Today’s society can be defined as a networked information society. It is within this society that the capability to self-express and participate politically and culturally through new technologies has arisen; it is where the internet has become a primary tool for communication (Hartley, 2002: 161). Social tools have evolved from the internet so as to complement its many-to-many environment. The most prominent of these technical innovations are virtual communities. The most basic effects these social tools have had on society are: an increased efficiency of information interchange; the facilitation of new investment avenues; an increased productivity at work; and the creation of new leisure and consumption domains. The more advanced social impact is broad and extensive changes in cultural and political structures (Poster, 1995: 23).
Virtual communities provide new spaces where citizens can speak openly about culture and society without being subject to coercion or alienation. It can then be said that the internet is a public sphere currently outside of corporate or governmental control. It provides participatory media that serves the interests of the public by providing new loci of speech. Such media caters as multiple public sphericules that enable free communication and discussions of ideas, resulting in the formation of public opinion through a democratic practice. Therefore, virtual communities are assisting and augmenting the formation of public opinion in today’s society, and thus could nourish and enhance the public sphere so as to facilitate democracy (Thussu, 1998: 148).
Public relations practice requires involvement in the public sphere as it plays a role in public opinion formation. Public opinion is founded in three distinct forms: politics; the media; and polling. The media are the dominant vehicles of communication through which the public participates in political and social processes. The function of the media to the public sphere is an important determinant of the quality of democracy and the quality of a majority public opinion. The public relations industry is a global one that offers expertise in political lobbying, public opinion management, and influencing the media surreptitiously across the world (Herman and McChesney, 1997: 143). The public relations practice requires understanding the dynamics of individuals’ collective observations and public opinion, and then effectively communicating with them to maintain a relationship. The impact of new technologies on the public relations practice will ultimately affect the communication and relationship between organisations and their publics, governments and their citizens, and the people within the publics/nation-state themselves.
It can then be said that the public relations practice is a crucial element within the communicative network of society. This network develops from the public sphere and who has control of it. The control ultimately determines whether democracy is in practice or not. "If the users of the internet can justify their forum as one that serves the public interest in concrete and demonstrable ways, it would represent a step in the direction of an egalitarian public sphere; if not, the heterogeneity of identity politics will have displayed a telling weakness in the face of the rhetoric of unity and univocality" (Porter, 1997: 194).
Sophie Best 22:48, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
The Internet and the Public Sphere
Virtual Communities in Public Relations
Hartley, J. (2002) Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: the Key Concpets, 3rd edition, London: Routledge, ISBN 0415268893.
Herman, E. S. and McChesney, R. E. (1997) The Global Media: The Missionaries of Global Captialism, London: Cassell, ISBN 0304334340.
Porter, D. (1997) Internet Culture, United States of America: Routledge Inc, ISBN 0415916644.
Poster, M. (1995) The Second Media Age, Cambridge: Polity Press, ISBN 0745613969.
Thussu, D. K. (1998) Electronic Empires, London: Arnold Publishers, ISBN 034071896X.
Sophie Best 11:04, 29 Oct 2004 (EST)
