The Public Sphere is an idealised
realism. It only exists in the way we talk about things. It is, according to
Jurgen Habermas, "a discursive space in which individuals and groups
congregate to discuss matters of mutual interest and, where possible, to reach
a common judgment". Habermas imagined the public sphere as "a theatre
in modern societies in which political participation is enacted through the
medium of talk" and "a realm of social life in which public opinion
can be formed"
Walter Lippmann wrote that all “reporters
in the world working all the hours of the day could not witness all the
happenings in the world. There are not great many reporters. And none of them
has the power to be in more than one place at a time. Reporters are not psychics;
they do not gaze into a crystal ball and see the world at will, they are not
assisted by though-transference.” Although “reporters” are “people” and as a person
I think it is fair to say that we have all at one stage or another have had a
desire to present the events of our own local worlds ourselves. This is
happening now. Due to the Internet and social media, anyone and everyone is a reporter
in the sense that the blog postings of people from all over the world are
starting to find potential to know what is happening anywhere, anytime.
Image
and text by Anna Lena Schiller
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frauleinschiller
Media and
blogging has become the primary realm of existing online conversations. Owned
privately, these places are what we think of as the “public sphere”. We have
centralised stages providing as public spaces instead of a decentralised
Internet. A quasi-public sphere that is subject to both public and private
content controls spanning multiple jurisdictions and wisely different social mores.
Separate
standards are made for private organisations and companies in order for content
policies and procedures to strike a well-balanced user friendly, operating
within a practical model. A fine line also exists in keeping one’s uncensored
by national governments, while still attempting to provide space for free
expression
In
the public sphere roles are rapidly increasingly taken upon private companies,
as policies and regulations companies must serve, and the rules users must
follow, become significantly perplex.
Reference list
Aaron J. Barlow, 2007. The Rise of the
Blogosphere. Edition. Praeger.
Flickr:
Anna L. Schiller's Photostream. 2013. Flickr: Anna L. Schiller's
Photostream. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frauleinschiller.
[Accessed 03 October 2013].
Residualonlineincome.com. 2013. Residualonlineincome.com.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://autoblogging.residualonlineincome.com/tag/tool.
[Accessed 03 October 2013].
