3: New Media Politics Flashcards
What is the current situation as Benkler suggests?
Benkler acknowledges that certain states have developed in which the rule of law and individual rights are respected
But he notes too that even in these societies there is a discontinuity between the work and non-work environments
Work environments tend to be:
Hierarchically and centrally structured (there is no democracy at work)
Even outside of work, society emphasized the role of the consumer over that of the citizen or even human being
Networked economics can generate alternatives to this situation
How do networked economies lead to a more participatory era?
The promise of the networks:
Declining costs of network technology mean that the passivity of television age can be replaced by a more participatory era
People are already acting on this promise in projects such as Wikipedia
And this is changing their mindsets, believing it is possible to make something valuable happen in the world and the practice of actually acting on that belief, represents a qualitative improvement in the conditions of individual freedom.
How do networked economies develop an increased choice of information sources?
The promise of the networks:
The networked economy develops further freedoms in terms of information choice
Cost was important as Mass media required deep pockets to run, making profit (or state control) essential
Either way there was a tendency to make media productions that catered to the lowest-common denominator or in other words, capture the largest number of eyeballs
New media is much cheaper and so other motivations can come to the fore and niches can be accommodated
This creates a more diverse information ecology for people
Benkler’s basket ball and African politics as an example
What does creating network products and increased choice of information sources lead to?
From the experiences gained creating network products and the increased choice of information sources, Benkler argues that Increased chance or ability for people to move from being passive listeners to participatory speakers in dialogue with others
What are the 2 potential drawbacks of networked participation?
Quality - but not really a problem with examples such as Wikipedia, Apache web-server. There is also still room for mass produced media.
Information overload - This can be handled by appropriate filters (ie. editors that are chosen by individuals)
Structure of the Internet helps too.
Elaborate on the filters needed for information overload due networked participation.
First problem: A certain kind and number of filters (editors) are needed
Filters need to be chosen by users themselves
If not, we return to a system of centralized control of information production
And if used-chosen filters do not develop adequately, a series of fragmented groups, rather than a public agenda will appear
What is the power law distribution?
Some scholars have argued that the structure of links on the Internet follows a power law distribution
One explanation is that new nodes prefer to connect to well established older modes.
Another explanation sees the difference due to intrinsically different growth rates for each individual node combined with the exponential growth of nodes altogether.
If these explanation are correct, the chances of vibrant networked political landscape are small
But Benkler goes on to suggest that more recent scholarship suggests that what is happening is not that older sites are preferred, but that on average they are preferred.
So that along with the notion that nodes pick up links due to intrinsic reasons such as money and salience to immediate needs, the power law distribution is not as damaging as believed
Describe the bowtie structure.
Benkler argues that the shape of network links resemble a bowtie structure instead of following the power law distribution.
Elaborate on the watchdog function for information overload under networked participation.
The issue is who will play the watchdog in network economies.
Some argue that individuals cannot adequately investigate and report on large institutions (they don’t have the resources)
But notes counter-examples (ie. Diebold election machines)
And also notes that unlike traditional journalism, the new politics of networks doesn’t require the same kind of close relationships cultivated by newspapers with insiders capable of giving them stories
What are the 3 problems of information overload?
- The kind and number of filters needed
- Power law distribution
- Watchdog function
Describe the Tunisian Revolution of 2011
Started in Sidi Bouzid in central Tunisia – pop. 40,000
Mohamed Bouazizi, 26 year old street vendor immolates himself protesting police corruption; video is distributed over Internet
Protests spread all over the country and police retaliate, but army refuses to open fire on protesters in the capital
January 12, 2011: President Ben Ali flies to exile in Saudi Arabia. Protests continue demanding political freedoms, free press and election
January 22, 2011: Convoy of Liberty – hundreds of cars converge on the Kasbah, Tunis Medina calling for resignation of provisional government
Dispersals and returns: February and April
Elections finally held October 2011 with Ennahad, a moderate Islamic coalition getting 40% of the votes and 89/217 seats
All of these events took place in a society under heavy surveillance and a brutal police force coupled with strong support from France and the west in general
How did it succeed?
