K-Praxis - Topic: Social Networks - Politics, the Internet and Social Networks-Print

Politics, the Internet and Social Networks
March 17, 2004

Howard Dean’s use of the Internet has generated a lot of interest in social networking, social software, and the relationship between politics and the Internet. We at K-praxis earlier wrote an analysis of Democratic Primaries, we follow up here on the aftermath of the primaries, discussing these issues from a new perspective. Social software, and social networking have become matters of considerable interest and we take into account some of the discussion on these. We also attempt here to indicate the impact that the Internet might have on the more traditional media. This article is a first summary of a larger analysis in progress.

Background:

There was considerable interest among politically concerned Internet users when Howard Dean’s campaign made use of the Net for fund-raising and garnering support. A lot of people discussed the possible implications of the Net for politics, and since traditionally the Net was seen as a free space in which everybody present was equal to everybody else present, a lot of hope was pinned upon the Net to change politics in real time-space.

Until Howard Dean lost, it looked as if bloggers and net-savvy citizens could come together and change a few things. In our earlier discussion, we had indicated that this translation from the Net to real space-time is not always easy for most people. Most of the discussion now is centering on explaining what happened. Some people explain that in terms of the ‘bubble’—whether soap bubble or stock market bubble—while others have argued that Dean’s use of the Internet has changed politics forever.

It is said that neither the fervor of the Dean supporters, nor the funds raised on the Net meant votes, and that bloggers and heavy users of the Net had an inflated sense of Dean’s success, and in turn, an inflated sense of their own impact on politics. It is also said that perhaps Dean started a movement, rather than a campaign (a movement does not worry too much about votes, a campaign is for votes).

It is to be admitted, however, that a few changes have taken place after all. Some of the changes that will take place further, especially in politics, will be in the way politicians use the Internet, what they think about it, and that will impact their own campaigning and other policies. It is already predictable that there will be a conflict between the Internet as a medium, and traditional publicity media like print and television.

Social Networking, Social Software

It is necessary to relate the success and failure of Howard Dean’s campaign with communities, networks on the net, because the success came from them. Social networking software, with Tribe.net and Friendster as well known examples, has served users well. What is remarkable about such software is that it is used to strike up relationships, friendships in real space-time. This translation from cyber-space to real space is the hinge on which both the sides depend, and this hinge did not turn well enough for the Dean campaign.

This hinge seems to be functioning well for many people who meet on the Net first, and in real life later, and conduct business, friendships etc. On the other hand, it is always possible to see that quite a lot of the ties formed using social networking software tend to be weak ties, which make for temporary, and perhaps less tangible commitments than the ‘strong ties’ formed in real space-time. It is not yet clear in which cases social networking software can be translated into real space-time effects, and in which cases it cannot.

Some analyses of communities on the Net suggest that such communities tend to replicate their behavior and structure in real space-time, This is an important suggestion, we believe, because it goes against the usual intuitive perception of the net as an anonymity engine.

Conclusions

Now that the Dean campaign discussion is receding, it should be possible to consider the uses of the Net for politics, and not merely for election campaigns. It is clear that a) politicians in the U.S. will now be forced to take the Internet seriously b) the Net is turning out to be a strong medium, and c) the Net is becoming a matter of concern, perhaps, for the traditional media like print and television.

	Making sense of online textual information and information management technologies

	Politics, the Internet and Social Networks March 17, 2004 Howard Dean’s use of the Internet has generated a lot of interest in social networking, social software, and the relationship between politics and the Internet. We at K-praxis earlier wrote an analysis of Democratic Primaries, we follow up here on the aftermath of the primaries, discussing these issues from a new perspective. Social software, and social networking have become matters of considerable interest and we take into account some of the discussion on these. We also attempt here to indicate the impact that the Internet might have on the more traditional media. This article is a first summary of a larger analysis in progress. Background: There was considerable interest among politically concerned Internet users when Howard Dean’s campaign made use of the Net for fund-raising and garnering support. A lot of people discussed the possible implications of the Net for politics, and since traditionally the Net was seen as a free space in which everybody present was equal to everybody else present, a lot of hope was pinned upon the Net to change politics in real time-space. Until Howard Dean lost, it looked as if bloggers and net-savvy citizens could come together and change a few things. In our earlier discussion, we had indicated that this translation from the Net to real space-time is not always easy for most people. Most of the discussion now is centering on explaining what happened. Some people explain that in terms of the ‘bubble’—whether soap bubble or stock market bubble—while others have argued that Dean’s use of the Internet has changed politics forever. It is said that neither the fervor of the Dean supporters, nor the funds raised on the Net meant votes, and that bloggers and heavy users of the Net had an inflated sense of Dean’s success, and in turn, an inflated sense of their own impact on politics. It is also said that perhaps Dean started a movement, rather than a campaign (a movement does not worry too much about votes, a campaign is for votes). It is to be admitted, however, that a few changes have taken place after all. Some of the changes that will take place further, especially in politics, will be in the way politicians use the Internet, what they think about it, and that will impact their own campaigning and other policies. It is already predictable that there will be a conflict between the Internet as a medium, and traditional publicity media like print and television. Social Networking, Social Software It is necessary to relate the success and failure of Howard Dean’s campaign with communities, networks on the net, because the success came from them. Social networking software, with Tribe.net and Friendster as well known examples, has served users well. What is remarkable about such software is that it is used to strike up relationships, friendships in real space-time. This translation from cyber-space to real space is the hinge on which both the sides depend, and this hinge did not turn well enough for the Dean campaign. This hinge seems to be functioning well for many people who meet on the Net first, and in real life later, and conduct business, friendships etc. On the other hand, it is always possible to see that quite a lot of the ties formed using social networking software tend to be weak ties, which make for temporary, and perhaps less tangible commitments than the ‘strong ties’ formed in real space-time. It is not yet clear in which cases social networking software can be translated into real space-time effects, and in which cases it cannot. Some analyses of communities on the Net suggest that such communities tend to replicate their behavior and structure in real space-time, This is an important suggestion, we believe, because it goes against the usual intuitive perception of the net as an anonymity engine. Conclusions Now that the Dean campaign discussion is receding, it should be possible to consider the uses of the Net for politics, and not merely for election campaigns. It is clear that a) politicians in the U.S. will now be forced to take the Internet seriously b) the Net is turning out to be a strong medium, and c) the Net is becoming a matter of concern, perhaps, for the traditional media like print and television.