A successful lecture, a new LinkedIn group, and a new look

I’m pleased to report that my lecture, “Log on, tune in, blog out: citizen-journalism, New Media, and subversive activity,” presented at Saint Joseph’s University, was well-received.  I’ve made it available for download in four parts (click on the thumbnail to the left).  I invite academics and journalists, as well as friends and readers, to make use of it and pass it around!

The lecture is a general survey of the darker side of Web 2.0-enabled New Media.  In particular, I explore some of its frightfully hilarious/hilariously frightful uses by subversive and revolutionary groups on the fringes of contemporary global society.  My case studies:

• the French National Front on Second Life;
• the Stormfront White Nationalist Community;
• the global anticapitalism movement (specifically, the IndyMedia Network);
• radical Islamism (specifically, AqsaTube);
• and the Second Life Liberation Army.

I lightly get into some of the theoretical issues, in particular the nature of New Media and today’s internet, and the role culture plays in determining the extent to which a subversive or revolutionary organization goes “high tech.”

The lecture is decidely “low tech,” intended for non-specialists and all-around end-users.  However, it may also be of value to those with technical or journalistic backgrounds who may not be aware of the various fringe subcultures forming around the new technology.

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In other news, a few months ago I started the LinkedIn network’s first group devoted solely to online journalism.  The group has now been updated and is accepting new members — professional, ameteur, and citizen.   Click here or on the logo to the left to visit the group (which is simply called, Online Journalism).

If you’d like to join, contact me via regular e-mail or LinkedIn InMail.  And while you’re there, make sure to check out another LinkedIn group, Online reporters and editors.

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And finally, old readers will have noticed my blog’s new look.  I felt it was time to update it so as to better fit my dual-profession as historian and cyberjournalist.  We in the knowledge industry must often wear multiple hats, but it would be wise if our web presences are as unified or integrated as possible.

On a side note, if you’re curious about my new logo image, it’s from a 1975 video art installation in Sweden.  I snagged it from the Web Net Museum; you can see the original full photograph wwwaaayyy at the bottom of this page.