i-blog

The new premier of Victoria, John Brumby, has announced measures to increase government transparency and openness which include live streaming of parliament over the internet and immediate posting of transcripts of media conferences on his official website. Small steps for sure and certainly not as ambitious as the report on E-government that the Victorian parliament commissioned in 2004 recommended. They will probably turn out to be most useful for the media rather than citizens. Overall, it is interesting that committments to reform government now almost inevitably contain some internet component. The measures adopted, however, as this initiative demonstrates, centre largely on a continued concentration on expanding downward flows of information and transparency from the top, rather promoting new forms of online listening and e-democratic dialogue via newer interactive technologies. A missed opportunity?

The ALP party leader Kevin Rudd has launched a US style online campaign in his bid to gain office in the upcoming Australian election. The Kevin07 site offers Kevin via a dazzling array of Web 2.0 applications including his blog and links to his Facebook, Myspace and Youtube sites. After exhibiting a rather less than adventurous approach to the use of internet-technologies in previous elections it seems that the aspirant left-wing leader is now moving Oz politics into the brave new world of the ecampaign. See the site at kevin07

I found this story quite extraordinary, well, a bit at least. There were restrictions in previous elections, but were they going this far. Better ask colleague Leslie Tkach-Kawasaki (hope you are well!).

Banning the web Japan’s election campaigners barred from using the internet

By Chris Hogg

Now the campaign for the upper house election in Japan has started, tough rules on how politicians can canvas for votes have come into force. Surprisingly, in a country with some of the fastest broadband speeds and a wide internet penetration, it is now illegal for candidates to create new websites or update existing web pages between now and election day, 29 July. So instead, the loudspeaker vans are out on the streets again. The candidates sit inside, waving regally wearing white gloves, smiling and politely asking for votes.

A very interesting Finnish project on online politics [eDemocracy.uta.fi]. The website includes a range of relevant resources and papers, most of which are in English. The academics behind the site are Keskinen Auli, Rinne Jarmo, Lappalainen Pertti and Häyhtiö Tapio.

eDemocracy is a website where On-Line Discussions as Political Action (ONDIS) –project researchers gather information on civic participation taking place in new information networks, especially on the Internet. The researchers are especially interested in changing styles and ways of civic political action on the Net.

Three i-pol stars, not to be missed… [tip: take a look at the papers from the Workshop]

This is really great, after Labout:vision, now the EU is going web2.0 big time. EU Tube, that is.

EU Tube – Sharing the sights and sounds of Europe on YouTube

The European Commission has launched a dedicated channel on YouTube to make its audiovisual material more widely available to the public. “This initiative reflects the Commission’s commitment to better explain its policies and actions on issues which concern citizens across the EU – such as climate change, energy or immigration” said Margot Wallström, Vice-President for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy.

Fresh off the press, an IBM report on blogging in the public sector (US, that is). This goes on the summer reads pile.

David C. Wyld
The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0

Dr. Wyld examines the phenomenon of blogging in the context of the larger revolutionary forces at play in the development of the second-generation Internet, where interactivity among users is key. This is also referred to as “Web 2.0.” Wyld observes that blogging is growing as a tool for promoting not only online engagement of citizens and public servants, but also offline engagement. He describes blogging activities by members of Congress, governors, city mayors, and police and fire departments in which they engage directly with the public. He also describes how blogging is used within agencies to improve internal communications and speed the flow of information. Based on the experiences of the blogoneers, Wyld develops a set of lessons learned and a checklist of best practices for public managers interested in following in their footsteps. He also examines the broader social phenomenon of online social networks and how they affect not only government but also corporate interactions with citizens and customers.

Another 10 for you, again tyding up my digital library. If you have any papers in the pipeline, send a line and I’ll include.

Bentivegna, S. (2006). Rethinking Politics in the World of ICTs. European Journal of Communication, 21(3), 331-344.

Deacon, D. (2007). Yesterday’s Papers and Today’s Technology Digital Newspaper Archives and `Push Button’ Content Analysis. European Journal of Communication, 22(1), 5-26.

Hamelink, C. J. (2006). Rethinking ICTs ICTs on a Human Scale. European Journal of Communication, 21(3), 389-396.

Heller, M. (2006). New ICTs and the Problem of `Publicness’. European Journal of Communication, 21(3), 311-330.

Hermes, J. (2006). Citizenship in the Age of the Internet. European Journal of Communication, 21(3), 295-310.

Livingstone, S. (2007). The Challenge of Engaging Youth Online Contrasting Producers’ and Teenagers’ Interpretations of Websites. European Journal of Communication, 22(2), 165-184.

Mayo, E., & Steinberg, T. (2007). The Power of Information:An independent review (Independet review). London: Cabinet Office. Available from http://www.commentonthis.com/powerofinformation/.

