Abbott's Internet

It was very exciting to have the lecture this week on Politics and the Internet occurring during campaigning for the Australian federal election. Professor Stephen Stockwell reflected on a question posed to him by a journalist, how can people get involved in this election. He suggested to connect on a grassroots level people could research policies for local candidate’s on the internet, attend local meetings of candidate’s and  call the phone numbers on the pamphlets you receive in the mail for further information. Yet, while frustrated with their situation, so many people remain disconnected from policy and it appears to me to be the role of political ads and activist groups to engage, inform and inspire action.

The lecture discussed McLuhan's theory that the spread of the electricity network decentralises power, meaning that people at the edges of society have an enhanced participation in democracy and the wider global village if they are connected to the system (Peters, 2003). I found it funny that the following Labor Party ad used this same idea of a global village created through connectivity, to criticise the Coalitions broadband policy. The ad implies the Coalitions plan is an unfair deal for Australian citizens and as a result they will miss out on the economic and social benefits which are flowing from affordable, high speed internet to the rest of the world.

Ms. Virtue

Reference List

Peters, J, 2003, ‘Space, time and communications theory’, Canadian Journal of Communication, vol. 28, no.4, pp. 397-411, viewed 29 August 2013, via ProQuest Central database

Abbott's internet, 2013, political advertisement, Reality Check, Youtube, 25 August.