Conceptualizing Forums and Blogs as Public Spheres

Abstract

This chapter shows that the concepts of the public sphere and alternative public spheres, frequently used to understand the influence of the Internet on public debate, only have limited value when we examine particular forms of online communication in the context of actual societal conflict. More specifically, the investigation demonstrates that these concepts could only capture part of the different roles played by forums and blogs in the debate following the assassination of Theo van Gogh. Yet, the more or less isolated discussions and statements on the forums and blogs do seem to have a significant social and political impact, albeit much less direct and more diffuse than has so far been theorized.

Keywords: internet forums, blogs, public sphere, public debate, Netherlands