Politics Online: Blogs, Chatrooms, and Discussion Groups in Ameri [Paperback]

Richard Davis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415951933 | ISBN-13: 978-0415951937 | Publication Date: July 28, 2005 | Edition: New edition

Despite the growth of various forms of online discussion, their impact on American political life is only beginning to be examined systematically. In Politics Online Richard Davis provides a thorough analysis detailing the political attitudes, behavior, and demographic nature of the electronic discussion community contrasting that community with the general public.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Davis is a Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University. He has conducted research on the internet and politics and is widely considered an authority on the topic. He is the author of several books: Campaigning Online, Oxford, 2003 (with Bruce Bimber); The Web of Politics, Oxford, 1999; New Media and American Politics, Oxford, 1998 (with Diana Owen); The Press and American Politics: The New Mediator, Prentice Hall, 2001; Decisions and Images: The Supreme Court and the Press, Prentice Hall, 1994; and Politics and the Media, Prentice Hall, 1994.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (July 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415951933
• ISBN-13: 978-0415951937
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,042,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Davis is a political science professor who studies political communication. He is the author of several books, book chapters, and journal articles on various topics including the Internet and politics, the political impact of talk radio, online political discussion, the U.S. Supreme Court nomination process, and the relationship between the U.S. Supreme Court and the press. In addition, he has been a political activist and a consultant to candidates for office. He is a past chair of the Political Communication Section of the American Political Science Association.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for a serious study of politics online, keep looking, December 10, 2006

By 

Amber L. Westcott (North Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Politics Online: Blogs, Chatrooms, and Discussion Groups in Ameri (Paperback)

This book's ambitions might have been noble, but it falls far short of its goal of providing an empirical look at online forums of political communication. One limitation is that, despite the implications of its subtitle, the book really only spends significant time discussing UseNet. It briefly mentions the role of chatrooms, and as for blogs, Davis claims they are "really a small niche" (pp. 19). Personally, between UseNet and blogs, I'd have to say that it's UseNet that is "really a small niche" today. This leads to the second problem--Davis' data is sorely outdated. The book was published in 2005, but he relies almost solely on data gathered in 1997 and 1999 - that was half the "Internet Age" ago! So much has changed on the Web since then (think about it - Google didn't exist yet), that it is impossible to make claims about the current state of online discussion using data from that period. Davis' points rely on this old data, and he seems to be writing from the perspective of someone who does not much like the Internet and wants to prove that it is a bad forum for public discourse. Sadly, I could not take any of his arguments seriously; it seems that if his points were truly worthwhile, he would have backed them up with some more recent evidence, including fulfilling the promise of the title by actually granting blogs and chatrooms some thoughtful and well-researched discussion.

4.0 out of 5 stars Berglund Center for Internet Studies Review by Jeffrey Barlow, April 26, 2011

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Berglund Center for Internet Studies - See all my reviews

This review is from: Politics Online: Blogs, Chatrooms, and Discussion in American Dem (Hardcover)

The author focuses on what seems to us to be key questions, all relating to the motivations of participants and their impact in the political realm. The big question is, "Can online political discussion represent political opinion in the eyes of political leaders, candidates, journalists, and others who seek understanding of the public's will?" The big answer, unfortunately, according to Davis, is "No". Davis, using a variety of statistical analyses, points out the many limitations facing those who would read significance into the materials found on blogs. Clearly, blog postings shape opinion, and clearly blog postings are opinion, but the larger issues of whose opinions, and for what purposes they are expressed, are far more problematic ones. The book has some limitations. It is an uneasy blend of a scholarly treatise studded with tables, charts, complex explanations of statistical techniques, and an attempt to introduce a more general audience to important issues. It demands a lot of the reader, but it also delivers a great deal.

For a full review see Interface, Volume 6, Issue 2.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent!, September 19, 2009

By 

Jelena "Jelena" (Europe) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Politics Online: Blogs, Chatrooms, and Discussion Groups in Ameri (Paperback)

I have read the book and it proved to be very detailed and interesting. Although I don't need all the information from it, It is very useful and practical and the closest to what I have been searching for. It deals a lot with the type of electronic communities and even more with the profile of their participants.

In one word, it is on a very high scientific level and highly recommendable for people who do some researches on these areas.