Murdoch University COM201 Research Essay: Networked Publics

This essay, written for the COM201 Social, Games and Mobile Media course at Murdoch University, critically examines the concept of "networked publics" and differentiates it from the traditional understanding of "the public." The introduction highlights the significance of network techniques and digital media in contemporary life, emphasizing the internet's role in communication, commerce, and media. The essay explores how networked publics, exemplified by social media, have reshaped social dynamics. It delves into the affordances of networked publics, which include characteristics like persistence, replicability, and searchability, and their influence on social interactions. The report also analyzes the differences between mediated and unmediated publics, and the impact of media properties on human behavior. The essay concludes by summarizing the key aspects of networked publics and their implications for understanding modern communication and social structures. The essay uses Chicago referencing and is 1433 words long.

Running head: REPORT 1
ELECTRONIC
ASSIGNMENT
COVERSHEET
Student Number: 33374369
Surname: ALKATHEERI
Given name: Mohammed Faisal Ahmed Baldharaf
Email: [e-mail]
Unit Code: COM201
Unit name: Social, Games and Mobile Media
Enrolment mode: Internal
Date: 17/04/2019
Assignment number: 2
Assignment name: Research Essay
Tutor: Jess Hardley
Student’s Declaration:
 Except where indicated, the work I am submitting in this assignment is my own work
and has not been submitted for assessment in another unit.
 This submission complies with Murdoch University's academic integrity
commitments. I am aware that information about plagiarism and associated
penalties can be found at
http://our.murdoch.edu.au/Educational-technologies/Academic-integrity/. If I have
any doubts or queries about this, I am further aware that I can contact my Unit
Coordinator prior to submitting the assignment.
 I acknowledge that the assessor of this assignment may, for the purpose of
assessing this assignment:
o reproduce this assignment and provide a copy to another academic staff
member; and/or
o submit a copy of this assignment to a plagiarism-checking service. This
web-based service may retain a copy of this work for the sole purpose of
subsequent plagiarism checking, but has a legal agreement with the University
that it will not share or reproduce it in any form.
 I have retained a copy of this assignment.
 I will retain a copy of the notification of receipt of this assignment. If you have not
received a receipt within three days, please check with your Unit Coordinator.

I am aware that I am making this declaration by submitting this document electronically
and by using my Murdoch ID and password it is deemed equivalent to executing this
declaration with my written signature.
Optional Comments to Tutor:
e.g. If this is a group assignment, list group members here
If you can, please insert this completed form into the body of each assignment you submit.
Follow the instructions in the Unit Information and Learning Guide about how to submit
your file(s) and how to name them, so the Unit Coordinator knows whose work it is.
Start your assignment on the next page.

Running head: Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 0
Networked publics and
traditional notion of the public
Unit code: COM201
Unit Title: Social, Games and Mobile Media
Name: Mohammed Alkatheeri
Tutor Name: Jess Hardley
Student Number: 33374369
Due Date: 18/04/2019
Word Count:1433

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 1
Introduction
In present world, the network techniques and digital media are significant part of daily
routine. The internet is considered as a support of commercial activities, media, and
communication. The network publics assess the manners, which are traditional and public
shifts made by these techniques have transformed the relations to location, politics, values,
and structure. The network publics affordances permit new social dynamics and develop the
issues. These network publics affordances need individuals to handle the undetectable
audience, distorted circumstances, and the blurring between private and public. The
networked publics support various similar practices as unmediated public; however, the
differences related to framework often modify practices in exclusive manner. In the following
parts, the term ‘network publics’ is discussed and critically examined. The network
techniques identify the flow of data and method of interaction by people with data. In this
report, the construction of network publics distinguishes them from traditional notion of the
public.
Networked publics
Now days, the social network site has attained tremendous power as the famous online
hangout place for adult as well as for young people. The individuals flock to them to mix
with the friend and relatives, for sharing the data with some other interested people, and to
oversee and be overseen (Papacharissi, 2016, 307-324). When networking socially or for
specialised objectives is not the principal exercise, there are the people who make use of the
sites to lead on the friend-of-friend, create the acquaintance of business, and sometimes even
meeting others for the administrative reason or governmental. The various features of social
network sites, mainly from the ethnographic viewpoint, for above year. In making sense of

