Power, Public Opinion, and People

It’s fascinating when you think about how many areas of the world have arrived at the high-octane entertainment juncture it finds it in today. Generations of people worked to industrialize the world and built it with their bare hands, now many individuals, young and old spend their days moving a mouse, typing on a keyboard, anonymously spewing as much of their own thoughts and desires as possible with every click. These same kinds of hands, which worked to build the tallest buildings in the world, now create the Leroy Jenkins of the world. One can write what they want, instigate what they want, and represent what they want. The word “they” almost becomes irrelevant within this idea. However, you don’t have to troll the Internet with an alias for a name to do it. There are so many ways in which ones anonymity on the web gains a voice, “Public discourse involves much more than transmitting messages to individuals for the purpose of influencing their opinions” (Crespi, 1997, p. 56) For example, Wikileaks , represents over 1.2 million documents which have been submitted anonymously all with an aim for maximum political impact and releasing information to the public which would never be mentioned by a major media network. If you so much as click on certain news story or navigate through a site your voice is already heard. In a world where people were once accountable as individuals with a face and a family name, there is now the very convenient option to be accountable via only our opinions, words, and most importantly the voice in which one chooses in a democratic society.
There is no one corporation or government power fully capable of stopping this free flow of information which only manifests itself on a daily basis because mass quantities of people are so passionately involved. It creates a world were there are both good and evil, and it does so because the people have an opportunity to make a stand using their own convictions and for the first time in history having the ability to relate those words without being confined to a quote in a newspaper article or on television.

The Power Of Public Opinion

The fuel that keeps this well-oiled Internet machine moving is simply the power of the user and those users who choose to speak and those who choose to remain silent. These are two major players in the way the public opinion pendulum swings in cyberspace. Meyrowitz, conveys theses ideas with the words "It is not so much that media affect people, as it is that people selectively use, and thereby affect, the media." (Meyrowitz)
According to Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, "Observations made in one context spread to another and encourage people to either proclaim their views or to swallow them and keep quite until, in a spiraling process, the one view dominates the public scene and the other disappears from public awareness and it's adherents become mute." (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 5)

So, even in these anonymous communities there is still a thirst to be part of the majority. Is this just human nature or has it become a major flaw in humanity because of the consumer driven world we are all subjected to at birth? "..The agreement between your own convictions and your assessment of the trend of the times, the spirit of the age, the mood of those who seem to be more modern, more reasonable, or simply the feeling that the “better” people are on your side.” (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 26)

The spiral Neumann speaks of in her book, "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin," refers to the cyclical change which occurs much easier on the web because information is permanent within it’s endless boundaries and those who seek it can revive it at anytime. Think of it in the same way you’d think of how social trends such as clothing, movies, or even toys come and go in popularity among young people in particular. Everybody involved from the manufactures down to the people who are the consumers keep each other in check. (Merchants of Cool)
Real social change and action comes when ones back is against the wall and there’s in a sense nothing to lose. Someone is much less likely to speak up and “stir the pot” per say, on a topic they’re in favor of.
Opinions and public perception have the ability to drastically swing one way or another due to the overall view, which in return forces those who disagree into one of two things: hiding or thrusting themselves into the center of the discussion with their own hypothesis. In cyberspace this same theory holds true.

Swinging Gate Theory

Public discourse within small local communities in a physical world or on the web act as a swinging gate, going from one end to the other raking up everybody in it's path and in a sense saying, "You're either coming with me or I'm dragging you in the dirt until you join me." It's a form of hierarchy, which is not tied to the public laws we all abide by, but if we wish to be part of certain communities this, "swinging gate" acts as a form of governance. It’s a climate that comes in waves, and can change just as quickly or quicker than the climate within our region of the physical world.
When you consider the norms which start to take shape within public debate on the web, whether it is view counts on a video, language within an Internet community, or post counts. There’s a striking trend which poses the question: Why in a place such as cyberspace and in anonymous public opinion forums or video sharing websites do users typically give more respect and are less cruel to those with a high post count, view count or a high comment count? Is it nature’s way of respecting our elders in cyberspace? Just as human beings have viewed their elders as people who’ve traveled the road we all soon will, just as people once valued the stories of their parents, grandparents, and teachers on a much higher level because they had more knowledge, now seems to have moved this instinctive trait to a world where the number of hits now fills the role because of this thirst we all have, which is to look up to someone with authority. It’s become a very natural normality, which has triumphantly carried over to the web.

