Expect Us - Online Communities and Political Mobilization

In Expect Us, Beyer looks at political consciousness and action in four communities, each born out of chaotic online social spaces that millions of individuals enter, spend time in, and exit moment by moment: Anonymous (4chan.org), IGN.com, World of Warcraft, and The Pirate Bay.

About the author

Jessica L. Beyer is Research Scientist at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and the Technology & Social Change Group in the Information School, University of Washington, Seattle.

Summary

In Expect Us, Beyer looks at political consciousness and action in four communities, each born out of chaotic online social spaces that millions of individuals enter, spend time in, and exit moment by moment: Anonymous (4chan.org), IGN.com, World of Warcraft, and The Pirate Bay.

Additional text

In Expect Us, Beyer's remarkably rich empirical research on online spaces and groups turns conventional thinking about what generates protest on its head. Most social movement scholars assume that close, personal, and long-term relationships are necessary for high-cost activism. But Beyer shows that online, anonymous spaces can actually be far more supportive of high-cost activism and that online spaces that facilitate close, personal relationships actually decrease the likelihood of activism. Contrary to many scholars' assumptions that entertainment-based media uses are corrosive to political participation, Beyer shows that a large amount of political talk and notable political action can develop from entertainment-focused spaces. This book is a must read for scholars of online activism and contemporary activism more generally. Expect Us should radically change how we think about the origins of protest in a networked society.

Product details

• Authors: Jessica L. Beyer, Jessica L. (Postdoctoral Research Fellow Beyer, Beyer Jessica L.
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 09.10.2014
• EAN: 9780199330751
• ISBN: 978-0-19-933075-1
• No. of pages: 192
• Series: Oxford Studies in Digital Politics; Oxford Studies in Digital Poli
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Media Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Communication Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Media & Internet, Communication Studies, Political campaigning & advertising, Political campaigning and advertising