Monday, October 29, 2007
‘Can the Internet provide a deliberative space for our new politics?’
That’s the rather wordy title of a seminar I’m running tomorrow night at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queens, along with my colleague (and distinguished blogger) Ciarán O’Kelly from the School of Law.
Some of things I hope to cover:
- can online communication ever be more than a news/gossip space?
- the difference between the ‘social networking’ approach and the ‘hyper democracy’ of online petitions
- the centrality of democratic institutions, and whether online media underwrites or detracts from their legitimacy?
- to what extent can online technologies allow public representatives engage with journalists; policy makers; party activists; and the general voting public?
Also given that in tiny polity like Northern Ireland there are highly limited resources available to develop initiatives that can work cogently on both cross border and cross channel bases, I’ll also be asking (if we get time) whether Internet based technologies can be used to develop effective local policies?
If that hasn’t put you off and you’d to come along, we’ll be at the Institute of Irish Studies, Seminar Room 1, First Floor, 53-67 University Road. Kick off is at 4.00pm.
Mick Fealty @ 09:28 AM
Thanks for the clarification Mick.
Regarding what Appleyard says…
I would say that ‘authority’ allows us to argue more efficiently, in so far as it allows us to make basic assumptions in a reliable fashion.
However, it is clearly not necessary to know the source of an idea in order to test it. Indeed, the idea that truth rests on authority - rather than on testable theories - seems extraordinary.
Needless to say, even an anonymous contributor can propose a testable theory.
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 04:46 PMChekov
Ive dished it out plenty But I can take it as well!! So as long as I get to play the ball they are welcome to take their shots......but I don’t think Mick wants his site used that wayLOL ive never gone whingeing to a moderator yet about the way I have been treated here or anywhere. Made a few do it on me though lol
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 05:20 PMBilly P
You make some valid points.All the best.
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 06:02 PMActually, I belive that this is N.ireland’s fav social networking site;
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 06:45 PMFWIW I think that there are many people in political parties and so on - I know a few - who like to use anonymity in order to push the envelope a bit. I think that is entirely natural and understandable, whether in Northern Ireland or elsewhere. And then there is also the point that when one starts out posting with an opinion it can seem a bit solipsistic to use ones own name, and a username seems less direct, less pushy as it were.
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 06:59 PMRoughly what time will it finish anyone ?
P.S. On bus to Dublin a pile of London goths on the way to Tara.....HmmmPosted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 07:00 PM4-6....got it from Facebook...thanks Mick !
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 07:39 PMI would dearly like to go to the meeting tomorrow but cannot.
I find the comments on anonymity very interesting and I agree with Garibaldy and Billy Pilgrim and Miss Fitz on the “To blog or not to blog” thread.
I prefer not to use my own name as I fear that publicly holding views of a prodiban nature would result in me being seen at work as a terrorist supporter, bigot or just mad.
In reality when you have been on this site for a while you know a bit about the views of the other commentors and, with a number of exceptions; whilst I often disagree with them I feel I know (usually respect and often like) them too well to launch into vitriol. I hope those I like and respect will forgive me when I fail in these not especially high or demanding standards.
There is also the simple fact that if I started to use my own name no one would know who I was on this site, whereas when I use the name Turgon most know roughly what they are going to get. I have also promised Elenwe that I will not allow myself to be identified but that is a different matter.
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 09:39 PMTurgon - I hope the encryption software works ok - if not we’ll revert to code A.
In Dublin working on presidential campaign - “Operation Oiling the Wheels”
Of the 20 TDs for nomination I reckon we got 11 secure - your promise to move the Dail to Cork went down a treat.
Need soom help in Mayo however - any ideas ?
P.S. Totally confidential - this message will self destruct in ten seconds…Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 10:10 PMDewi,
In all seriousness I always assumed that it would be quite easy to work out where someone posted from and as such who they are. Does each computer not up load some sort of tag when you add information to a page such as this? Or is my very limited computer understanding total nonsense?Having emailed Mick from the same computer I have posted from, I just assumed he could work out who I was. I also assumed he would not care and had much better things to do with his time.
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 10:17 PMTurgon - will u please forget the irrelevant stuff and start to focus on your campaign ? It’s not going to be a walkover you know…
Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 10:23 PMDewi,
No I know, I expect it to be a march over.Posted by on Oct 29, 2007 @ 10:25 PMThere’s a world of difference between anonymity and pseudonyminty which is what is usually the case here. If all the posters were anonymous then the discussion would simply descend into a jumble of meaningless statements suspended without context.
