International Blogging: Identity, Politics and Networked Publics

by Steve Jones (Editor), Adrienne Russell (Editor), Nabil Echchaibi (Editor)

Overview

Bloggers around the world produce material for local, national and international audiences, yet they are developing in ways that are distinct from the U.S. model. Through case studies of blogs written in English, Chinese, Arab, French, Russian, and Hebrew, this book explores the way blogging is being conceptualized in different cultural contexts. The authors move beyond the most highly trafficked sites to shed light on larger developments taking place online, calling into question assumptions that form the foundation of much of what we read on blogging and, by extension, on global amateur or do-it-yourself media. This book suggests a more nuanced approach to understanding how blogospheres serve communication needs, how they exist in relation to one another, where they exist apart as well as where they overlap, and how they interact with other forms of communication in the larger media landscape.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433102349
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	02/25/2009
Series:	Digital Formations , #50
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

The Editors: Adrienne Russell is Assistant Professor of digital media studies at the University of Denver and was a fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center for Communication from 2005 to 2007. Her recent work has appeared in Critical Studies in Media Communication, New Media and Society, and Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism.
Nabil Echchaibi is Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Colorado-Boulder. His most recent work has appeared in international journals including Javnost-The Public, Gazette: Journal of International Communication and The Journal of Intercultural Communication. He is the author of Voicing Diaspora: Ethnic Radio in Paris and Berlin between Cultural Renewal and Retention (forthcoming).

Table of Contents

Contents: Adrienne Russell: Introduction: International Blogging-Identity, Politics, and Networked Publics – Nabil Echchaibi: From the Margins to the Center: New Media and the Case of Bondy Blog in France – Eugenia Siapera: Theorizing the Muslim Blogosphere: Blogs, Rationality, Publicness, and Individuality – Kim De Vries: Bridges or Breaches? Thoughts on How People Use Blogs in China – Karina Alexanyan/Olessia Koltsova: Blogging in Russia Is not Russian Blogging – Axel Bruns/Debra Adams: Mapping the Australian Political Blogosphere – Carmel L. Vaisman: Blogs as Public Property Media: Defining the Roles and Assessing the Influence of Political Blogging in Israel – Aziz Douai: Offline Politics in the Arab Blogosphere: Trends and Prospects in Morocco – Giovanni Navarria: Beppegrillo.it: One Year in the Life of an Italian Blog – Yasmin Ibrahim: Textual and Symbolic Resistance: Re-mediating Politics Through the Blogosphere in Singapore.

Editorial Reviews

«‘International Blogging’ is a timely and important contribution to contemporary debates over the role of blogging in public life, and the international spread of digital culture. The case studies are not only captivating, but provide unique access to the content and context of blogging in other national contexts. By showcasing the voices from other countries and other languages, this book enriches our view of the diversity of online participation and expression.» (Mizuko Ito, Research Scientist, Institute for Multimedia Literacy, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California)
«Blogging has usually been examined in the context of its origins in the U.S. This volume includes an impressive and incisive collection of case studies from around the world that show a much broader view of the way blogging has affected different cultures around the world. Blogging is not just a technological, social, political, economic, or cultural phenomenon, but one that combines all of these contexts – and as this volume illustrates, the activity takes on different nuance, impact, and potential in different parts of the world.» (Howard Rheingold, author of ‘Smart Mobs’ and ‘The Virtual Community’)
«Anyone who is working for greater human rights and more democratic practices among the world’s communities would do well to read this book, as its esteemed international contributors effectively map the emerging online communication landscape and the influence of both new and old sources of power within it.» (Lynn Schofield Clark, Associate Professor and Director, Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media)

«‘International Blogging’ is a timely and important contribution to contemporary debates over the role of blogging in public life, and the international spread of digital culture. The case studies are not only captivating, but provide unique access to the content and context of blogging in other national contexts. By showcasing the voices from other countries and other languages, this book enriches our view of the diversity of online participation and expression.» (Mizuko Ito, Research Scientist, Institute for Multimedia Literacy, School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California)
«Blogging has usually been examined in the context of its origins in the U.S. This volume includes an impressive and incisive collection of case studies from around the world that show a much broader view of the way blogging has affected different cultures around the world. Blogging is not just a technological, social, political, economic, or cultural phenomenon, but one that combines all of these contexts – and as this volume illustrates, the activity takes on different nuance, impact, and potential in different parts of the world.» (Howard Rheingold, author of ‘Smart Mobs’ and ‘The Virtual Community’)
«Anyone who is working for greater human rights and more democratic practices among the world’s communities would do well to read this book, as its esteemed international contributors effectively map the emerging online communication landscape and the influence of both new and old sources of power within it.» (Lynn Schofield Clark, Associate Professor and Director, Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media)

From the Publisher