In Ender's Game there is a description of an Ansible, a personal handheld device used to communicate, join to public forums, read news and influence in political discussions.
That's not what the Ansible was, but I don't want to actually describe it in case someone here hasn't read Ender's Game yet, since it's pretty pivotal to the plot.
Also, Ender's Game was written in 1984 - the idea of networks wasn't so new then, but I agree that Card had a very prescient take on Locke and Demonsthenes' influence over world politics.
Also, Ender's Game was written in 1984 - the idea of networks wasn't so new then, but I agree that Card had a very prescient take on Locke and Demonsthenes' influence over world politics.