PowerShiftsintheNetworkSociety:
TheRiseoftheFifthEstate
William H. Dutton
Quello Center, Michigan State University
PresentationfortheAnnualSymposiumoftheMelbourneNetworked
SocietyInstitute,UniversityofMelbourne,11November2016.
PowerShifts&Computing,1975
Technocratic
Elite
Managerial
Elite
Pluralistic
ReinforcementPolitics
Social
Shaping of
Technology
and its
Implications
InternetandDemocraticPowerShifts,2005
Citizens,
Consumers
Institutions,
suchasGov’t
&Business
Organizations
InternetandAutocraticPowerShifts,2015
Institutions,
suchasGov’t
&Business
Organizations
Citizens,
Consumers
InternetandTechnocraticPowerShifts,2016
Algorithms,
Analytics,Trolls,
Bots,Hackers
Gov’t&Business,
Citizens,
Consumers
TheInternet’sUseinReconfiguringAccessto:
Information
People
••Howyougetinformation
••Whatyouknow
••Howyoucommunicate
••Whoyouknow
Services
••Howyouobtainservices
••Fromwhom,fromwhere
Technology
••Howyoudowhatyoudo
••Whatknow-howyou
require
Alternative,EmpiricalPerspective:
EnablingNetworkedIndividuals
Source
Information
Join&Create
Networks
Enhance
Communicative
Power
OxfordInternetSurveys (OxIS)
2003,2005,2007,2009,2011,2013
Cross-sectionalSurveysversusPanels
Multi-StageProbabilitySample
England,Scotland&Wales
Respondents:14yearsandolder
Face-to-faceInterviews,HighResponseRates
Sponsorshipfor2013fromtheNominetTrust,Ofcom,
UKResearchCouncils,dot.rural
• ComponentofWorldInternetProject(WIP)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
SurveystoFocusedCaseStudies
Dynamics,
Strategies
Oxford
Internet
Surveys
Evolving
Setof
Cases
5th Estate
Concept
FirstPortof
Call
Trust&
Significance
Pattern of
Findings
Distributed
Collaboration
Searchv
Sites
SocialCues
TheConceptofaFifthEstate
§ Press since the 18th
Century - the ‘Fourth Estate’
§ Internet in the 21st enabling a Fifth Estate
Internet enabling a critical mass of individuals to
source information and network in ways that
enhance their communicative power vis-à-vis
business, industry, government, politics & media.
HistoricalPathwaystoaFourthEstate
Montesquieu’s
TripartiteSystem
&USSeparation
ofPowers
EdmundBurke,
FeudalEstatesof
Ireland
Fourth
Estateof
thePress
st
FromFeudalEstatestothe21
Century
FeudalEstates
21st CenturyRolesof
Clergy
PublicIntellectuals
Nobility
Business,IndustryandEconomic
Elites,InternetIndustrialElites
Commons
Government,Politicians&
Regulators
Press
JournalistsandtheMassMedia
Mob
Mobs,butalsoCivilSociety,
NetworkedIndividuals
PercentageofUsers,Britain,2013
FifthEstate
Attentives
PercentageofUsers
Spectators
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Fifth Estate defined by being networked (beyond the home), producing content
(writing blogs, posting text and photos), sourcing (following search), collaborating
(following cues), trusting (content, providers), centrality (viewing net as essential for
information).
