There was more than one clear winner in the US presidential election. With the votes and opinions now taken account of, both Barack Obama and the internet can claim victory.

“The electrifying redemption of America’s revolutionary declaration that all human beings are created equal would not have been possible without the additional empowerment of individuals to use knowledge as a source of power that has come with the internet,” former vice president Al Gore told this month’s Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco.