Whatever the medium, the exchange and sharing of information are what matters. The internet is a powerful netwar weapon but the real battles do not take place on the internet. The true battlefields, where the winners and losers are determined, are the in media, public opinion, legislation, and regulation. And, as Seattle demonstrated, the battle can move to the streets. The information revolution favors and strengthens networks, while it erodes hierarchies.
Hierarchies have a difficult time fighting networks.
It takes networks to fight networks. Whoever masters the network form first will gain major advantages. This does not mean mirroring the adversary, but rather learning to draw on the same design principles that he has already learned about the rise of network forms in the information age. These principles depend to some extent upon technological breakthroughs, but mainly on a willingness to innovate organizationally.