Digitally networked media is contributing to a fundamental change in the structure of the public sphere. Platforms like YouTube, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter and blogs are reducing the barriers towards making information of all sorts available and towards networking with other people. Professionals in communication, e.g. in journalism, in politics or in public relations, have to adapt to this change in the media just as much as private individuals wanting to share aspects of their personal, everyday routines with their extended social network.
The emerging spaces for communication display their own “architecture”, which strongly influences the distribution and monitoring of information and knowledge. At the same time, our understanding of boundaries between public and private spheres is changing. The proposition of everyone being able to participate in society and its configuration with the aid of digitally networked media confronts the observation that power differences only shift or even become more powerful.
Duration: 2013-2016
Research programme:
RP2 - Regulatory Structures and the Emergence of Rules in Digital Communication
Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI)
Rothenbaumchaussee 36
20148 Hamburg
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