election 2005: effects and experience

The debate on the Voxpolitics site is growing more interesting by the day. Stephen Coleman took exception with Bill Thompson's optimism and framing of the issue (as I sort of did, as well).

I think that this approach does more harm than good. It suggests that the internet either 'matters' or 'doesn't matter', usually determined by answers to questions such as 'Did it lead to seats being won or lost?' or 'Did more people go online than watch TV?' To study the political effects of the internet should amount to more than aggrandising online politics in relation to other forms of communication.

My own position is that the internet throws up new forms, styles and experiences of political communication which supplement others, such as watching TV, reading newspapers and talking to friends and family. Sometimes supplementary activities turn into opportunities to communicate in new and interesting ways. These moments and episodes of qualitative innovation are more significant, I would argue, than claims that the internet counts more, less or not at all.

I agree with Stephen on the importance of 'style', experience (and performance) of online participation; I also agree on the need to move away from the 'effects' - 'no effects' debates, as 'uses' are much more pertinent (and interesting) frame.

However, I would not lump 'Did it lead to seats being won or lost?' or 'Did more people go online than watch TV?' in the same sentence.

The digitalisation of news (and information) production and consumption may not 'matter' for the campaign; but if 'tomorrow' the majority of Britons (from different backgrounds) was to use the Internet rather than TV as a source of political news, that would matter enormously for the 'style', experience, performance, and 'uses' described above.

That is: structure matters, digital structures matter.

If any British online political epiphany had to be had 'tomorrow', it would come thorough the BBC website, Google or Yahoo.co.uk. That is what people currently experience when they use the Net for political information.