Blogs Encouragement of Active Citizens - Essay Example

Blogs Encouragement of Active Citizens The information revolution brought by the internet has led to the introductionof blogging as the lasted platform of social media interaction. Weblogs are webpages that are frequently refreshed to ensure latest content appear at the top of a page and is in most cases date-stamped. Due to the ease of writing and uploading content on specific blogs, the concept has been able to acquire millions of users worldwide with a single search being able to find millions of weblogs worldwide. Many of the blogs that have been started represents personal sites that contain reflections about daily life and produced by individuals with the primary audience being other bloggers that the individual links with on a regular basis. However, the blogs do not have any restriction on access and can therefore available to anyone. Even as a majority of blogs contain personal reflections, blogs that have had profound influence on society due to their wide readership are those that focus on matters of public interest. This essay focuses on the role played by blogs targeting public interests in order to assess the role such platforms play in encouraging active citizens (Herring, Scheidt, Wright and Bonus, 2005). The ability of blogs to attract public interest and therefore influence the way people interact and can be seen from the popularity gained by Instapundit.com written by Glenn Reynolds. The blogger a law lecturer at the University of Tennessee, had by March 2005 reached the hundred-millionth page hit plus a further 200,000 more hits on a daily basis. Given that Reynolds’ blog is dedicated to the commentary of current public affairs, it indicates the attraction of citizens to such blogs as a platform for them to contribute in what is going on around them. This further indicates the ability of blogs to generate popularity by attracting readership in most cases through their sharp, partisan commentary on current public affairs (Griffiths 2004). Further, a single blog has the ability to introduce readers into new debates and topic discussions through hyperlinks that lead readers to other topics that they might find interesting. Although there are those with the view that specific blogs attract people with similar views to engage in discussion and that those with opposing sentiments are silenced (Cohen 2006), the hyperlink to others provides a means through which diverse views on matters of current affairs can be debated. Bloggers in most cases comment on what others are saying by linking their views with those who hold different opinions due to the importance of blogs in criticizing what others are saying. By reading what others have published on their blogs, individuals are able to quote, link to it and add their own views on the issue under discussion. Such capability that comes with blogging creates a framework where citizens get an unlimited amount of space to add their views on current affairs issues by critiquing what others have posted. An important aspect in the way blogs have revolutionized the way information is acquired and shared is through encouragement of citizen journalism. Blogs presents everyone with a chance to report on matters of current affairs while also allowing more personal nuanced views of events. Blogs have handed the vast majority of citizen without any professional background in journalism a chance to break stories about political corruption, brutality by the police, and other issues affecting a local or overall national community. Traditional coverage of current affairs news has been found to be skewed due to the limitations of access and time for comprehensive coverage of breaking news. Further, blogs have limited the chances of propagating a one sided story due to lack of commentary on the news item. Consequently, traditional news outlets have embraced blogs in their reporting in order to create an opportunity for citizens to comment on aspects of the current affairs news (Barlow, 2007). Blogs do not only offer citizens a chance to comment on the trending news items, but to also report news that has been neglected by the mainstream media. Through blogs citizens take their own initiative to report current affairs news that the mainstream media has ignored due to what editors might see as lacking the necessary level of corporate and political interest to warrant appearance in their headlines. Consequently, local citizens can pick up such issues and report them to ensure they are exposed to the world while also calling for specific actions from the concerned authority. The news can also be of interest to a specific local community for instance the reports made in blogs such as the Slashdot which is a leader in information and communication technology news. Apart from reporting on information technology, Slashdot has a segment dedicated to reporting emerging news covering neighbourhood incidences that interest a limited and specific local community. In this case blogging gives citizens a chance to make what affects them known to the general public as well as the concerned authority (Bruns, 2008; Barlow, 2007). Based on the research by Alexanian (2006) that sampled a number of Iranian bloggers in Southern California, citizens can use blogs to change the perception of others about their country. Alexanian (2006) identified two groups of Iranians where the first group favoured a return to some form of constitutional monarchy as well as being in opposition of the government of the day. A second section of the bloggers thought the other bloggers were not aware of the current situation in Iran since they did not live through the hardships before the 1979 revolution. However, a common ground among these groups is their push for the western states to see Iran as a country with a population that had similar needs to those of citizens in western world. To achieve this objective, the bloggers often posted photographs of young Iranian wearing cloths similar to those worn by people in the western states and going through their daily activities peacefully. Consequently, the bloggers were able to make the rest of the world especially people in the western countries realize that not all the citizens were terrorists who carried guns and bombs ready to go to war with western states. The introduction of