Flows of relations and communication among Singapore political bloggers and organizations: The networked public sphere approach

Abstract

Adopting Friedland, Hove, and Rojas's (2006) concept of the networked public sphere, we set out to achieve two key objectives: identify the key players concerned with Singapore politics in the cyberspace and examine the nature of the social network comprising these players. In spite of Singapore's recognized success in deploying information communication technologies for economic progress, the liberalizing effects of the Internet have been limited. Using a descriptive social network analysis approach, we explore the dynamics that are taking place online and argue for their implications on the evolving political discourse. The study reveals that political bloggers and political parties dominate the cyberspace, while issue-based advocacy groups and media agencies are relegated to less important positions. In addition, high levels of interactivity are observed among political bloggers. These findings are of significant relevance to countries where media systems are stringently regulated by the government, as they point to the existence of possible networking structures that may exist in the online world. There lies a potential for the creation of an alternative and viable sphere of discourse for individuals and marginalized groups to circumvent offline media regulations and disseminate their perspectives online. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.