BloggingHeads in the Network

The blogosphere is a vibrant and interesting source to tap into various perspectives on all sorts of topics. In particular there are many political blogs that discuss topics from various points of the political spectrum. Although blogs allow for some form of discussion it is rather limited. One particular example that takes discussion and interaction a step further is Bloggingheads.tv. Bloggingheads is described as a ‘diavlog’, that is dialogue in the similar style of a web blog, but with the participants skyping. The interesting aspect of this particular form of communication is that it melds the culture of academia and debate with the vloging/blogging tools of the internet. It allows for two individuals to discuss/debate a specific topic, and viewers can comment.
At a time when the younger generations are accused of being apolitical this is an interesting tool that suggests otherwise, and has the potential to reach people internationally, it is an opportunity to view and participate online in a community.

In considering this tool in regards to network theory, it does allow for individuals who perhaps could not normally enter into a constructive debate due to location. Essentially Bloggingheads.tv has created an online community of people who may not necessarily hold the same values of political beliefs, however share the value in constructive debate. It is a new public sphere, as envisaged by Jurgen Habermas, online. This point is discussed succinctly by Varnelis and Friedberg in their article Place: Networked Place. They note that “… the public sphere was not so much a physical place as a discursive site in which a literate public could conduct rational and critical debate” (2008: 13).
This notion of the discussion being the focal point rather than the space is an interesting point as it links into the idea that a community is now built through similar interests rather than location. As Keith Hampton suggests, with the introduction of the internet into everyday life similar interests can influence the community a person joins more than their physical location (2004: 218).

Bearing this in mind Bloggingheads has the potential to spark more widespread debate and thought about the topics discussed as it is not in one location but all throughout the world and its network is growing all the time.


References

Hampton, K. (2004) ‘Networked sociability online, off – line’ in Castells, M. The Network Society: a cross – cultural perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 217 – 232.

Varnelis, K. & Friedberg, A. (2008) ‘Place: Networked Place’ in Varnelis, K. Networked Publics. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, pp. 12 – 28.