Is knowledge power?

Reading on in Knowing Knowledge by George Siemens I've come across this question.  Most of the time we seem to take it for granted that with knowledge being freely available these days to anyone with an internet connection, that there has been a shift of power.  But has there?  Siemens questions whether this is just hype, or whether technology really is changing politics/society.

And from another perspective, who are the powerless today?  Are they the ones who cannot access the tools of global conversation - and surely this also includes those without the skills to contribute to these global conversations? Interesting questions!

Photo Credit: Ezu via Compfight cc