Dictatorship of well-networked?

USPA NEWS - On 09/08/2013 from 14:00 clock was "Open day at the office in Hamburg" and Political evening event at the Radisson Blu in Hamburg with the theme: "Dictatorship of well networked" - The importance of social media for the political participation of Friedrich Neumann Foundation.

The digital transformation has changed the working conditions of the actors in the press and politics fundamentally. Was it earlier, of course, that "public opinion" was formed in the print and electronic media, so now there is a new public who would like to be distinguished from the so-called "timber media." The life of politicians has become more difficult: "social media" makes it possible to check in no time arguments to formulate counter-positions and initiate campaigns. Finally, threaten also the risk that citizens who can not move on the Internet, be suspended from the opportunity to participate.

Given this development, the President of the Federal Centre for Political Education, Thomas Krüger, formulated the question some time ago whether our community developed to a "dictatorship of the best-networked". This issue was discussed with experts in journalism and politics. Panel discussion with Dr. Leif Kramp, media scholar and journalist, research coordinator at the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI), University of Bremen,

Burkhardt Müller-Sönksen MdB, lawyer, media policy spokesman of the FDP parliamentary group, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Culture and Media. Moderator: Jürgen Pfeiffer, political interviewer and moderator. Greetings: Dr. Gerhard Söltenfuß, Head and gifted the Friedrich Neumann Foundation for Freedom; Katja Suding MdHB chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the Hamburg Parliament; Abut Can Regional Center for Political Education in Hamburg, Sylvia Canel MdB, Chair FDP National Association Hamburg .

Social media have an affinity to basic principles of civil society such as self-organization and self-responsibility, participation, and free association. In the resources of social media is therefore innovation and synergy potential for civil commitment, dedication and support the development of an open civil society participation. Committed to participate with the help of social media in various ways in the processes and actions.

About by the Committed their knowledge and experience to gather and shape concepts, share their opinions, provide information for projects that start their own activities, networking and providing tools to donate money and start fundraising campaigns in their network, sign petitions and own online petitions initiate. According Social media is an effective tool for mobilizing citizens / internally. The phenomenon of a mass mobilization of people using social media is referred to as " Increase of networks".

The consequence may be a shift in power, from "provider" - political and economic, but also civil society organizations - to "demand" that use the dedicated citizens / internally using social media to put issues on the socio-political agenda and thus actively intervene in ongoing processes. Avaaz and Campact are two examples of initiatives that use social media to mobilize committed and to influence the political agenda. While social media can open new dimensions of civic engagement, but they can also produce new or fix pre-existing conditions exclusion. The structural changes of communication associated with the Internet and social media, also attract new social negotiation processes by themselves.

To ensure that all members of society have access to the communications room and have the appropriate media and communication competence is the more public opinion is influenced by communication via the social web, the more important. "Media Literacy" for the political education and understanding of the society can make itself means. Social media is still a way to win the society. Prof.h.c. Dr.h.c. Natalia Eitelbach of Philosophy of European Science NCLC Institute (USA).