Introducing the concept of the Fifth Estate to undergraduates at Oxford University - seeing the Internet as a new basis for accountability

1. The Fifth Estate of the Internet Realm
William H. Dutton
Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
University of Oxford
www.ox.ac.uk
Presentation for the OII’s Undergraduate Lecture Series, 25 October
2010.

2. ‘Stephen Fry has said he is going to quit Twitter
after a fellow user of the popular Internet site
described him as “boring”. … ’
The Sunday Times, 1 November 2009: 1
Fry later laments that he felt caught in the
middle of the ‘Fifth Estate’.
Media Viewing the Internet as a
Disruptive Threat

4. “[Edmund] Burke said there were Three Estates in
Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder,
there sat a Fourth Estate more prominent far than
they all. It is not a figure of speech, or witty
saying; it is a literal fact – very momentous to us
in these times.”
Thomas Carlyle (1831), Heroes and Hero-
Worship, at www.gutenberg.org.etext/1091
The Fourth Estate

5. Feudal Estates into the 21st Century
Estates Feudal Modern
Clergy Public Intellectuals
Nobility Business, Industry
and Economic Elites
Commons Government
‘4th Estate’ Press Journalists and the
Mass Media
Mob Mob

6.  Press in the 18th Century -- the ‘Fourth Estate’
 Internet in the 21st -- enabling a Fifth Estate
Enabling people to network with other individuals
and with information, services and technical
resources in ways that support social
accountability in business and industry,
government, politics, and the media.
The Fourth and Fifth Estates

7. Pattern of Empirical Findings:
• Networked Individuals
• Space of Flows v Space of Places (Castells)
• Patterns of Information Seeking and Communication
• Centrality of the Internet
• Trust across Media
• Networked Individuals v Networked Institutions
• Communicative Power: Networks of Social Accountability
• Threats from, and Complementarities with, other Estates
The Fifth Estate: A Sensitizing Concept

8. • Studies of the political implications of information
and communication technologies, like the
Internet
• Distributed Problem-Solving Networks,
supported by McKinsey
• Oxford eSocial Science Project (OeSS),
supported by the ESRC
• Oxford Internet Surveys, part of the World
Internet Project
Based on a Range of OII Research

9. • 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009
• Cross-sectional Surveys versus Panels
• Multi-Stage Probability Sample
• England, Scotland & Wales
• Respondents: 14 years and older
• Face-to-face Interviews, High Response Rates
• Sponsorship for 2009 from the British Library,
Higher Education Funding Council for England,
Ofcom, and Scottish and Southern Energy
• Component of World Internet Project (WIP)
Oxford Internet Surveys

10. 2003 2005 2007 2009
Fielded in June-July
February-
March
March-
April
February-
March
Number of
respondents 2,030 2,185 2,350 2,013
Response rate 66% 72% 77% 67%
OxIS Samples

11. Networked Individuals
Evidence: A Pattern of Findings

12. Information Seeking Online (QC22)
Current users. OxIS 2005: N=1,309; OxIS 2007: N=1,578; OxIS 2009: N=1,401
12

13. Looking for Information on
Different Media (QA1)
OxIS 2009: N=2,013
13

14. Looking for Information on Different
Media (QA1)
OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007: N=2,350; OxIS 2009: N=2,013. 14
29%
39%
48%
38%
33%
30%
22%
18%
15%
11% 10% 7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2005 2007 2009
Taxes
Use the Internet Use the telephone
Personal Visit Directory or book
46%
55%
62%
13%
8%
8%
35% 30%
25%
7% 8% 5%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2005 2007 2009
Planning a trip
Use the Internet Use the telephone
Personal Visit Directory or book

15. Looking for Information on Different
Media (QA1)
OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007: N=2,350; OxIS 2009: N=2,013. 15
28%
40%
52%
21%
15%
13%
40%
37%
28%
11% 8% 7%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2005 2007 2009
Local schools
Use the Internet Use the telephone Personal Visit Directory or book

16. Ways to Look for Information
Online (QC25)
Current users. OxIS 2005: N=1,309; OxIS 2007: N=1,578; OxIS 2009: N=1,401
Note. Question changed in 2007. 16

17. Creativity and Production Online
(QC10 and QC31)
Current users. OxIS 2005: N=1,309; OxIS 2007: N=1,578; OxIS 2009: N=1,401
Note. Social networking question changed in 2009.
17

18. Reliability of Information on the
Internet (QA4)
OxIS 2003: N=2,029; OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007 N=2,350. OxIS 2009: N=2,013
Note. The scale changed from a 10 point scale in 2007 to a 5 point scale in 2009.
18

19. Reliability of Information by
Internet Users and Non-Users 2009
(QA4 by QH14)
OxIS 2009: N=2,013
Note. The scale changed from a 10 point scale in 2007 to a 5 point scale in 2009.
19

20. Average Importance of Media for
Information by Internet Users and
Non-Users (QA2 by QH14)
OxIS 2009: N=2,013 20

21. Centrality of the Internet and Trust
over Time
OxIS 2003: N=2,029; OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007 N=2,350. OxIS 2009: N=2,013

