The Wealth of Social Networks: A Case Study in Network Capital

• In Event: Online Media II: Analyses of Communication Networks

Abstract

Situated in a long-standing concern about the impact of technology on information within democratic society, a recent debate has emerged between digital optimists and digital skeptics. This essay focuses primarily on the opposing works of optimist Yochai Benkler and skeptics Matthew Hindman and Eli Pariser. Using a case study of community news site Madison Commons, I investigate to what extent the site supports Benkler’s concept of the networked public sphere, Hindman’s concept of the missing middle, and Pariser’s concept of the filter bubble. Site data collected using Google Analytics is employed to analyze trends in overall site traffic, traffic from online searches, and traffic referred from social networking sites and other local news sites. The data suggest elements of the networked public sphere benefit Madison Commons, but do not support unbridled optimism with regard to network infrastructures completely democratizing information systems.

Author

• Mitchael Schwartz, University of Wisconsin-Madison