Collective Behavior

As I previously touched on, the internet and in particular applications of Web 2.0 create greater possibilities for the democratisation of Habermas' public sphere, but there are also debates surrounding the quality of material actually entered into the internet. Chu briefly mentions this in her article 'Collective behavior in YouTube: a case study of 'Bus Uncle' online videos', but Chu's area of interest concerns an emergent new order of collective behavior ushered in by the internet. Rather than adhering to the confines of Habermas' definition of the public sphere, Chu's study of collective behavior embraces cultural practices that may sit outside of rational, informed debate, but within a 'public space'. The article centres on a case study of the mash-up video's created by users of YouTube in response to the viral video 'Bus Uncle'. Chu analyses this collective response as it sits within cultural practice and the changes therein as a result of new technologies. This is of particular interest to me, I have long wondered whether the amateurish or flippant nature of some internet practices makes them less important or worthy of study. Despite the tone of my previous comments on the subject, I think Chu's 'collective behavior' and 'public space' are both under-analysed aspects of digital culture, and for that reason this may be the area I choose to explore in my critical essay.

See: Habermas &
Donna Chu (2009). Collective behavior in YouTube: a case study of 'Bus Uncle' online videos. Asian
Journal of Communication. Vol. 19(3), pp337-53.
Maggie Griffith and Zizi Papacharissi (2010).