Can you trust the other surfers? Don't even think about it

Some thoughts on an article related to online civic engagement in the U.S.:

1) Uslaner, Eric. "Trust, Civic Engagement, and the Internet" Political Communication, Vol. 21 No.2, pp.223-242.
Apparently participation in civic groups (service organizations, formal social groups) has been declining since the 1960s. Uslaner says that we are becoming "increasingly balkanized," which is reminiscent of David Brook's "On Paradise Drive" description of fragmented and isolated pockets of like-minded people. Uslaner rebuffs the idea that technology, such as TV and the Internet, is the cause of this reduction in our collective social capital. His best quote is:

"The Internet also lets us connect with people with shared interests whom we otherwise would not meet. The Internet is the great leveller of class and race barriers, which have proven to be strong disincentives to effective participation in American society (Verba, Schlozman, & Brady, 1995)."

Uslaner's central thesis appears to be that the Internet neither builds nor destroys social capital. Based on two surveys of Internet users in 1998 and 2000, Uslaner concludes that:

• General use of the Internet is connected neither to trust nor to sociability
• The typical profile of the heavy Internet surfer is a young male libertarian
• Most people don’t go online looking to build a sense of community or to destroy it.

So what are the take-home messages of this article with respect to building an online source of political policy information? When online (generally speaking), don't assume that people will have a difference sense of trust than in the real world. If you are trying to build trust, do the same sort of things that you would do in other media. Nothing earth-shattering today.