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Volume 2 Issue 2 (September 2010)
Deliberation, Collaboration, Mobilisation: Digital Media and Networked Participation

As Manuel Castells observed in his seminal work The Rise of the Network Society, the network has become the dominant organising logic of society today. It has transformed our homes into hyperconnected nodes for communication, interaction, and information sharing. The traditional, hierarchical structure of local and national government is giving way to the complex and intricately interwoven architecture of the global economy. And the ubiquity of mobile media devices, WiFi networks, and networked infrastructure in urban space has replaced the archaic ‘grid’ layout of the city with a vast, sprawling network of cables and telecommunication lines.

The rise of digital networks has opened up new possibilities for public participation and engagement by revolutionising the way we communicate with our friends, communities, political institutions, and the physical environment. Earlier this year, political activists in Moldova used Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other social networking technologies to stage public protests and storm government office buildings. The proliferation of citizen journalism websites, Massively-Multiplayer Online games, and user-generated advertising campaigns has made media organisations increasingly reliant on content created by a global network of users to thrive (and make a profit). And in the United States, Barack Obama has made public participation, transparency, and civic engagement through online initiatives a cornerstone of his administration’s approach to governance.

But while networked technologies enable public participation and mobilisation on a scale not possible in the pre-digital era, they also create tensions and provoke conflicts with potentially devastating consequences: The same technologies that allow us to organise social gatherings or political protests were used to coordinate the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the 2005 Cronulla race riots in Sydney. These technologies may establish spaces for public engagement and networked participation, but they can equally have undesirable effects and unexpected outcomes which challenge traditional structures of power and control, or reinforce others.

In addition to submissions to our general section, PLATFORM: Journal of Media and Communication welcomes thematic submissions by current graduate students working in the field of media and communications which critically examine policy initiatives, projects, online services, or interventions in the area of “Digital Media and Networked Participation”. Possible case studies might include:

Submission deadlines:

29 January, 2010: Abstracts/Proposals (500-800 words)
31 March, 2010: Full Papers (6,000-8,000 words, including 200 word abstracts and six keywords)

Submissions to: platformjmc@gmail.com

All submissions to PLATFORM must be from current graduate students (no more than 6 months after graduation) undertaking their Masters, Ph.D. or international equivalent. We recommend that prospective authors submit abstracts for approval by PLATFORM editors before the January 29 deadline to allow for feedback and suggestions, however full papers may still be sent after this date as long as we receive them by 31 March, 2010.

All eligible submissions will be sent for double-blind peer-review. Early submission is highly encouraged as the review process will commence on submission. Please read the Submission Guidelines before submitting work.

For more information contact:
Dale Leorke, Editor-in-Chief of PLATFORM Volume 2, Issue 2

Apply to Peer-Review

PLATFORM: Journal of Media and Communication invites early career, PhD and Masters researchers to peer-review its scholarly submissions. If you would like to apply, please submit a 150 word bio as well as a CV highlighting research projects, publications and paper presentations.

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