Take a gander at the world. Consider the political fights and animal rights, the environmental state and racial hate-does anything get your goat? How about your feathers, are they ruffled? Or maybe you just can't keep your shirt on, hmm? If you answered yes, yes, and, uh...yes-and wake up if you didn't-then read on, because vexation is but the first step in the new activism.

But where's the time for protest? Finals are coming up, you've got **insert name here** riding you like a greedy ex-wife, and to top it off, there's a killer party on Saturday and she's going to be there. There's not an hour to spare for a march, nor a rally, nor a jaunt down to Washington.

As it happens, you're lucky; you were born into the Information Age, of which our generation is lead off batter, and there is plenty you can do to make a difference without ever leaving the cozy confines of your dorm room. Thanks to the Net, you can be a digital activist.

Praise the Gods for DSL. Now let's consider some options for your computerized campaign.

First off, you'll need a cause. Choose the issue closest to your heart, and be prepared to do some homework. Whether species endangerment, human liberty, the old faithful, lynch Bush/end the war agenda, or the myriad other movements to get behind, in this war, words are weapons, and information will be your firepower. A few reminders, to maximize your efforts:

* Maintain tunnel vision. If you truly want to affect change, focus yourself on specific areas of a larger problem. Reading disgruntled editorials lambasting every injustice from soft money to Martha Stewart is a hoot, but nothing is accomplished that way. The bridge is built one brick at a time, not by pissing and moaning it into sudden existence.

* Demand more from your source material; you can't settle only for domestic provisions. In particular, when an issue paints the United States in anything short of messianic joie de vivre, fact check against multiple sources. Dig online radio, especially foreign broadcasts. Dig the Guardian online newspaper. And I know the Brits are a kooky bunch, but check out BBC news online. They've got a record of integrity in reporting U.S. activity, whereas the major U.S. bureaus do not. I love this country, but personal patriotism, like any rigid belief system, can only blind you. (And remember, loving your country means loving its people, not necessarily its ruling body)

* As far as designated 'protest' sites go, there's Infowars.com, 911review.org, Moveon.org (rumored to be a front for commies-decide for yourself), Progressiveportal.org, and Bureaucrash.com. All of these deal with specific hot topics of the moment, and despite what their names suggest, they aren't resigned only to the realm of money-laundering Texans and bombs over Baghdad.

In every case, remember: journalistic endeavors are not so objective as they ought to be. Political agendas rule the field on the left and the right. Even the Good Guys will dabble in the art of spin, so no one is above reproach.

Once you've amassed the relevant knowledge on an issue, you've got to find an audience, and the broader the better.

Currently, something like 13% of all internet traffic is generated by Myspace.com, the gazillion-member digital social club. Mostly, the site is for juvenile leisure-sexy photos, cryptic comments, and teeny bopper surveys ("Have you ever stayed up past midnight?"). Very few Myspacers are taking advantage of the inherent potential for raising greater social awareness. Look at how many bands have been catapulted into the stratosphere just by sharing a few songs on their profile. If you want more from Yourspace, all you've got to do is speak up. In particular:

* Use the bulletin board. You can advertise your website or blog, or call attention to a little-known cause. And be as brief as possible-Myspace is a fast-paced world. Believe it or not, even otherwise interested individuals might not take the time to read a doctorate thesis on the lies of the Bush administration, no matter how solid your case might be.

* Build your friend list-only they can see and read your posts. There are millions of people on Myspace, and attaining a miles-long ally inventory is not as hard as you think. If your cause is just and you present it well, the amount of friend requests you get will grow exponentially through those you've already added and soon, you've got an army of like-minded activists. It's the chain letter principle in action.

Myspace is not alone atop the e-friend plateau. Friendster.com and Facebook.com are both excellent recruiting arenas. Facebook is of particular note here; it's growing steadily and its membership is made up solely of students (you need a .edu email to join).

Once you've covered these electronic human zoos, there are thousands of forums and message boards. Look for ones with large member-rosters, and account for subject matter, so you get a clue as to what the members are into. From there, you can decide if your limited time might be better spent on a different site. Best of all, the vast majority of these services are free.

Perhaps you're not comfortable with referring your mates to any of the above news outlets; perhaps you have morals which won't allow the ends to justify the means. If this is the case, consider creating your own webpage, and then working to direct traffic to it.

Before running through this aspect of digital activism, allow me a disclaimer: I've never had my own webpage, and I'm no more computer savvy than Grandma-I'd be lost without the convenience of point n' click. Nevertheless, I have found a few resources worthy of mention.

Actually, creating the page itself seems to be the easy part. There are dozens of services available, none costing more than nine bucks for a year. The easiest and most comprehensive ones I found were Godaddy.com, Cheap-webdesign.com, and Buildfree.org, but there are tons more. They take you through it step-by-step, assuming no prior experience on your part.

The challenge is bringing in the traffic. Once created, your webpage joins a Milky Way of other sites, all of them vying for the same thing you are: hits. The majority of your time will be spent trying to win this game of 'connect the dots'. A few suggestions:

* If you can afford a few extra dollars per month, join one of the many 'traffic relay' sites. Basically, these are networks which, for every time you view someone else's page, will guarantee x-amount of hits on your page. By joining more than one, and spending less than 20 clams-a-month, my cousin, Kelly has enjoyed a wave of traffic to her mail-order company's homepage. You're not trying to get people's money, so I imagine you could enjoy even better results than she has.

* Connect with the community at large. Contact webmasters of similar sites and offer to include a link for a link. Do this every chance you get, perhaps even to pages only loosely related to your subject matter.

* Once you've got your daily hit count up, look into advertisers. Find out standard rates for a page of your size and charge less. With the extra money, you'll be able to utilize more of the pay sites in improving your page and increasing web traffic.

* If you've not a penny to spare for web design, there is always your Myspace URL. You can use your blogs or just your profile to inform an audience or organize online events.

The above tips and tactics are meant as an overview. Do some poking around on your own and I guarantee you'll find even more suitable options for info gathering, spreading the word, and especially-since I'm a novice-for creating your own website.

Now, maybe you're feeling like you can't make a difference; in my experience, that is the cliché excuse for not acting out against what we know is wrong. But there are more opportunities to reach out in this Information Age than in any time in history. Think about that. And while you're thinking about that, think about this: since time immemorial, power structures have maintained their grip by controlling the flow of information. In so doing, they create a ruse which portrays themselves as righteous in all manner of rulership. The sworn enemy of that ruse is knowledge attained through education. So I implore you: be an educator, if only from the comfy swivel chair at your computer desk.