However where we have the situation of pseudonyms we can very quickly understand with whom we should be discussing points and over time we get to establish a “mind’s eye” charachterisation of the person we debate with; his/her opinions, lifestyle, age, religion, location etc without actually having to know that person’s exact identity and this makes for a freer more relaxed debate.
I do salute the contributors who have the balls to apend their full names to their posts. Unfortunately given my family and personal circumstances I cannot be one of those posters (sorry to disappoint anyone who thought I actually was Captain Harry Paget Flashman VC, late of the 11th Light Dragoons).
Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 @ 01:54 AMNah Harry we know you are really Rudyard Kipling....
Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 @ 07:57 AM“(sorry to disappoint anyone who thought I actually was Captain Harry Paget Flashman VC, late of the 11th Light Dragoons).”
Harry
How could anyone have mistaken such a modest, retiring, liberal minded fellow such as you for that bounder Harry Paget Flashman VC late of the 11th Light Dragoons. Impossible.Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 @ 10:20 AMHarry, do you envy the ‘real’ Harry (jpg image)?
Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 @ 01:21 PMExcellent Mick and great to see youth engaging with a sad old geek like yourself......and that was Malachi O Doherty at the back you know...Lol.
Seriously reading notes on train and will try and summarise but first observation is very generic:
Product innovation is sometimes inspired, sometimes fashionable however product development is where the market - ie Capital and associated legal framwork gets involved - beauty of that is that no one knows how things are going to pan out. There are a numbers of relationships involved where economic utility transfer occurs. Source data provider / author to Slugger. Slugger to consumer, consumer to Slugger, commentor to Slugger and commenter to commenter - indeed tha last example - for me these days its the funny things here I’d pay for.
It will be interesting to see how all that pans out.Thanks again - fascinating.
Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 @ 07:01 PMSorry for having to leave early - typed up a few reflections on an interesting hour and a bit. Will update it with a photo once Blogger starts behaving! And thanks for letting us know about the seminar.
Posted by on Oct 30, 2007 @ 11:09 PMThanks guys. Glad you could come. Sorry not to get to meet. I hope to get a chance to do my own write up. I enjoyed it.
Posted by on Oct 31, 2007 @ 11:57 AMMick - I really enjoyed yesterdays seminar, though at the start I was worried it was turning into a pissing contest between middle aged male academics! Pitty it was cut short. I really wanted to pursue with you whether you felt the blogsphere and other eCitizen interventions can make more of an impact here than in places with more settled political institutions and classes.
I suppose I feel that all this stuff is just a tool, and can be used for good or ill - the real challenge is to build the new political commons that breaks down the barriers between the poltical class and ‘civil society’.
One other thing that occured to me (reinforced this morning by the announcement of an ‘over 50’s Facebook’), was that the internet may reinforce generational schisms rather than helping us to overcome them. Certainly the (important) emphasis on child protection has the side-effect of making inter-generational debate on line more difficult!
Thanks for a stimulating afternoon, and it was even better to realise we’d apparently hijacked some regular lecture slot - that’s one way to improve higer ed!
Posted by on Oct 31, 2007 @ 03:04 PMPaul Smyth ‘Pitty it was cut short.’
I could not agree more, a very interesting event - what about a Part 2 Mick?
Posted by on Nov 02, 2007 @ 11:54 AMOn face-book, whilst I have signed up it is a complete mystery to me as I cannot see its worth, has anyone got a link which explains its worth in a pretty simply way.
Posted by on Nov 02, 2007 @ 12:24 PM“Friends Reunited peaked and most people moved on elsewhere, same with Bebo and Myspace. Why should Facebook be any different? “
Most friends didn’t want to be re-united.
Posted by on Nov 02, 2007 @ 06:49 PMNot sure it has any worth Mick - my juvenile work mates just use it to chuck metaphorical stuff at themselves - strange.....
Posted by on Nov 02, 2007 @ 06:52 PMMick Hall ‘anyone got a link’
If you’re looking for the latest news on Myspace, Facebook, Beebo, Xanga, and the rest of the players in the social-networking space, Mashable looks interesting. http://www.mashable.com
Posted by on Nov 02, 2007 @ 09:52 PM
