Deliberative spaces
From Internet: Knowledge and Community
Deliberative spaces provide outlets for deliberation, a crucial component in regards to the concept of transparency whereby people have the opportunity to question authority. To be sure, the Internet stands to play a vital role, but Schuler points out that just adding more things like online forums won’t suffice. Deliberative venues that are already out there must evolve; this entails integration of different mediums, i.e. online and face to face.
ICT and real life human interaction would ideally work in conjunction to achieve online and face to face deliberation. Schuler cites mobile phone devices as potentially effective access points to online deliberative spaces; one could access a social networking site from a mobile and deliberate that way or arrange to meet face to face. This fits with the notion of integrating technology with sociology in the aim of constructive discourse. It’s important to not get so totally engrossed in the ease of technology that one loses sight of the effectiveness of actual, physical human interaction where these matters are concerned.
In this class, the wiki could be said to provide a deliberative space; it is after all of, for, and by those who use it. Furthermore, the participation of the entire group encourages transparency through evolving collective contributions. Deliberation and transparency are paramount to a true democracy because they afford ordinary citizens a voice.
