Interacting and representing: can Web 2.0 enhance the roles of an MP?

Several UK Members of Parliament (MPs) have a foothold within a Web 2.0 environment. Some write blogs, such as Labour’s Tom Watson or Conservative John Redwood. Equally, some have joined virtual communities such as the social networking sites (SNS) MySpace or Facebook. Cumulatively this indicates they are exploring new means of promoting themselves, their politics as well as news means for interacting with their constituents or those who share their political interests. The key aspect of Web 2.0 technology that offers potential for MPs is that an architecture of participation is in place where those with Internet access can interact with one another. Apart from the Webmasters, there is no automatic hierarchy within communities and so each page within a community site is produced by its members. In sharp contrast to the ‘we will build it and they will come’ philosophy associated with Web 1.0 and the static website; Web 2.0 users work on a ‘we will come and build it philosophy’. MPs, in using this technology, must relinquish some control over their public representation in order to engage with community members; this papers asks to what extent this is occurring, what functions of an MPs role are enhanced through the use of Web 2.0, and concludes by focusing on the advantages and disadvantages for MPs of pursuing a Web 2.0 strategy. Our research analysed the content of the 42 weblogs and 37 SNS of MPs who advertise these on the personal websites. Our first set of questions related to the extent to which public conversations could take place; so assessing the extent of interactivity between the MPs and the visitors to these weblogs and SNS profiles. Secondly we focused on the extent to which interactivity was potentiated, either through site functions or the language used, such as asking questions; so assessing whether interaction could take place. Thirdly we assessed which of the MPs roles, the policy scrutiny trusteeship role, the party member role, or constituency representative role was being enhanced through Web 2.0 technologies and what relationship this had to interaction gained. Our data suggests that interactivity is taking place. But this can be in a fairly limited form with many visitors being more likely to comment without returning rather than being part of any reciprocal exchange with the MP. In our assessment, this was due to the fact that many blogs and SNS profiles are laden with too much information and insufficient opportunities to enter into conversations on matters of importance to visitors. When focusing on the functions of the MP, it was clear that many used Web 2.0 as a space to promote the party and communicate their thoughts on issues of the day however these tended to gain little interaction. However, those MPs who use Web 2.0 tools to enhance their constituency representative role did find visitors would interact with them. Within Web 2.0 we can also find a further purpose for MPs, offering insights into their background and personal life to offer a more three-dimensional perspective to visitors. Many MPs use SNS particularly in the same way as any other user, as an individual as opposed to as a professional within any particular career. Here we find MPs also benefiting from interaction with visitors and not only those that are within their offline circle of friends and colleagues. Thus we conclude that there is potential for MPs to use Web 2.0 to support their representative function and gain interaction with a broader public than they would normally. Weblogs can be used to build a community of interest around policy areas to some extent, though this is currently limited to a minority. However SNS can be used to enhance the link between constituents and the MP, if only a minority of the constituency, and can widen the MPs circle of contacts. However, the control aspect is clearly a worry for MPs. While outside of an election campaign it may not matter what is said on an MPs’ weblog or SNS profile there are dangers that during an election they can be hi-jacked by opponents. Therefore the calculation will remain one of benefit versus risk and an assessment of whether sufficient constituents can be reached, or significant numbers of contacts be made, to indicate whether Web 2.0 offers huge promise or huge dangers

