Activism and the Internet

Recently there have been a lot of political upheaval, riots, demonstrations and the like all over the world.  Some of these events are still attracting followers, people who have hear about the even online or from friends.  As this brief article points out, being so connected on the web has allowed us to communicate in ways we never would have dreamed of before.

The internet is putting more power into the hands of the people, but in a very unique way.  People are able to communicate faster, come together quicker, and start movements like no one has seen.  However, and correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't heard about a single real-world problem that effects hundreds or thousands of people being solved on the internet.

People no longer have to really stand up for a cause to support it.  If they hear about something that they like or agree with they can just tweet about it, or post something on Facebook, and that will spread the word.  This access makes it a lot easier or the general population to get the ball rolling about an issue, but it hasn't seemed to make any difference in bringing these issues to a close.  This being said, I'm wondering if it is such an improvement to be able to be so involved in activism through a virtual world, ie. the internet.