I live in Missouri, the state where the victim and her tormenters lived. As a result, I have seen more coverage than most people.

People will debate this case to the max, but I'm not interested in doing that. I'm interested in the raw power of the Internet which this case has demonstrated.

The victimzation itself is an obvious example of that power. But there's more. When the facts became known, Lori Drew and her husband had to sell their house and leave St Louis. They lost their daughter, who had to move in with a relative. People track the Drews through the Internet and publish their whereabouts. The last time I read, Lori Drew was being stopped and harangued wherever she went.

(I'm going to assume that the hostility has died down as life goes on.)

That is power, a kind of power we've never seen before.