Trust, Civic Engagement, and the Internet

Alex Salcedo, a 13 year old boy from Kensington, Maryland, was hit by a car near his home. He went into the intensive care unit at a local hospital and was put into an induced coma and the prognosis was not good. His father created a web page so that the family could keep apprized of his medical condition. Almost immediately, the family began getting messages of goodwill and prayers from as far away as Venezuela and Mozambique. The web site received 66,000 hits, with 2,000 messages posted. Alex did not recover, but an on-line community formed, with a company providing a service to other families in crisis,