blogs as a political tool has improved citizen participation in the democratic processes in a country by enabling commentary into various issues from election to governance. Chadwick (2006) notes the importance of blogs in creating a platform that enable information technology to contribute in the strengthening of democratic principles through interaction between citizens and politicians. Politicians have taken advantage of the wide internet access though computers and phones to create blogs that sell their ideas to the public. On their part, the citizens have taken advantage of the open forum to post and comment on what is expected from an elected representative. Citizens have taken advantage of the presence of blogs to participate in the process of selecting their representatives as seen in Howard Dean’s campaign for selection to contest in the United States presidential elections (Griffiths, 2004). Through blogging, Dean was able to mobilize around six hundred thousand activists and rallied them to champion his course. The concept relied on getting support from the grassroots as oppose to mainstream media which in most cases is based at state level and cannot therefore be effective in attracting those in the remote parts of the state. However, Auty (2005) warns that the gains achieved through communication with the representatives do not always translate into results therefore limiting the ability of citizens to actively contribute to the overall performance of their members of parliament. Based on the result of the research on British members of parliament, Auty (2005) found that one on one interaction between representatives and the citizens is not possible in most of the instances while comments are also left unanswered for longer periods of time. The activism created online through the blogs do not end there as citizens have been thought to organize themselves using the online services but then meet in person to undertake initiatives that they see as improving their lives and that of others. Narratives that are shared in blogs only act as catalysts for actual actions to solve the problem when the necessary authority do not at first or fast enough to satisfy the demands of the citizens. This activism is not only sustained in a political discourse but in all aspects of citizen rights ranging from social welfare to protection of special interest groups. It is an open space that enables a range of interactive discourse due to its ability to create a platform “where thinkers meet scholars, actors, activists and indigenous” for the purpose of improving the political, social and cultural life of the people (Harcourt 1999: 9). Griffiths (2004) points out that About Howard Dean started as a political tool for the nomination of Dean but has since changed to rally the population into demanding specific changes from the government. Drezner and Farrell (2008) note the power of blogs in the United States politics do not end with influencing politics but has in many cases gone beyond that to determine policy outcomes in various situations. Drezner and Farrell (2008) argue that blogs contributed in the defeat of the proposed Social Security reforms by the Bush administration. Given that the reforms were supposed to be landmark accomplishment as president bush prepared to end his second term in office, the role played by blogs in the shooting down of the reforms cannot be ignored. The authors note the role of bloggers in developing expertise statistics that combined with opposition from Democrats to block any legislative action by the government. This highlights the extent to which blogs can affect formulation of governmental policies or prevent the enactment of polices that deemed not to be of benefit to the citizens of a state. Griffiths (2004) asserts that blogs that are run by politicians have been able to produce citizen literacies due to the realization that the interaction between citizens and politicians can be transformed from focusing on the individual politician to the championing of a political cause. Compared to the mainstream media which has different protocols to that of politics which results in the two having different perceptions about the way the country is governed, blogs have the ability to sustain interest of citizens thorough out the length of a political process. The blogs provides unrestricted spaces in which citizens can reflect on their democratic responsibility and specific issues that motivate their choice of particular candidates. Through commentary on various perspectives held by others, voters are reminded of the importance of casting their votes as their democratic right that will translate into leaders of their choice. Through blogging citizens are therefore able to remain active in causes that develop social capital in ways that were not possible through mainstream traditional media. Blogs create a framework over which private sphere and public sphere merge to create a democratic space where information is shared openly among the citizens (Coleman 2005). The interactive nature of blogs has led to a conclusion that the creation of a public sphere as envisioned by Habermas is in the process of being achieved. Mottaz (2010) notes traditional media had barriers that restricted entry of new publishers of information that included the presence of gatekeepers such as editors in addition to having a high cost of production. Barlow (2007) notes citizens have an inherent need to express their views but this was not possible due to unavailability of channels that could represent their voice. The available means only pretended to represent citizen views but in some cases are actually organizations funded but unknown groups with special interests. While traditional media pretended to present public opinions, they actually presented to the citizens edited content from behind the scene. Barlow (2007) argues that true voice from the citizens have only been made possible through blogs as the restrictions have now been eliminated making it possible for the average citizen to present their views on public debates. However, the gains achieved through this new media still faces a great task in reaching global audience given the difference in regime and therefore governance between states. Restriction of the public sphere is well documented in authoritarian states where governments