Slashdot and the Public Sphere  

Jurgen Habermas's theory of the public sphere provides a model of idealised democratic debate. Three major features of this model can be identified - universal access, rational debate, and a disregard for rank. This essay analyses the Slashdot model, and use it to examine Slashdot, a popular Web site, as an actualisation of public space.

Baoill, Andrew Ó. First Monday (2000). Articles>Technology>Community Building>Blogging

Weblogs and the Public Sphere

In this essay I assess the potential impact of weblogs on the public sphere, using a model based on the work of Jürgen Habermas to provide an ideal against which we can measure the efficacy of weblogs as a public space.

Baoill, Andrew Ó. Into the Blogosphere (2004). Articles>Writing>Community Building>Blogging