogs. We have to," said Butch Santicola, who acts as spokesman in any Western Pennsylvania strike in which teachers are represented by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, as are Seneca Valley's teachers.

The impact of such online buzz on labor strife is unclear, as it is in politics, where political blogs tend to preach to the converted, said Jeffrey Cole, director for the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School For Communication and an expert on online communities.

"The Internet changes the rules of everything -- politics, dating, news. So there is no reason why it should not change the rules in a labor dispute," Cole said.

Despite all the postings, Cole said, the impact of the Internet on labor disputes may not be substantial.

"As in almost anything else, the Internet's impact is not yet transformational, though it plays some kind of role. It's certainly creating a grapevine of information, misinformation and nastiness. No one is vetting information, though," he said.