- Large numbers of unemployed college graduates
- Relatively high rates of Internet use
- Tunisia has highest rate of Internet and mobile phone access in the Arab world
- Strong cyber(activism) culture
- Lead by blogging community: Zouhir Yahiaou, Mohamed Abbou, Slim Boukdir
- And offline: soccer clubs
How did the Tunisian Revolution of 2011 succeed?
- Large numbers of unemployed college graduates
- Relatively high rates of Internet use
- Tunisia has highest rate of Internet and mobile phone access in the Arab world
- Strong cyber(activism) culture
- Lead by blogging community: Zouhir Yahiaou, Mohamed Abbou, Slim Boukdir
- And offline: soccer clubs
Describe the Iceland Kitchenware Revolution of 2008.
During the 2000s Iceland financial sector grew tremendously, led by 3 banks: Kaupthing, Landsbanki, and Glitnir.
In 2000 bank assets totalled 100% of GDP; 2007, 800% This was accomplished by:
- Borrowing from each other to buy each other’s shares, boosting share prices
- Expanding overseas in joint ventures
- Encouraging customers to take on debt using less expensive Swiss francs or Japanese yen
- Loans to Iceland’s politicians and parties
In 2006, ratings agencies downgraded their forecast for Iceland’s economy. Bank of Iceland borrows heavily to preserve the value of the kronor and the banks.
IceSave was established to encourage British and Dutch investors to deposit money short-term, but with high interest rates. The idea is to for the banks to quickly get enough money to pay back their own short-term loans coming due.
They also swap each other’s debt, then use the debt as collateral to borrow from the Bank of Iceland and Luxembourg.
Sept 2008, Glitnir Bank asks for government help – can’t repay its debts.
Bank of Icebank buys 75% of the bank, but this destroys the government’s own credit rating, also sinking the stock, bond and real estate markets.
The banks collapse, leaving $25billion worth of debt. GDP of Iceland falls 6.8% in 2009 and another 3.4% in 2010
October 2008, folk singer Hordur Torfasen sings protest songs outside the Icelandic parliament. It is recorded and uploaded to the Internet. Regular protests begin every Saturday.
January 2009, thousands gather beating on kitchenware and calling on government to resign and to write a constitution
February 2009, Joanna Sigurdardottir leads to victory a coalition of left-leaning parties.
Banks are nationalized, Icelandic depositors compensated
A referendum finds that 93% of those voting do not wish to compensate foreign depositors (IceSave). Leading bankers were arrested
The economy begins to recover. GDP growth better than most of EU economies, unemployment and inflation drop
Social stability pact
Positive benefits of devaluation on exports
The government creates a new constitution.
November 2010: elections for a 25 member Constitutional Assembly Council are held with all citizens able to run for a position. CAC uses the Internet to seek input from Icelanders:
- Facebook for debating
- Twitter to report CAC’s progress and to respond to citizen enquiries
- YouTube and Flickr for communication and dialogue
16,000 suggestions are debated in this way
15 versions of a text produced through crowdsourcing
July 29, 2011: CAC presents a final bill with 114 articles in 9 chapters.
The new constitution took only 4 months to write. 50% of the population turned out for the vote and 67% voted for it
Unfortunately Icelandic law requires that a new constitution be voted for twice, with an election separating these votes
In this case, the conservative parties returned to power and tabled the new constitution.
In 2016, the Pirate Party is voted into office and attempts to bring the new constitution back to life
Name the 3 banks that led the growth of Iceland’s financial sector, and how it was achieved.
Kaupthing, Landsbanki, and Glitnir.
In 2000 bank assets totalled 100% of GDP; 2007, 800% This was accomplished by:
- Borrowing from each other to buy each other’s shares, boosting share prices
- Expanding overseas in joint ventures
- Encouraging customers to take on debt using less expensive Swiss francs or Japanese yen
- Loans to Iceland’s politicians and parties
What happened after rating agencies downgraded their forecase for Iceland’s economy? What policy was established?
In 2006, ratings agencies downgraded their forecast for Iceland’s economy.
Bank of Iceland borrows heavily to preserve the value of the kronor and the banks.
IceSave was established to encourage British and Dutch investors to deposit money short-term, but with high interest rates. The idea is to for the banks to quickly get enough money to pay back their own short-term loans coming due.
They also swap each other’s debt, then use the debt as collateral to borrow from the Bank of Iceland and Luxembourg.