Demo
••Young
••Urban
••Minorities
SES
Work
Perspective
••Educated
••Middle&
UpperMiddle
••HigherIncome
••ManagerialProfessional
••Student
••Employed
••PoliticalEfficacy
••Political
Empowerment
NetworkedIndividuals&Institutions
Arenas
Networked
Institutions
Networked
Individuals
Health &MedicalCare
E-Health,emailing
safetyalerts
Going totheInternet
forinfo;networked
physicians(Sermo)
Education
Multimedia classrooms, Ratemyteacher; Khan
MOOCs
Academy,Informal
learning
Governance
Cyberdemocracy,eVoting,e-Petitions
Anti-briberywebsites;
ArabSpring; 38Degrees
News
Onlinejournalism
Citizenjournalists,
bloggers,whistleblowers,churnalism.org
FifthEstateasComplementvSubstitute
NetworkedInstitutions
NetworkedIndividuals
•• DemocraticAutocratic
•• NotReplaced
••CoretoInstitutions
••Baseof5th Estate
Strategies of Networked Individuals of a Fifth Estate
Sourcing
••Findthroughsearchorsocialmedia
••Patientorcitizenfindsinformationaboutproblems
Creating
••Individualcreatesinformation
••MarthaPayne’sNeverSeconds
••FlintWaterCrisis,PoliceShootingsand#BlackLivesMatter
DistributingLeaking
••Distributeorleakinformationtonetworks
••WhistleBlowers,WikiLeaks,OpenLeaks,EdwardSnowden,Panama
••GeneratingMediaCoverage
Networking
••Self-selected,distributed,collaborativenetworks
••Sermo,PatientsLikeMe
Collective
Intelligence
••Aggregateinformation,observations
••RateMyTeacher,BriberyWebsites,EnvironmentalSensors
Martha Payne, 9 yr old girl
writes blog for school project in
Scotland: ‘NeverSeconds’
- Produced content: photos &
reviews school lunch in 2012
- Distributed on her blog:
neverseconds.blogspot.com/
- Censored by her institution
(her primary school’s council)
-8,859,514 pages views
-Fostered debate over the
quality of school lunches
nationwide and worldwide
Strategies of Networked Individuals of a Fifth Estate
Sourcing
••Findthroughsearchorsocialmedia
••Patientorcitizenfindsinformationaboutproblems
Creating
••Individualcreatesinformation
••MarthaPayne’sNeverSeconds
••FlintWaterCrisis,PoliceShootingsand#BlackLivesMatter
DistributingLeaking
••Distributeorleakinformationtonetworks
••WhistleBlowers,WikiLeaks,OpenLeaks,EdwardSnowden,Panama
••GeneratingMediaCoverage
Networking
••Self-selected,distributed,collaborativenetworks
••Sermo,PatientsLikeMe
Collective
Intelligence
••Aggregateinformation,observations
••RateMyTeacher,BriberyWebsites,EnvironmentalSensors
Accountability:Distributing,Leaking
Strategies of Networked Individuals of a Fifth Estate
Sourcing
••Findthroughsearchorsocialmedia
••Patientorcitizenfindsinformationaboutproblems
Creating
••Individualcreatesinformation
••MarthaPayne’sNeverSeconds
••FlintWaterCrisis,PoliceShootingsand#BlackLivesMatter
DistributingLeaking
••Distributeorleakinformationtonetworks
••WhistleBlowers,WikiLeaks,OpenLeaks,EdwardSnowden,Panama
••GeneratingMediaCoverage
Networking
••Self-selected,distributed,collaborativenetworks
••Sermo,PatientsLikeMe
Collective
Intelligence
••Aggregateinformation,observations
••RateMyTeacher,BriberyWebsites,EnvironmentalSensors
Government
andRegulatory
Agencies
Business&
IndustrialElites
(Commons)
(FourthEstate)
(Nobility)
Public
Intellectuals
(Clergy)
Press
Challenges
tothe
Fifth
Estate
Trolls,Bots,
Spammers,…
(theMob)
Points of Summary and Conclusion
••EmpiricallyAnchoredv
Estate Deterministic
Concept
••SensitizingConcept
Valueof5th
NewPerspective, ••CommunicativePowerof
BeyondTraditional NetworkedIndividuals
Institutions
••CriticalMassv UniversalAccess
••Enablingthe5th Estate?
Orientationto
Technology,Policy ••SupportingEnemiesofthe5th
&Regulation
Estate?
PowerShiftsintheNetworkSociety:
TheRiseoftheFifthEstate
William H. Dutton
Quello Center, Michigan State University
PresentationfortheAnnualSymposiumoftheMelbourneNetworked
SocietyInstitute,UniversityofMelbourne,11November2016.