gatewatching

The announcement of the Greensblog is an interesting example for the possibilities of blogging for minority political parties. Clearly drawing inspiration from Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett’s blog , it shows the value of the blogging format for discussing political positions that fall outside the easy left-right, Labor-Liberal soundbite-based journalism often found in the industrial mainstream. As Greensblog contributor Tim Hollo hopes, it will work for the Greens because their policies aren’t necessarily “soundbite-friendly”, and they welcome the possibility of consultative policy development.

This form of engagement is something the major parties should be watching. For some years now, observers have noted a trend of voters moving away from traditional party affiliations to multi-faceted political perspectives, shifting from party-political to social activism, and forming fluid allegiances that vary across policy areas.

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blogging, government, social networking academic, blogging, e-democracy, government, social networking, wiki

So, I’ve been kicking around on Facebook lately. My colleagues have posted some interesting analysis of Facebook, which I am still thinking about. I like Facebook, in a way that I never got into Myspace. I’ve caught up with friends from highschool who I haven’t seen for years, even played scrabble with them, but there’s still that concern about privacy.

Anyways… This struck me the other day. I live on the Northside of Brisbane, so I was unsurprised when I got an invite to a Northside related Facebook group. Read more…

citizen journalism, social networking academic, citizen journalism, facebook, social bookmarking, social networking