fear access to information is detrimental to their continued rule over the population. Mottaz (2010) claim this restriction enabled many regimes to easily create mechanisms that controlled and censored the media. Consequently, new media including blogging has had a role to play in breaking down some of the barriers that prevented citizens from actively engaging in political discourse about their country by removing cost of production and publication. Given that information had been commercialized by print and other mainstream broadcasting media, blogging has presented many citizens who might not have had a chance to voice their opinion to present them without buying space in the mainstream media. Based on the description of public sphere by Habermas as a platform where citizens get the chance to create forums to discuss matters affecting their overall welfare in an unrestricted fashion, blogging seen as the ultimate tool that fits such description. Even as blogs are being seen as creating a public sphere which citizens can take advantage of in forming associations while also having the freedom of expression and publication of opinions on issues affecting the general public, the government has the overall power to dictate how citizens use these new media platform. Mottaz (2010) argues that new media such as blogging threatens the stability of authoritarian rules as they cannot effectively monitor how information is shared within their country and outside. Blogging introduces a new platform for political activism where citizens can easily publish information about their situation to the outside world and is therefore an effective means by which activists can exceed geographic boundaries to create effective networks for information circulation. Having a common language of communication has made blogging transcend the geographic spaces as seen in the Arab spring where English was used as a bridge to the naive Arabic language to ensure those in the outside world are informed about what was going on at the time (Etling, Kelly, Faris and Palfrey, 2010). This potential for improvement in information sharing that comes with blogging has been curtailed by dictatorial authorities who introduce more barriers to reduce the impact of political activism on their rule. Consequently, the presence of new media does not automatically translate into a platform powerful enough to sustain a challenge on authoritarian regimes. Citizens need more than what blogging and other new media to be able to bring down authoritarian rules. During political demonstrations and the subsequent excessive force employed by the government during crackdown of the activists, these new media platforms are not spared. Mottaz (2010) gives an example of Burma where the military government has control over the country’s entire communication infrastructure which made it easy for the government to control how information from the internet was transmitted. When activists began posting photos about the military massacre of protestors, the military reacted by switching off the internet while also confiscating mobile phones and camera. This move hampered the ability of activists to pass information to the outside world while presenting the military with an environment that is conducive to undertake extensive violations of human rights by arresting and torturing activists without having to deal with international pressure. Consequently, the ability of blogs to encourage active citizens will ultimately depend on extend that the government will allow their agitation since activities that threatens the government will be met with aggressive force. The emergence of blogs as platforms for interaction on social, political and economical issues has resulted in the shift of mainstream media which are now adopting measures to absorb various aspects of the new media to create active debates. Mainstream media such as cable televisions and print media have developed their own blogs to continue discussions and allow public commentary about their programmes as well as initiating debates about current public issues. To effectively run these blogs, mainstream media have in some cases picked administrators who are established bloggers. Introduction of blogging by the mainstream media is an adaptive strategy that is aimed at winning back their audience by creating public forum for them to participate in their programming. From the foregoing analysis of the extent to which blogs encourage active citizens, it emerges that blogs have played an important role in shaping the various aspects of the citizens’ lives. Although dictatorial states have been found to restrict access to internet and therefore reduce the impact of blogging on the overall development of democratic principles, the new medial platforms has a potential of informing important policy decisions in states that allow free access to information. By having freedom to access and share information through blogging, citizens are able to create an interactive framework for preservation of their democratic rights. Blogs enable citizen to participate in electoral processes from nomination of candidates, up to formation of government policies that are favourable to the public. Blogs have also in some cases enabled citizens to mobilize groups to act on issues that the government has failed to address. Consequently, blogs does not only present the citizens to act through posting on the site but to also get offline and act on political and social issues affecting the community. References Alexanian, J.A. (2006) ‘Publicity Intimate Online: Iranian Web Logs in Southern California’, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 26 (1) 134-145. Auty, C. (2005) ‘UK elected representatives and their weblogs: first impressions’. Aslib Proceedings 57 (4) 338-355. Barlow, A. (2007) The Rise of the Blogosphere. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers Bruns, A. (2008). News blogs and citizen journalism: New directions for e-journalism. E-Journalism: New Directions in Electronic News Media. 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(2005) ‘Weblogs as a bridging genre’ Information Technology and People, vol. 18(2), 142-171. Mottaz, L. (2010). New media in closed societies: The role of digital technologies in Burma’s Saffron Revolution. Democracy & Society, 7(2), 23-25. Read More