Engaged Politics in the networked society
On Friday, citizen reporters, "broadcasting jockeys", members of Internet communities and bloggers gathered at the OhmyNews' fourth International Citizens Reporters' Forum held in Nurtikum Business Tower in Seoul. Under the theme "Candlelight 2008," they discussed how the candlelight vigils are changing the media leadership in Korea. The forum was broadcast live over the Internet, and netizens could participate through an online forum.
Migrating from a passive social network to an active one
Before the candle light vigils, Afreeca, a popular Korean web-portal for web-casting, and Agora was mainly used for entertainment. People published videos for fun and discussed topics as food, celebrities and music. But during the last two months, Afreeca have become the main platform for webcasting the protests and the members of Agora has been organizing themselves to participate in the protests.
This is interesting - as I was talking to a friend of mine on Saturday about where all this could go.
There is developing a sense that there is a way to do things that is not based upon the straight line logic of the industrial world. So a political motivation starts to grow - in frustration with the current status quo.
On Democracy Korea - the author writes
What you see in the Republic of Korea right now is a completely new and innovative form of political participation. (Ever seen our crosswalk protests? ) Really, our protests are more like festivals than demonstrations. They are an expression of our sovereignty as a People. We don't fight for an ideology. Ideologies are relics of the last century. We fight for our own rights and those of our brothers and sisters, parents and children. This is the democracy of the 21st century. What century do you live in?
So do Communities Dominate Politics?
The simplistic answer to that is no - the more complex answer is movements engage people around higher order ideals and beliefs, it asks people to become self motivated. And in a participatory culture there is more reason and capability to do so.
Alan Moore co-founded SMLXL and has consulted for a wide range of global brands as a creative usiness and brand strategist. He has worked on innovative projects for; Nokia, Telia Sonera, Red Bull, The Coca Cola Company, Hennes & Mauritz, Saab, NorthOne Television, TV2 Norway and TV2 Finland and Sony BMG. He is the co-author of the book Communities Dominate Brands.