Interactivity and Branding, public political communication as a marketing tool

Effective communication is essential for brands to gain awareness, interest and loyalty from their consumers; the same is as true for politics as for any manufacturer or service provider. The challenge for political parties and candidates seeking support or election is finding the means to transmit their messages to an increasingly hard to reach audience. The consumer within a political context may avoid hard news or broadcast political debate, discard any direct mail received and, when receiving glimpses of political communication, simple reject any political messages as spin and propaganda. In order that brand values are accepted and understood and accepted effective, unmediated communication is crucial and increasingly political communication strategists are turning to the Internet which can not only enable the reaching of a wider audience but can also complement and augment the brand character. As new technologies are adopted, new modes of communication are also introduced. While a website can act as a shop front from which parties or candidates can advertise their policies and personnel, the style of the site (design, language and features) can act as metaphors for the professionalism and style of representation offered. To appear modern parties are increasingly adopting Web 2.0 tools, platforms and features. These all permit, to differing degrees, users to interact with parties and candidates and have conversations across online platforms. This interactivity can, if used strategically, be used as a tool for branding a party or candidate given that the uses of such tools can be metaphors for openness, accessibility and the representational character that may be provided post election. We explore this issue drawing on original empirical data gathered through analyses of online activities during the French and US presidential contests of 2007 and 2008 and of UK parties and MPs during 2008 and 2009. Through a process of creating narratives for each of the brands analysed, based upon a content and discourse analysis of the websites and other online presences, we identify what characteristics the online shop front is designed to project. These narratives, cumulatively, suggest that the online environment is becoming a key communicational tool for those who seek election, and potentially a key source of information for the voter; thus an important location to place strategic branded information. However it appears that interactivity is better suited to the activities of candidates, nationally or locally, due to the individualistic nature of conversational interactivity. Interactivity can thus have a significant role to play within a presidential contest where the individual is seeking office, but when representatives attempt to construct their individual brand it can also challenge traditional hierarchies within party based parliamentary systems such as the UK

Towards a non-hierarchical campaign? Testing for interactivity as a tool of election campaigning in France, the US, Germany and the UK.

Interest in the Internet and its role within political communication and election campaigning has now an established body of theoretical and empirical history, with mixed predictions and findings. The bulk of the empirical research has been in single countries, and where there has been comparative research it has tended to use a range of methodologies conducted by different authors. Largely, empirical studies have agreed with the politics as usual thesis, that political communication online is of a similar if not identical style to offline: top-down, information heavy and designed to persuade rather than consult with voters. The mass take-up of web 2.0 tools and platforms challenges this approach, however. Internet users now have opportunities to interact with a range of individuals and organisations, and it is argued that such tools reduce societal hierarchies and allow for symmetrical relationships to build. Theoretically democratic politics is a fertile environment for exploring the opportunities potentiated by web 2.0, in particular the notion of interactivity between the campaign (candidate, party and staff) and their audiences (activists, members, supporters and potential voters). Conceptually, web 2.0 encourages co-production of content. This research focuses on the extent to which interactivity is encouraged through the use of web 2.0 tools and platforms across a four year period focusing on four discrete national elections; determining take up and the link to national context as well as assessing lesson learning between nations. Using the Gibson and Ward coding scheme, though adapted to include web 2.0, we operationalise the models of interactivity proposed by McMillan (2002) and Ferber, Foltz and Pugiliese (2007). This methodology allows us to assess whether election campaigns are showing evidence of adopting co-created campaigns based around conversations with visitors to their websites or online presences, or whether websites remain packaged to persuade offering interactivity with site features (hyperlinks, web feeds, search engines) only. Indications are that the French election was largely politics as usual, however the Obama campaign took a clear step towards a more co-produced and interactive model. There may well be a clear Obama effect within the German and UK contests, or parties may adopt the look if not the practice of the US election. This paper will assess the extent to which an interactive model of campaigning is emerging as well as detailing a methodology which can capture and rate the levels and types of interactivity used across the Internet. Whilst specific political cultural and systematic factors will shape the use of Web technologies in each election, we suggest that an era of web 2.0 is gradually replacing that of Web 1.0. Within this era there is some evidence that campaigners learn from previous elections on how best to utilise the technology

