In the essay “Studying Internet Studies Through the Ages,” Barry Wellman, the Director of NetLab in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, discusses the work of his program in analysing the kinds of relationships the internet does and does not foster. This research follows continuing academic debate about the loss of community, firstly following industrialisation and urbanisation and now in the context of television and the internet (Wellman, 2009). Wellman proposes that through the third age of the internet, where social media has replaced groupware so the internet is a “utility of the masses, rather than the plaything of computer scientists,”(Wellman, 2009, p.1) the online connectivity provided by the internet intertwined with offline relationships has benefited community ties. This is due to “the evolving personalization, portability, ubiquitous connectivity, and wireless mobility” offered by the internet, which allows each person to act as a “communication and information switchboard, between persons, networks and institutions” (Wellman, 2009, p.1).
The ability of individuals to act as a “portal” (Wellman, 2009, p.1) for a group’s message of revolution was demonstrated during the Arab Spring, where protesters overcame internet blocks using advice of online activist group anonymous, and also communicated messages to those outside censored jurisdictions that were re-communicated via social media (Empire- social networks, social revolution, 2011). The following episode of AlJazeera’s Empire, looks at the marriage between social movements and social networks, and the failing of the mainstream media during the Arab Spring to report on events which are representative of the mainstream thought.
The ability of individuals to act as a “portal” (Wellman, 2009, p.1) for a group’s message of revolution was demonstrated during the Arab Spring, where protesters overcame internet blocks using advice of online activist group anonymous, and also communicated messages to those outside censored jurisdictions that were re-communicated via social media (Empire- social networks, social revolution, 2011). The following episode of AlJazeera’s Empire, looks at the marriage between social movements and social networks, and the failing of the mainstream media during the Arab Spring to report on events which are representative of the mainstream thought.
Ms. Virtue
Reference List
Wellman, B 2009, Studying Internet through the Ages, viewed 28/08/2013, <http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/internet-10-5-0/4-ages.htm>
Social networks, social revolution, Empire 2011, television program, AlJazeeraEnglish, Youtube, 17 February.
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