Cyberpolitics: Citizen Activism in the Age of the Internet (People, Passions, and Power: Social Movements, Interest Organizations, and the P)

By John E. Hill and Kevin A. Hughes

Is the Internet poised to replace television as the central means of political communication? Will the advent of computer communication create a new era of citizen activism? Will the Internet ultimately lend itself more to political accountability and access or to exclusion and extremism? Is cyberspace truly the domain of the ideological right?

In answering these questions, Cyberpolitics goes beyond the hype to analyze the content of political discussion on the Internet and to see how the Internet is being used politically. Empirical research translated into dozens of graphically compelling figures and tables illuminates for the first time Internet characteristics heretofore only speculated about: Who are the "cybercitizens" using the Internet, how do they participate in the political process, and who uses the Internet most effectively to accomplish political ends?
The bottom line the authors reach should be reassuring to Internet utopians and dystopians alike: As the Internet grows, it will change the nature of political action, discourse, and effect less than it will itself be changed by politics. Along the way, we learn a lot about politics on the Internet and off-in the U.S. and around the world; left, right, and center.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0847687430
• ISBN13: 9780847687435
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 1.1" x 5.9"

Customer Reviews

A Foundational Book for E-Commerce

As a Fortune 500 Market Researcher specializing in targeted/online marketing, I can't stress enough the importance of this foundational work. If we take a step back and think about the future of e-commerce more broadly, then the true significance of Cyberpolitics becomes even clearer. The Internet is, above all else, a vehicle for information. E-commerce is often the medium through which information is provided, organized, and housed. However, before marketers can determine the most effective means of successfully accomplishing this task, we have to gain a fuller picture of the overall audience. Since political information is a primary information need for Internet users, the dynamics of this user market is something that should interest anyone involved in e-journalism, political sites, community portals, and online information sources more broadly. I look forward to follow-up studies from the authors!

Finally! Some evidence to back up Internet claims!!

This is really a very good book, and very timely as well. Too many books about the Internet, including books about politics, investing, relationships, privacy, etc., are simply pie-in-the-sky theorizing. This book, focussing on politics, actually provides evidence through what looks like lots of research to prove its assertions. I highly recommend this book to people interested in something a bit more down to earth and less breathless about politics, the Internet, and the future.