Political Parties and Web 2.0: The Liberal Democrat Perspective

Political parties have been criticised for their limited use of interactivity via their Internet presences, largely it is suggested because they seek to control their online messages. This article will consider interactivity from the perspective of a political party, the Liberal Democrats, using their Freedom Bill online campaign as a case study. We suggest that the Liberal Democrats use ‘weak interactivity’ because of internal policymaking concerns, and their belief that as a political party they are promoting their ideas, not co-creating a new product. Thus we suggest interaction should be closer to a formal consultation than a face-to-face dialogue

Consideration of filter design space for validation of virus filtration in continuous processing applications

Continuous bioprocessing is rapidly gaining momentum, and seem likely to assume an increasing role in manufacturing in the coming years. This is due to the benefits of operational flexibility and efficiency, product consistency, increased quality assurance, and significant cost savings. However, as with all new technologies, there are several challenges to address. These include establishing technical strategies to implement Quality by Design principles, and subsequently, process validation into a continuous bioprocess. With continuous bioprocessing applications for monoclonal antibody (mAb) or recombinant proteins, one critical consideration involves assurance of viral safety. While robust virus clearance is well understood for batch processes, many questions remain on how to implement viral safety into continuous bioprocesses. For example, use of virus filtration in continuous bioprocessing is likely to involve low flow rates, and significantly extended processing times compared to current batch applications. Successful implementation will require a very thorough understanding of the virus filter design space. Further, validation of virus filters for continuous bioprocessing will require innovative test design to be able to demonstrate robust viral clearance, while also simulating extended filtration times and low flow rates, often considered worst-case parameters for validation of virus filters in a batch mode. Here we present data to show some of the process inputs that should be evaluated to determine critical control attributes for continuous bioprocessing applications. We also present data that show a robust virus filter design space is required for implementation into continuous bioprocessing applications. Specifically, our results show that over 7 logs of virus clearance can be achieved when simulating virus filtration in a low flux continuous bioprocess

Towards a non-hierarchical campaign? Testing for interactivity as a tool of election campaigning in France, the US, Germany and the UK.

Interest in the Internet and its role within political communication and election campaigning has now an established body of theoretical and empirical history, with mixed predictions and findings. The bulk of the empirical research has been in single countries, and where there has been comparative research it has tended to use a range of methodologies conducted by different authors. Largely, empirical studies have agreed with the politics as usual thesis, that political communication online is of a similar if not identical style to offline: top-down, information heavy and designed to persuade rather than consult with voters. The mass take-up of Web 2.0 tools and platforms challenges this approach, however. Internet users now have opportunities to interact with a range of individuals and organisations, and it is argued that such tools reduce societal hierarchies and allow for symmetrical relationships to build. Theoretically democratic politics is a fertile environment for exploring the opportunities potentiated by Web 2.0, in particular the notion of interactivity between the campaign (candidate, party and staff) and their audiences (activists, members, supporters and potential voters). In particular, Web 2.0 conceptually encourages co-production of content. This research focuses on the extent to which interactivity is encouraged through the use of Web 2.0 tools and platforms across a four year period focusing on four discrete national elections; determining take up and the link to national context as well as assessing lesson learning between nations. Using the Gibson and Ward coding scheme, though adapted to include Web 2.0, we operationalise the models of interactivity proposed by McMillan (2002) and Ferber, Foltz and Pugiliese (2007). This methodology allows us to assess whether election campaigns are showing evidence of adopting co-created campaigns based around conversations with visitors to their websites or online presences, or whether websites remain packaged to persuade offering interactivity with site features (hyperlinks, web feeds, search engines) only. Indications are that the French election was largely politics as usual, however the Obama campaign took a clear step towards a more co-produced and interactive model. There may well be a clear Obama effect within the German and UK contests, or parties may adopt the look if not the practice of the US election. This paper will assess the extent to which an interactive model of campaigning is emerging as well as detailing a methodology which can capture and rate the levels and types of interactivity used across the Internet. Whilst specific political cultural and systematic factors will shape the use of Web technologies in each election, we suggest that an era of Web 2.0 is gradually replacing that of Web 1.0. Within this era there is some evidence that campaigners learn from previous elections on how best to utilise the technology

