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Leah A. Lievrouw

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Our Own Devices: Heterotopic Communication, Discourse and Culture in the Information Society

The main premise of this article is that in information societies generally, and in virtual social contexts particularly, a distinctive style of interaction to facilitate the communication of difference, heterotopic communication, has emerged. It rests on two cultural foundations: an ideological belief in the positive, socially integrat-ing power of communication, and a prevailing ethic of instrumen-tal rationality,subjective individualism, and strategicallypracticed self-interest. The former is demonstrated by the use of simulation and spectacle as sources of information; exhibitionism/voyeurism as a communicative style; and the awareness of surveillance. The latter is seen in the competitive use of knowledge as a commodity; a surface globalismmasking deep parochialism; lateral as well as vertical information inequity; and the use of public versus private as strategies for engagement rather than as spaces. Those who en-gage in heterotopic communication resort to their ª own devicesº both in the sense of personal agendas, strategies, interests, and in-terpretations, and in the form of the telecommunication tools that help realize them. These personal and technological devices allow individuals with the right educational and technical resources to avoid exposure to disagreement, difference, or other information that does not serve their direct purposes or re ¯ ect their particular views of the world; yet they also help convey the appearance of openness, availability, and cooperation. This style of interaction is used strategically in combination with information and commu-nication technologies to gain social or economic advantages, bu