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Mary Grace Mirandilla -Santos SIRCA grantee 16-17 April 2011, Phuket , Thailand

A-LIST FILIPINO POLITICAL BLOGGERS AND THEIR READERS: WHO THEY ARE, WHY THEY ACCESS BLOGS, & HOW THEY PERCEIVE, & PARTICIPATE IN, POLITICS. Mary Grace Mirandilla -Santos SIRCA grantee 16-17 April 2011, Phuket , Thailand. Internet, Blogging, and Politics. PUBLIC SPHERE.

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Mary Grace Mirandilla -Santos SIRCA grantee 16-17 April 2011, Phuket , Thailand

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  1. A-LIST FILIPINO POLITICAL BLOGGERS AND THEIR READERS:WHO THEY ARE, WHY THEY ACCESS BLOGS, & HOW THEY PERCEIVE, & PARTICIPATE IN, POLITICS Mary Grace Mirandilla-Santos SIRCA grantee 16-17 April 2011, Phuket, Thailand

  2. Internet, Blogging, and Politics PUBLIC SPHERE INTERNET has changed the nature of political communication and the landscape of political participation ELECTRONIC REPUBLIC User-friendly Personalized WEB 2.0 Low-cost Social BLOGS promising democratic tool for providing information, facilitating political communication, and influencing nature and level of political participation. But, only anecdotal evidence on Filipino bloggers, how they affect their readers, and how both engage in political activities.

  3. Curious Connections BLOG MOTIVATION PERSONAL CONTEXTS PREDISPOSITION RESOURCES SELF-INTEREST ENVIRONMENT DISTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL GOODS & VALUES POLITICAL PARTICIPATION INTENTION TO INFLUENCE GOVERNMENT ACTION

  4. What we wanted to find out and how • A-list Filipino political BLOGGERS and READERS • Who they are • Why they write/read political blogs • Whether and how they participate in politics • What their attitude is toward politics • Whether and how they encourage readers to participate • Online Survey • 30 A-list Filipino political bloggers (June to Oct 2009) (McKenna & Pole, 2004 and Ekdale et al. ,2007) • 64 political blog readers (Feb to May 2010) (McKenna & Pole, 2004 and Gorospe-Jamon, 1998) • Elite interviews and FGDs SNAPSHOT

  5. WHO are A-List Filipino Political Bloggers? Male, 25-34 y/o, Metro Manila-based; college-educated, employed, high-income; veteran internet users; broadband at home & work Blogging for 2-4 years, 1-2 hrs/day, 3-5 days/week; All blogs allow comments, almost all have links to other political blogs; Read 10+ other blogs Feel that blogging is “a form of political participation” that has led to “an exchange of ideas among individuals even in the real world.”

  6. WHY did they START to blog? KEEP TRACK OF THOUGHTS INFORM PEOPLE ON MOST RELEVANT INFO INFORM PEOPLE ON MOST RECENT INFO HELP SOCIETY FORMULATE NEW IDEAS

  7. WHY do they CONTINUE to blog? KEEP TRACK OF THOUGHTS FORMULATE NEW IDEAS INFORM PEOPLE ON MOST RELEVANT INFO SERVE AS POLITICAL WATCHDOG HELP SOCIETY

  8. How blogs promote participation? Expressive participation Political campaign

  9. Encourage readers to participate OFF-line Conventional & legitimate Unconventional but legitimate Unconventional & illegal

  10. Encourage readers to participate ON-line Neutral, conflict-free networking Political stand, support mobilization

  11. Blogger Political Activities BEFORE and AFTER • No significant difference before and after blogging (at 95% CI) • Did not significantly change participation • Some activities are time-specific, such as “voting” AFTER blogging, although respondents feel “much more”informed about political issues, but only “somewhat”sure about their influence on politics or political discourse.

  12. Blogger & their Readers: Similar Profile 51% 40% 44%

  13. WHY Readers Visit Political Blogs

  14. HOW Blogs benefit readers • Main reason for, and benefit of, reading political blogs are associated with INFORMATION.

  15. Reader Political Activities BEFORE and AFTER * Incidence significantly higher before blog reading (at 95% CI) ** Incidence significantly higher after blog reading (at 95% CI)

  16. Readers’ Political CYNICISM • Cynicism • tendency to have a negative view of, or negative feelings toward, politically significant objects, such as political institutions and processes • Highest level of cynicismassociated with: • “Competence of candidates winning the elections” • “Many politicians are under the control of vested interests” • “Most politicians are out to gain something for themselves”

  17. Readers’ Political EFFICACY • Efficacy • Feelings of competency and beliefs that one's actions are consequential, which determines a person’s incentive to participate in politics • Highest level of efficacy associated with: • “Having a say about what the government does” • “Ways to have a say other than voting” • “Understanding what is going on in politics, government”

  18. Observations: “Politics” of Political Blogging • Male dominance among bloggers • Aggressiveness and violence in online debates • Stressful especially for women • “Men won’t accept defeat” – top female blogger • Bloggers of the same opinion stick together • Polarization—blogs tend to invite, nurture a following from like-minded individuals who agree with blogger’s views • Small audience, but can be influential when: • Blog becomes viral • Blog is picked up by mainstream media • Gets attention of influential people and gatekeepers

  19. Observations: Political Blogs & Social Change • Blogging aids in creating public consciousness • Highest popularity in PCIJ blog: “Hello Garci” and “F4” • Convergence or complementation of different media • Necessary to effectively shape public opinion! • Complemented by face-to-face mobilization • Blogging is only one form of participation • Social change instituted outside blogosphere • Blogging alone declining; convergence with • Facebook & Twitter increasingly used for political information and mobilization! • SNS increases exposure of blogs

  20. What did we find out? (1) • A-list Filipino political bloggers & their readers have similar profile • Male, young, with resources (time, money, broadband) • Filipinos start to blog to keep track of thoughts and inform others; continue to formulate new ideas • Self-serving first, before serving others • Credibility is currency in the blogosphere • Paid hacks are outcast • Established reputation online and offline

  21. What did we find out? (2) • Most engage in expressive, conventional, & legitimate forms of participation • Critical yet non-hostile actors in political blogosphere • No significant difference in participation • No indication that blogs encourage more participation. • Knowledge of “real politics” may contribute to high level of cynicism • may downplay value of resources—what one can do with resources on hand

  22. What did we find out? (3) • Political blogs have yet to create tangible macro-impact on political participation • Most contribution limited to information-sharing, for now • More value-added during urgent political issues or “crisis” • Viral, media exposure, influential people and gatekeepers • Despite limited impact, blogs formulate new ideas • Could lead to more vibrant discussions, online/offline • Support democracy by allowing expression and encouraging participation despite the odds in Philippine politics.

  23. Thank you. Mary Grace P. Mirandilla-Santos mg.mirandilla@gmail.com http://gracemirandilla.tumblr.com/ http://twitter.com/gracemirandilla/

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