User:Jason Spierings

How have New Media Technologies affected political activism?

Internet Activism

Annotated Bibliography

Branwyn, G. (1997) Jamming the media: a citizen’s guide: reclaiming the tools of communication, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, ISBN 0811817954.

Jamming the media is a comprehensive resource of all-things related to tactical media. The book contains alternative ideas for the main mediums print, radio, television and the internet. The book also contains a chapter relating to media pranks and art hacks. Chapter seven (the most relevant for this assignment) contains information on the increased leverage for virtual political communities and their social implications. The book also explores new terms such as cyberpunks and hackers, explaining their roles in political activism. The chapter also contains a guide for how readers themselves can set up websites and virtual communities. This guide is not only practical and useful, but is a good example as to how easy it is to get politically active in the cyber world as self-publication is the base-setting for cyberdemocracy. All up this book is an extremely practical and realistic guide for do-it-yourself media.

Castells, M. (2001) The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199241538.

Manuel Castells is a highly praised sociologist and in this book he has delivered a detailed summary on how the internet has grown from a military aid, to being an essential part of everyday use for many people. The book explores the social implications that have arisen from the increased usage of the internet, and how this has subsequently affected work and free-time. He has also investigated how the internet has raised issues relating to privacy and politics. Of particular interest to this assignment are chapters four, five and six. Chapter four gives a detailed description of communities, networks and the transformation of sociability. Chapter five analyses how the Internet interacts with the progression of socio-political conflicts. Castells focuses on four distinct areas being, networked social movements, the computer networking of local communities, informational politics and cyber warfare. Chapter six refers to the privacy and liberty of the internet, and how government interference could impact freedom of speech which is associated with the internet.

CBEL (2004), viewed 10 August 2004, <http://www.cbel.com/internet_activism/>

This website is a collection of 42 popular politically active websites, and contain some great examples of online activism and hactivism. Dubbed also as "Electronic Civil Disobedience" there are some articles questioning whether political hacking is a form of cyber terrorism? There are websites linking directly to active political hacker groups and also contain many articles relating to the huge boom in internet activism. Accessing one of the pages (http://www.collusion.org/sphere/webmedia/USFN/USFloodNet.htm) automatically sends one request a minute to the www.whitehouse.gov web severer. The request is a document of the "violations" that the government has made against its citizens. This is an example of an online protest as if enough people simultaneously access this website it will flood the US web server. Hacktivists have also participated in bringing down the World Economic Forum website in conjunction with their annual meetings, along with many other achievements. This website is a great central point for information relating to online political activism.

Garcia D. and Lovink G. (2001) Online Media is Tactical Media, Content Wire, viewed 5 August 2004, <http://www.content-wire.com/Media/Media.cfm?ccs=129&cs=275>

This article is a small yet clear description of the differences between tactical and strategic media. It clearly defines what makes tactical media so unique and how it is not simply a form of alternative media. It is described as being innovative, resourceful and unrestricted. The article was written by two members of the Amsterdam based Tactical Media Network. Although their website is predominantly in Dutch <http://www.waag.org/tmn/main.html> it is a good example of a tactical media network. They are literally set up inside an old fortress in the middle of Amsterdam in which they coordinate their activities.

Guerilla News Network (2000), viewed 6 August 2004, <http://www.guerrillanews.com/>

Guerilla News Network (GNN) is a politically active website devoted to informing viewers on issues not covered within mainstream media. This group is based in New York and uses guerilla style tactical media. The name itself is an example of online culture jamming as it is a satire of the popular American news broadcaster CNN (Cable News Network). The website contains information about the war on terrorism, human rights, corporate crime, the environment, governments, globalisation and much more with regularly updated material. It also contains downloadable monthly newsletters (which are encouraged to be handed out as flyers), various video downloads such as September 11th conspiracy theories and police brutality. It also contains a forum for activists to discuss and plan certain events.

Hacker, K.L. and Van Dijk, J. (ed) (2000) Digital Democracy: issues of theory and practice, London: SAGE Publications Ltd, ISBN 0761962174.

As the internet begins to be increasingly used for political activism this book is a resource containing both theory and practice. It also gives a brief introduction and history into democracy and communication. The theory covers aspects such as

• Interactive communication and participatory politics
• Networking and differing models of democracy
• Computer-mediated-communication (CMC)
• The internet as a public sphere

Of particular interest is that both Hagen (2000, pp. 54-66) and Keane (2000, pp.70-83) believe that public broadcasting has been in absence and that it has not sufficiently supplied society with an accurate form of democracy, and has instead been criticized of the role that it plays in politics. They both suggest that the Internet has the potential for creating a far better and wider-ranging public sphere for democracy.

The practical part of this book analyses The White House's Computer-Mediated Communication system and the role the internet played in the California primary election. It also investigates public debate within the internet and the policies that have been introduced relating to digital democracy. The book gives an extensive outlook for the role the Internet plays in democracy.

Holmes, D. (ed) (1997) Virtual Politics: Identity and Community in Cyberspace, London: SAGE Publications Ltd, ISBN 0761956093.