It also helps to think of political campaigns when considering the power of public opinion. Political success is highly dependent on the people.
“The way a party fares in an election depends greatly upon its ability to get its follower to participate in the election campaign…which party’s supporters showed more idealism and personal involvement…” (Noelle-Neumann, 1993, p. 24)
There are a range of differences that can dictate the direction the ruthless gate of public opinion can swing and the way in which is does so. While major corporations still manage the world with their billion dollar budgets and abide by laws in which everyday average citizens also abide by, pubic discourse on the web is starting to slowly effect how these businesses operate. In March of 2009 Skittles had to rethink their website and social networking strategies because users on Skittles’ twitter page “after users deluged the site with inane and often profane "tweets,"” (www.businessweek.com, “When Skittles Met Twitter”)

When you think about what public opinion has become in today’s world there is so much to consider. Town hall meetings with Senator John McCain, could be one aspect of it, but the more daunting area is composed almost entirely of human activity on the web.
Individuals wonder aimlessly through the halls of the world wide web assembling here and there and while the only thing that seems to truly hold any credence in an anonymous public setting is the written word.
Communities of human beings now have information available in an endless fashion, where things are compressed into a single entity and handed back through neatly organized pipes of news feeds, rss feeds, wireless devises, and Internet social norms. While these can be tools to freely and conveniently spread information and connect people, they also offer and aid in the dark side of the information super highway. They connect children with sex offenders, and the entirety of the anonymous Internet with a single person and that individual’s own life can then be slapped namelessly all over the web, ruining thier existence.

It’s all possible and it's all powerful.

Because of the power of public opinion on the Internet and because, according to the credo of the group that call themselves anonymous,“none of us are as cruel as all of us.” The only way to change this mind boggling, mega structure of technology is to completely re-tool and re-think the exact means in which it was built. Many corporate entities including major media and journalistic networks are starting to be downsized and exposed because of the truth that is brought about by public discourse. While one day some form of political power will surely try their hand at ending the free flow of ideas, information, and nonsense in cyberspace, it’s success will depend greatly on what the public allows...and change could certainly happen. As long as the climate of opinion doesn’t disagree. **Note** Outline Below



Works Cited

www.businessweek.com. March 8, 2009. http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca2009038_020385.htm

Crespi, Irving. The public opinion process: How the People Speak. 1997

Noelle-Neumann, Elizabeth. The Spiral of Silence "Public Opinion - Our Social Skin.” 1993

Meyrowitz, Joshua. No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior. 1986.

PBS/Frontline. "Merchants of Cool" 2001.

Thompson, Clive. “Web ushers in age of ambient intimacy.” International Herald Tribune, 8 Sep 2008




OUTLINE

Relate Idustrialization of America/world with present day.
•Physical Work – People built this country with their bare hands.
•Work on a computer now consists of thinking and moving a mouse and on a keyboard.
•“they” becomes irrelevant.

Power of Public Opinion
•People keep the cyberspace moving and progressing.
•Introduce Neuman “The Spiral of Silence”
•Even in anonymous communities there is still a thrist to be part of the majority.

Swinging Gate Theory
•“Join me or get out of the way”
•Obeying elders in cyberspace.
•Carries over to the web.

Change and the Future
•Hierarchy will try and change the current free flow of info.
•Will depend greatly on the climate of opinion and where the people want it to go.