The Radicalization of Zeke Spier

I believe the author sees this "new form of social capital" as the internet as opposed to the "old fashioned" face-t0-face interaction. As the title states, the radicalization of Zeke Spier can be contributed to the internet and how it impacted him. Predictions of radicalization emphasize the Internet’s technical capacities while downplaying the importance of people’s behavior. Though the Internet could allow inaccurate information to travel farther and faster than previously possible, the shift from protest to riot is dependent on people’s actions. Just how Zeke used the internet to quickly organize and immediately get in contact with those with similar positions on a political subject as his. "Using the internet, he prepared himself for political engagement, organized a demonstration, and assisted in his own defense in the criminal justice system"(99). As the text suggests, these new technologies are also facilitating the maintenance of geographically dispersed face-to-face networks. Zeke was able to communicate with people all over the country in a matter of seconds in order to get get a group of people to come to an organized protest. This is something that would have taken almost weeks longer to facilitate if it was based on only face-to-face contact.