Virtual politics is an editorial piece taking works from many theorists covering the new area of community and politics within the internet. The first part of the book is dedicated to being an introduction to the subjects of virtual identity and whether certain websites seem to resemble a virtual community. The second half is related specifically to politics and details how the internet has been used to increase public knowledge and awareness, consequently creating the new field of study called cyberdemocracy. Mark Posters article on cyberdemocracy points out how the internet is a decentralized technology and this has therefore created an uncontrollable public sphere, which has given rise to “collective voices which are the building blocks of political formations and groupings� (Posters in Holmes, 1997, p.220). The book in total gives a clear description of this new area of study while giving clear examples to substantiate the theory.

Independent Media Centre (1991), viewed 5 August 2004, <http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml>

One of the most successful and widely spread organisations based on the internet. Indymedia is a collective grassroots alternative media outlet and is a collaboration of efforts spanning the globe. Discussed in many of the books already mentioned, Indymedia was first set up in 1999 for organising the WTO anti-globalisation protests. It has since spread and now covers many issues and events that either receive no coverage by the mainstream media, or if the information seems biased. Indymedia has a personalised site for many parts of the world (including Brisbane) which cover local issues and events. Indymedia offers live streaming radio from different IMC’s across the globe as well as a monthly news video and has the ability for viewers to add their own content. With the increases in streaming media technology, IMC could soon become a major alternative of news broadcasting for everyday people.

Lievrouw, L.A., and Livingstone, S. (ed) (2002) Handbook of New Media, London: Sage Publications, ISBN 0761965106.

This book is a review of new media technologies, and how they have affected the social and cultural landscape of today. Chapters 3, 7 and 30 are of relevance to this assignment. Chapter three refers to the increase in media choice as citizens can now bypass mainstream media by reading, viewing and listening to reports online. Citizens can now obtain information on practically every piece of legislation as well as accessing unabridged text of statements (Lievrouw and Livingstone, 2002, p.50). Chapter 7 however covers the primary issues with internet usage and how this affects political participation. The writer believes that the vast unequal access to the internet and lack of validity of the information will affect the legitimacy of cyberdemocracy. This book gives both an optimistic and pessimistic views on the social and cultural implications of new media technologies.

Lovink, G. (2002) Dark fiber, London: MIT Press, ISBN 0761962174.

Lovink is a media critic and in this book he has given a critical analysis of the corporate state in which the internet is in. With this however he has written the rise of an internet culture based on political and social organisations. The chapter entitled “Dynamics of net culture� gives a broad look at the uses of new media and explains the easy access and use this technology has enabled for a new type of “digital community� and has given various examples of where this has been quite successful. It also touches on the aspects of tactical media. The next chapter entitled “reality check� investigates in detail examples of political groups and how new media technologies have effected their methods of activism.

Meikle, G. (2002) Future Active: media activism and the internet, New South Whales: Pluto Press, ISBN 0415943211.

Future active is a detailed book relating specifically to the use of the Internet by activists trying to effect social, political and cultural change. . He explores the different types of activism including culture jamming, left and right wing resistance movements, hactivists and others. He also explores the differences of interactive and “unfinished� (or alternative media). Future active tests the democratic potentials of the internet, and differentiates and discusses the “politics within the Net, politics which impact the Net, and political uses of the Net� (Meikle, 2002, p.3). The first part of the book gives an introduction to the potential of the internet and evaluates the premature hype surround the internet and social change. It uses the example of the anti-globalisation protest in 1999 as a defiant example of virtual politics. The next part will explore the alternative and independent internet campaigns and analyses examples such as the Indymedia global movement, B92 (Belgrade radio station) and McSpotlight. The last part of this book looks at tactical media such as online culture jamming and online sabotage, and how this differs to alternative media campaigns.

Tsagarousianou, R., Tambini, D. and Bryan, C. (ed) (1998) Cyberdemocracy: technology, cities and civic networks, London: Routledge, ISBN 0415171342.

This book is a contribution to the surrounding the debate to which what role information technology can be used to increase the process of democracy. It also challenges whether or not new media technologies such as enhanced computer networking and communication technology’s can have the capability of challenging and changing existing political structures. This book examines the current state of electronic democracy giving examples of its use in Amsterdam, Greece, Berlin, Bologna, America and England. The book also explores the possibilities of electronic democracy as the number of people connecting to the World Wide Web increases and how this could result in a more informed “public sphere�. According to Tsagarousianou (1998, p.167) this could very well enhance citizen participation in the political process and allow radical media activists access greater opportunities and spur innovations. However the book also speculates to the possibilities of moderation, censorship, and restriction to freedoms of speech as the internet becomes more widely used and commercial.

Weitzner, D.J. and Berman, J. (1997), Technology and Democracy, Social Research, vol. 64, iss.3, pp.1313-1320, viewed 9 August 2004, <http://proquest.umi.com.gateway.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=12&did=000000016558582&SrchMode=1&sid=6&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1091752663&clientId=14394>

This article describes the potential of the internet to increase political participation. In America voting is not mandatory and therefore voter turnout is a serious issue. This article argues that the internet allows more people to become more active and have a better understanding of the issues of each party. Not only is this but there is speculation that it could also increase the chances of third-party candidates. Websites such as <http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/> are examples of how everyday people can have a more active role in the election process.

Jason Spierings 12:01, 13 Aug 2004 (EST)

Tutor: Ross Hope

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