22. Networked Individuals
Networked Institutions v Individuals
Evidence: A Pattern of Findings

23. • Wisdom of Crowds?
• Networked Individuals
• Managing Networked Individuals
• Three Types of Networks supporting CNOs:
• 1.0 Sharing (Web, Semantic Web, Deep
Linking)
• 2.0 Contributing (User-generated content)
• 3.0 Co-creating (Collaborative Production)
Collaborative Network Organizations

24.  Networked Institutions, such as in e-Health
 Networked Individuals of the Fifth Estate:
 going to the Internet for health and medical
information
 networking physicians via Sermo
Networked Institutions v Networked
Individuals of the Fifth Estate

25. Sermo

26.  Networked Institutions of the Fourth Estate:
online journalism, BBC online, broadcasting live
micro-blogging during debates …
 Networked Individuals of the Fifth Estate: citizen
journalists, bloggers, individuals posting video on
YouTube, hyper-local Websites, WikiLeaks, social
networks referring friends to news and
information, …
Networked Institutions v Networked
Individuals of the Fifth Estate

27.  Networked Institutions of e-Democracy: e-
Consultation, e-Voting
 Networked Individuals of the Fifth Estate:
political movements, such as aftermath of 2004
Madrid train bombing, Moveon.org, Obama
Presidential campaign, protests following 2009
elections in Iran, Twittering the TV debates
 Boundary Spanning: e-Petitions (Road Pricing
in Britain
Networked Institutions v Networked
Individuals of the Fifth Estate

28. Arenas Shaped by 5th Estate
• Press and Media (‘citizen journalism’)
• Governance and Democracy (‘netizens’)
• Business and Commerce (‘ratings’)
• Work and the Organization (CNOs)
• Education (‘backchannels’)

29.  Public Sphere (Habermas)
 Information Commons
 Space of Flows (Castells)
 Engineered Information Space (Berners-Lee)
 Fifth Estate Enabled by this Space of Flows
Alternative Conceptions

30. Networked Individuals
Networked Institutions v Individuals
Communicative Power: Networks of
Social Accountability
Evidence: A Pattern of Findings

31.  Technical Novelty -- passing fad, not relevant
(not ubiquitous), or not ‘real’
 Deterministic Technology of Freedom or Control
 Reinforcement Politics
 A Strategic Resource for Reconfiguring Access
[enabling a Fifth Estate]
The Politics of the Internet

33.  How is the Internet being used to ‘reconfigure
access’? Are there discernable patterns?
 Does the Internet enable key actors to
reconfigure access in ways that enhance their
‘communicative power’?
Key Questions Concerning
the Politics of the Digital Age
Universal access v Critical mass of users

34. Percentage of Internet Users Across Regions of the
World

35. Regions as Percentage of the Worldwide Population of Users

36. Use by Age (QH14 by QD1)
OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007: N=2,350; OxIS 2009: N=2,013
37

37. Use by Lifestage (QH14 by QD15)
OxIS 2003: N=2,029, OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007: N=2,350; OxIS 2009: N=2,013
38

38. Networked Individuals
Networked Institutions v Individuals
Communicative Power: Networks of
Social Accountability
Threats and Complementarities
Evidence: A Pattern of Findings

39.  Industrial Strategies
 News
 Music
 Cable and Telecommunications
 Mobile
 Broadcasting (Web TV)
 Governmental and Regulatory Regimes
 Public
New Challenges: A Threat and a Target

40. 18th Century Estates: 21st Century Enemies
18th Century
Estates
21st Century:
Enemies of the
5th Estate
Attacks
Clergy Public Intellectuals ‘Culture of Amateurism’,
individualist consumerism
Nobility Business, Industry
and Economic Elites
Vertical Integration; Monopoly
over Search; Three Strikes
Commons Government and
Regulatory Agencies
Filtering; Content Regulation;
Identification; Disconnection
Press Journalists and the
Mass Media
Echo Chambers; but
Co-opting, Imitating,
Competing
Mob Spammers,
Fraudsters,
Cyberstalkers, …
Undermining Trust and
Confidence; Fostering
Regulation of Content

41. Centrality of the Internet, Trust in
Government and Attitudes toward
Internet Regulation over Time
OxIS 2003: N=2,029; OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007 N=2,350. OxIS 2009: N=2,013

42. The Fifth Estate: Selected References
Dutton, W. H. (2008), ‘The Wisdom of Collaborative Network
Organizations: Capturing the Value of Networked Individuals’,
Prometheus, 26(3), September, pp. 211-30.
Dutton, W. H. (2009), ‘The Fifth Estate Emerging through the
Network of Networks’, Prometheus, Vol. 27, No. 1, March: pp. 1-15.
Dutton, W. H., and Eynon, R. (2009), ‘Networked Individuals and
Institutions: A Cross-Sector Comparative Perspective on Patterns
and Strategies in Government and Research’, The Information
Society 25 (3): pp. 1-11.
Dutton, W. H. (2010), ‘The Fifth Estate: Democratic Social
Accountability through the Emerging Network of Networks’, pp. 3-
18 in Nixon, P. G., Koutrakou, V. N., and Rawal, R. (Eds),
Understanding E-Government in Europe: Issues and Challenges.
London: Routledge.

44. The Fifth Estate of the Internet Realm
William H. Dutton
Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
University of Oxford
www.ox.ac.uk
Presentation for the OII’s Undergraduate Lecture Series, 25 October
2010.