Towards a more participatory style of election campaigning: identifying the comparative use of Web 2.0 by parties and candidates in elections 2007-2010

Election campaigning tends to be synonymous with top-down, persuasive and propaganda-style communication; with the strategic aim being to win the support of voters crucial for the victory, either in local or national contests, of a candidate or party. While this remains the dominant paradigm for understanding campaigns, the use of the Internet as a communication tool challenges this notion and in particular with the availability of Web 2.0 tools, features and platforms for campaigning purposes. Emerging in 2005, Web 2.0 has heralded a networked, participatory culture to be observed online with tools being introduced to facilitate synchronous or asynchronous conversations to take place within a variety of online environments. This participatory and conversational culture, like the Internet itself, reaches beyond national borders and cultures, reshapes communicational hierarchies, and creates a new set of communicative rules. The existence of Web 2.0 applications raises significant questions for political parties and individual candidates in terms of how they might use the Internet. Web 2.0 offers political actors a potentially effective means of building a relationship with activists, supporters and possibly floating voters. The cost, however, is that the interactive nature of these technologies requires some loss of control over political discourse. Our question is regarding the extent to which these rules have permeated election campaigning. This paper analyses the use of the Internet, and in particular Web 2.0 tools, features and platforms, across four key election contests over the period 2007-2010. Focusing on the presidential election contests in France 2007 and the USA 2008 and the parliamentary contests in Germany 2009 and the UK 2010 we measure the extent to which there is a more participatory culture being encouraged by election campaign’s online modes. The analysis follows the conceptual tradition of MacMillan (2002); Ferber, Foltz & Pugiliese (2007) and Lilleker & Malagon (2010). This allows us to not only detect feature use but to analyse whether the inclusion of Web 2.0 into election campaigning actually potentiates participation of voters and so conversation between voters and political actors as well as intra-voter discussion. Our (currently incomplete) data (we have three of the four election case studies) suggests there has been some significant moves towards a more participatory style of election campaigning over the last four years with Obama’s campaign setting clear benchmarks for later contests in the UK and Germany

Online political communication: the impact of the internet on MPs 1994-2005

Existing research on MPs using the Internet (Halstead 2000, Perrone 2002, Ward and Gibson 2003, Jackson 2003, Ward and Lusoli 2005, Ward et al. 2005, Jackson 2005, Auty 2005, Jackson 2006b) has tended to be too reliant on content analysis; restricted to one part of the Internet, and involved limited research on the views of actual users of an MP.s online presence their views of it. This thesis seeks to identify the impact of the Internet on MPs through: their campaigning abilities; the impact on their role as representatives and how MPs communicate. The research triangulates data on the impact of websites, email, e-newsletters and weblogs through content analysis, questionnaires and interviews. The data collated has helped develop a theoretical understanding of how MPs campaign, represent and communicate. First, there is evidence that e-newsletters can be used as effective vote- winners by encouraging constituents to switch votes. This „incumbency effect. (Krasno 1994) suggests that existing research (Curtice and Steed 1997, Butler and Collins 2001) has under-estimated the effect of a personal vote (Cain et al. 1987). Second, websites and e-newsletters are helping MPs develop a new representative role, by providing an „information portal. which encourages local participation. Third, there is evidence that we are on the threshold of a new model of e-representation. MPs. use of e-newsletters appears to be developing a parallel of e-constituency which enhances the relationship geographical constituents have with their MP. At the same time, weblogs are creating a separate e-constituency whose online link to an MP is based on interest not geography. Fourth,a typology has been created for explaining how MPs use the Internet, with four different characteristics:technophobes; bandwagoners; mapie; and pioneers. The Internet is creating a new architecture of representation with both a territorial axis, and an issue axis accessible from the computer keyboard