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 2
the practice that unfold on and by social networking sites, it can be seen that the social
networking site as the type of networked publics. The networked publics refer to the publics
that are reframed by the networked techniques. The best example of networked publics is
social media. The social media sites are described through the combination characteristics.
These characteristics permit the people review the lists of connections, to make the lists for
other to establish connection and to make the public within the bounded system. Because of
an advancement of the social network sites, this is very simple to research the reasons of
involvement of public.
The network publics is a simple, well-timed, and generally interdisciplinary expression at the
most significant communal changes and technical changes of the time. The Networked
Publics group was only a manner to do effort to capture the significance of an occurrence that
is interdisciplinary by the nature. Boyd explained the various properties and manner of the
network publics. According to the Boyd, the network publics are the publics, which are
reframed through the different networked techniques. It can say that, the network publics are
the spaces created by various networked techniques. These spaces permit for individuals to
collect for civic and social on the international level. The very essential thing is that the
network publics view does not command the actions or conducts of members. However, the
network publics view does organise the atmosphere in the manner, which creates the
involvement of members. The meaning of network publics makes focus on the manners
network techniques outspread and confounds publics in all arrangements (Danah 2010, 39-
58).
The networked techniques have reworked public. The reason is that the contents are not
restricted to period as well as space that permit for the individual to do efforts around the
substantial obstacles of a substantial history. Regrettably, the networked spaces still make
various similar partialities in the public, for an example sexual category and era. Also, Boyd

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 3
also states that the media’s properties affect the conducts of people. It is also helpful in
modifying the social atmosphere (Nancy and Boyd 2016, 320-328). Further, Meyrowiz also
states that the capacity of broadcast media to revise balance reconfigured public changed the
role that individuals execute in the societies. In this way, the network publics is helpful to
gather greater groups simultaneously and consecutively.
Additionally, it is not sufficient to express the networked publics only. It is also significant to
gain the knowledge of types of the network publics. There are the two kinds of networked
public, Mediated publics and unmediated publics (Ojala, Pantti, and Laaksonen 2019, 279-
297). The mediated publics include the techniques like TV, net and transistors. The secondary
audience (the people who observe by recreation) are now influenced by perseverance,
replicability, imperceptible audience, and search ability. On the other hand, the unmediated
publics are considered as fields, which have limitations that are organizationally explained.
Significantly, the audiences have to be available to observe the act. It is also stated by Danah
Boyd that how while she tripped up control the audiences, were the unmediated publics. The
only reason is that only the persons who were available or perceive in respect of her tripping
by the words of mouth would have knowledge regarding the event (Lee 2018, 4095-4115).
Difference between traditional notion of the public and networked publics
The network publics are different from the traditional notion of the public. It is implied by the
Networking publics that there are various publics, which permit the people to collect for
various significant and relevant purposes and practices like public activities, social exchange,
national exchange, and associating with different people. The public is the questioned
expression utilised through various disciplines. It can be said that as per a new approach,
from communications and social science, the publics are understood as the gathering of
people, who recognised themselves by telling their identity to others, an agreement in respect
of the collective interests, the general knowledge of the sphere, or the fictional communities.

