Shaping the Network Society: The New Role of Civil Society in Cyberspace

Citation

McGuirk, K. (2005), "Shaping the Network Society: The New Role of Civil Society in Cyberspace", The Electronic Library, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 141-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470510582808

This book resulted from the Seventh DIAC (Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing) Symposium, Seattle, 2000. The main message was that computer professionals have a critical role to play in the spread of computers and engaging civil society in information and communication technology (ICT) for the common good. Computer scientists can expand the scope and relevance of their practice through research in partnerships with civic and community activities. This accentuates the unacknowledged role that global civil society plays in shaping the network society. Chapter 1 provides background to the attempt to weave together various broader movements of a complex and dynamic environment of the directions undertaken by practitioners of civil society ICT, into a coherent and useful whole for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and citizens. The book is structured in such a way that the critique, analysis, case studies, and policy considerations form a cohesive story of a powerful, if diffuse, movement. The introduction shows how research focusing on people in their natural social environments, using a common language, and that is flexible and pragmatic, remains unsupported by national and international funding agencies. A collective message of shaping a network society, in and through which sociotechnical systems can be developed, is expressed. The purpose is to lay the initial groundwork for understanding the actuality and potential of new, generally Internet‐based, forms of information and communication for social improvement and change. The use of communication media focuses attention on the creation of new forms of action and interaction in the social world, new kinds of social relationships, and new ways of relating to others and to oneself. The major themes are divided into three interrelated parts. Part I (“Civilizing the Network Society”) discusses the broad context of ICT and civil society. This includes the sociology of cyberspace; technological versus social imperative; contrasting global marketing with universal values and the threat of the “billboardization” of society to the right of free speech, equal participation in social life and to cultural identity. Part II (“Global Tales of the Civil Network Society”) includes case studies from around the world as examples of local cyberspace‐based civic projects. These studies contain alternative ideas for best practices and new social and technological directions. They illustrate the main focus that civil society be encouraged to play a role in shaping the network society. Part III (“Building a new Public Sphere in Cyberspace”) provides theoretical underpinnings, empirical findings, and other intellectual support for the development of the next generation of civic applications of ICT. The focus is on the future by indicating what the case studies tell us about new opportunities for civil society. The concluding chapter reflects on the prospects of a new public sphere, and demonstrates how the views from around the world illustrate the commonality and diversity of efforts in creating new systems. Its contributions are not limited only to a small group of professionals, but should prove valuable to those outside the computing world, such as community and civil‐society practitioners, teachers and students, journalists, artists, policymakers and citizens. The index proves to be quite useful.