Page 55 - Feasibility Study of New Media Technology on Constructing Online Public Sphere

Chapter 2. Literature review

of interactive websites and We Media in cyberspace, the online public sphere is varied.

Xiong (2012) analogised individuals as ‘nodes’ and internet media space as the ‘surface’
in the online public sphere and made the following categorisations:
• The ‘node-to-surface’ mode refers to the independent media spaces assigned
for individual users, but open access is granted to the public. These include
social networking sites, blogs, QQ-zone, Weibo and Renren in China.

• The ‘surface-to-surface’ mode refers to the communication space that is built
on the basis of common interests, such as online forums and community sites.
• The ‘formal and official’ mode refers to websites hosted by formal media

companies or governmental departments with the purpose of attracting public
engagement and collecting public opinion, such as the commercial news web
portals Sina and NetEase and the state-owned media outlet Xinhua Net.
Chen and Hu (2014) made the following categorisation of the evolution of Chi-
na’s online public sphere and ICT development:

• Web age. This represents the one-way information flow manifested by the
digitalisation of knowledge. Citizens acted as information consumers, and
BBS and forums were the main channels for people to discuss public affairs.

The online public sphere in the web age mainly functioned for information
dissemination, propaganda and marketing.
• Blog age. This represents a bidirectional pattern of information flow. Both
elite and grassroots entities emerged in blog spaces and proposed various top-
ics for open discussion.

• Weibo age. This empowers the opportunity of speech for every citizen in so-
ciety, and switches the public from message receivers to message producers.
Two conclusions can be drawn from these previous studies: firstly, the evolution

of ICT has stimulated citizens’ demands within an authoritarian state for equal partici-
pation in civil society; and secondly, ICT has empowered public participation, nurtured
public opinion, and further called for government response.

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