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 4
In the addition of this, the publics may be considered be huge collection of people or the
lesser collection of people, friend’s groups, or the participants of the country. On the other
hand, in a single term, the public normally means to people’s huge collection, the inclusive
audience of the country. In the similar manner, the public scope or public range means to the
place accessible to the huge groups of people (Jordan 2018, 147-189).
Besides this, as per the other approach, from social study and media study, the publics can be
understood as audiences which collect everywhere around the media. In this matter, the group
of people is restricted by the mutual text, the worldview, or the presentation. The publics or
audiences may be dynamic and creative customers, and express the individualities regarding
the texts related to media. The audiences may be grounds for the creation and representation
of social recognitions. The recognition and interest created not only in isolated place however
also in the public (Niazi 2017, e-17-e-17).
After reading the article of Danah Boyd, it can be said that two main theoretical strategies
however does not try to solve the messiness of the terms, in place of this, this is argued that
Boyd puts focus on the procedure of extending and complicating the publics in each form by
the networking technologies. According the opinion to Boyd, it can be sensed that this is the
framework rendered by the digital networked technologies what varies the networked publics.
In this way, the Networked techniques identify how the data flow and how publics interrelate
with data. In crux, the construction of networked publics varies them from more traditional
notions of public (Ehdeed, Bates and Cox 2018, 253-265).
It is argued by Boyd that digital constructions created out of the bits are organisational forces
that they describe the kinds of communications, which are probable in the place, and design
the way publics involve in the specific situation. Moreover, the networked publics are not
only considered as publics networked together (Vivienne 2016). It can be said that they are

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 5
considered as publics, which have transformed through media and its properties. The bit’s
properties control the networked public’s structure that in order addresses new conceivable
practices and creates the communication, which take place. These may be seen in the
construction of each networked public, involving the social networking sites (Boichak and
Jackson 2019, 189-205).
Conclusion
As per the above analysis, it can be concluded that networked Publics group was only a
manner to try to explain the significance of an occurrence, which is interdisciplinary by the
nature. The affordance of networked public does not command conduct of members, however
they do organise the atmosphere in the manner, which creates the involvement of members. It
can be said that the construction of the cases related to specific atmosphere and the designing
of networked publics is created by the affordance. The general dynamic comes out from the
affordance and state noticeable problems that the members should frequently resist with
while involving in this situation or environment. Having knowledge of the possessions,
affordance, and changing aspects common to networked publics renders the valuable
structure for functioning out the reason of common policies (Becker and Copeland 2016, 23-
36).

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 6
Reference List
Becker, Amy B., and Lauren Copeland. 2016. "Networked publics: How connective social
media use facilitates political consumerism among LGBT Americans." Journal of
Information Technology & Politics 13, no. 1: 22-36
Boichak, Olga, and Sam Jackson. 2019. "From national identity to state legitimacy:
Mobilizing digitally networked publics in eastern Ukraine." Media, War & Conflict:
1750635219829161, 189-205
Danah, Boyd. 2010. "Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics,
and Implications." In Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network
Sites; 39-58
Ehdeed, Skina M., Jo Bates, and Andrew Cox. 2018. "The Emergence of Libyan Networked
Publics: Social Media Use during and after the Libyan Uprising." iConference 2018
Proceedings: 253-265
Jordan, Katy. 2018. "Networked selves and networked publics in academia: Exploring
academic online identity through sharing on social media platforms.” Social Journal; 147-
189
Lee, Ashley. 2018. "Invisible networked publics and hidden contention: Youth activism and
social media tactics under repression." New Media & Society 20, no. 11: 4095-4115.
Nancy, Baym and Danah Boyd. 2016. ‘Socially Mediated Publicness: An Introduction.’
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media: 320-328

Alkatheeri_COM201_Essay 7
Niazi, Tarique. 2017. "Networked Publics and Digital Contention: The Politics of Everyday
Life in Tunisia." E-Journal : e17-e17.
Ojala, Markus, Mervi Pantti, and Salla-Maaria Laaksonen. 2019. "Networked publics as
agents of accountability: Online interactions between citizens, the media and immigration
officials during the European refugee crisis." new media & society 21, no. 2: 279-297.
Papacharissi, Zizi. 2016. "Affective publics and structures of storytelling: Sentiment, events
and mediality." Information, Communication & Society 19, no. 3: 307-324.
Vivienne, Sonja. 2016. Digital identity and everyday activism: Sharing private stories with
networked publics. New York: Springer.