Tuzzi, A., Padovani, C., & Nesti, G. (2007). Communication and (e)democracy: assessing European e-democracy discourses. In B. Cammaerts & N. Carpentier (Eds.), Reclaiming the Media: Communication Rights and Democratic Media Roles. Bristol: Intellect.

Qvortrup, L. (2006). Understanding New Digital Media - Medium Theory or Complexity Theory? European Journal of Communication, 21(3), 345-356.

Sousa, H. (2006). Information Technologies, Social Change and the Future - The Case of Online Journalism in Portugal. European Journal of Communication, 21(3), 373-388.

Not everything goes according to plan, even in Web2.0 fairy land. That is, why Friendsters did not quite make it.

A sobering read.

How to Kill a Great Idea - Jonathan Abrams - Friendster

Max Chafkin

Jonathan Abrams created the first online social network and enlisted Silicon Valley’s best and brightest to run it. Yet Friendster flamed out spectacularly. What went wrong?

It’s not easy being the brains behind one of the biggest disappointments in Internet history. Sure, there are those who describe you as a visionary, but in the same breath they’ll deride you as a lousy businessman. Bloggers attack you, call you “a real asshole” and “a very lucky idiot savant.” Former investors badmouth you. Other entrepreneurs copy your ideas without giving you credit. The New York Times makes reference to your “ballooning ego” and the local Fox affiliate can’t even get your name right.

[read more]

As promised. If I have missed your paper, give a shout and I’ll include.

High Density Session: Deliberation & Democracy Online and Off

Diverse and Regulated? A Study on the Relationship Between Online Deliberation and Structural Design *Weiyu Zhang (U of Pennsylvania)

Blogging for Participants: Framing the Candidate Blog for Mobilization *Kjerstin Thorson (U of Wisconsin Madison), Kevin Wise (U of Missouri - Columbia)

Exploring Online Opinion Leadership: A Validity Test of the Concept in the Digital Age *June Woong Rhee (Seoul National U), Eun-Mee Kim (Yonsei U), Hyunsuk Kim (Seoul National U)

Limits to Creating Critical Content Online

Web of Control and Censorship: State and blogsphere in Iran *Gholam Khiabany (London Metropolitan U)

Corporate Appropriation of Participatory Culture *Mark Deuze (Indiana U)

The Spiral of Invisibility: Social control in the S-Korean Blogosphere *Jeong Kim (London School of Economics)

Is It a Democratic Right to be a Racist? Blogging and the Extreme Right *Bart Cammaerts (London School of Economics)

Digital Media and Youth Civic Engagement

Not Your Father’s Internet: The Generation Gap in Online Politics *Michael Andrew Xenos (U of Wisconsin - Madison), *Kirsten A. Foot (U of Washington)

Doing It for Themselves: Young People and E-Participation From the Ground Up *Stephen Coleman (U of Leeds)

Digital Media and Youth Civic Engagement: Intersections of Practice and Policy *Kathryn C. Montgomery (American U)

Public Voice and Civic Literacy in the Always-on Era *Howard Rheingold (www.rheingold.com)

Online News and Civic Journalism

Programmed by the People: The Intersection of Political Communication and the YouTube Generation *Dustin M. Harp (U of Texas), Mark Tremayne (U of Texas - Austin)

Towards an Online Public Sphere: A Case Study of an Online Civic Journalism *Choonghee Han (U of Iowa)

An International Perspective on Citizen Media: Using Social Network Analysis to Examine Hybridity in the Caribbean Blogosphere *Sharon Meraz (U of Texas - Austin)

Nonjournalist Webloggers vs. Mainstream Media: Putting the Missing Puzzle Back to the Picture *Lei Xie (Southern Illinois U - Carbondale)

Just a Guy in Pajamas? Framing the Blogs: Emergence of the Blogosphere in Mainstream U.S. Newspaper Coverage (1999-2005) *Julie Jones (U of Minnesota), *Itai Himelboim (U of Minnesota)

In case you want to get up to speed with e-government in Central and Eastern Europe, this is the place to look:

Information Polity 2006, 11(3/4) The development of e-government in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

E-Government in Europe: Uniform solutions for all countries? Lenk, K.

On the current environments for e-government development in the enlarged European Union. Bavec, C.

Evaluating public administration e-portals. Leben, A.; Kunstelj, M.; Bohanec, M.; Vintar, M.

Progress towards e-government in Poland: Issues and dilemmas. Demczuk, A.; Pawlowska, A.

Demand for online government services: Case studies from St. Petersburg. Golubeva, A.; Merkuryeva, I.

Is Estonian local e-government responsive to citizens’ needs? The case study of Tartu. Reinsalu, K.

Explaining Internet service quality in social security agencies using institutional theory. Toots, A.