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Reconsidering ‘Open Source Politics’

Date & Time:
15:30:00 - 17:00:00,
Wednesday 8 February, 2006

About

Over the past few years, many political elites and popular observers have suggested that America is undergoing a shift towards ‘open source politics’. The Howard Dean presidential campaign, the rise of political blogging, and online groups like Moveon.org have all been cited as evidence that collaborative techniques first seen in open source software have taken root in American politics.

This talk argues that novel forms of community-based production are indeed becoming an important part of the political landscape, but that there are also other – and less flattering – parallels been open source software development and nascent forms of open source politics. I discuss the importance of traditional players in online organizing, winners-take-all patterns between and within political groups, and the key organizational role played by social elites.

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Speakers

  • Name: Dr Matthew Hindman
  • Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Political Science Department, Arizona State
    University
  • Role:
  • URL: http://www.matthewhindman.com/
  • Bio:

Papers