Arab Media & Society

After the attacks on Gaza in December 2008, a group of bloggers and journalists got together to plan a food and clothing donation drive to help alleviate the suffering. Despite using new media tools extensively for our activism and social lives, none of us could have imagined what happened next. How did a small group of bloggers and journalists release the generosity of Jordanians, turning a 48-hour campaign to collect food and clothing into a large-scale operation that lasted for the duration of the Gaza offensive? This paper examines this example, and maps the new media ecology that enabled the campaign.

A new media ecology is developing in Jordan, one that’s offering an ever-growing number of people an opportunity to express their opinions, and creating greater space for collective action and social change.

On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a series of attacks on the Gaza Strip. The next day, the staff of 7iber.com met to discuss how we could respond. We had already been working with a number of new media tools and experimenting with ways to engage the growing number of digitized readers, and were looking for a project that could serve as a trial run. Unfortunately, it came in the form of death and destruction.

This paper explores the rise and utilization of digital small media, specifically focusing on blogs and social networking sites as platforms for organizing collective actions. I understand digital small media to be communication (asynchronous or synchronous) that uses digital technology, is not mass-produced, and is interactive; blogs, SMS, and Facebook pages are examples of digital small media. This paper shows how a new media ecology is developing in Jordan; one which offers more people an opportunity to express their opinions and by doing so, creates an alternative public sphere originating on the blogs. To show this, I trace the impacts of two case studies or large impact occasions as they traverse this new media ecology. The networks within which the occasion exists can be disentangled, identifying and discussing each, and then re-entangled to be examined as a complete unit. The ecology metaphor is particularly pertinent as it evokes a constantly changing, growing, interconnected, and flexible environment. A large impact occasion refers to an event that garners widespread attention on the blogosphere and Facebook, and spreads virally through social networks. These occasions enter mainstream media after originating in the blogosphere. Through the examples, I present evidence to support the continued use of digital small media as an technology for emancipation.

We can begin with a brief history of media in Jordan and the growth of the blogosphere and other comparable media. We then discuss cultural implications of the new communication tools, and the role of blogs in the Jordanian media landscape. The theoretical foundation for my paper consists of three components, as a vehicle to study and understand the advancement of blogs, their impact on society, and the emancipatory role of the technology. First I employ a systems approach in order to center my analysis on the human element rather than the technology. A systems approach also helps understand the complexity of the continually evolving ecology. I next use activity theory to understand the roles of subjects, tools, and motives. Finally, I explore the concepts of public sphere and hegemony and discuss the media climate and status of the public sphere in Jordan, and what changes are taking place. I explore two examples of large impact occasions, and trace their impact across the media landscape.

Building on a foundation of network analyses, a systems approach departs from conventional methods of studying networks by extending it to incorporate more holistic aspects by examining the system as a whole, rather than identifying a single component of the system and encompassing more of the cultural terrain that is crucial to this assessment.  This analysis employs an ecological approach, where the entire social environment is considered, while understanding that this assessment is one of many entry points and a positioned viewpoint at that.[1] To best understand a social system, one should gather multiple perspectives since each perspective is not “a reflection of ‘real things’” but “dependent on a multiplicity of factors.”[2] A systems approach differs in that the entire system is considered; it offers us the ability to zero in on one aspect and examine it carefully, while at the same time while understanding that everything is interconnected and thus, through the entry point of one perspective, the analysis will also touch on other aspects of the entire system. 

According to Thomas H. Davenport in Information Ecology, a human-centered approach puts “how people create, distribute, understand, and use information at its center.” People who adopt an ecological approach believe that information cannot be stored on computers easily, that it can take on various meanings. In other words, it acknowledges that humans shape and manage technology.  This notion, of analyzing the human in the center and not the technology, frees us from the powerful technological determinism of globalization rhetoric.  For example, some regard technology in Jordan as a savior and even the government has encouraged the growth of IT in all areas such as e-government and training new ICT specialists.  Despite this growth, Jordan adopted the rhetoric of globalization and did not focus on how the technology can be used, but rather focused on the technology itself.  Now, we see a market over-saturated with IT specialists, while e-government initiatives and websites do not meet their goals.

I've identified several important attributes in understanding the environment in which they function: 1) acknowledging multiple perspectives and embracing complexity 2) valuing interrelationships, and 3) recognizing a dynamic environment.  Generally, these points demonstrate the importance of understanding that technology is shaped and managed by people and not an invisible force that controls technology.  This enables this analysis to focus on how the technologies are being used incorporation with each other, rather than the technology itself.