The Public Narrative

Narratives are simply stories of events that come in a variety of forms which become interrelated and networked with one another. Kuttainen (2016) explains, “All narratives are networked in that they are intertextual: they reference, in their form and content, narratives that have gone before them”. 

The original network narrative was “the Public Sphere”. This phrase was coined by German sociologist Jürgen Habermas, after the 18^th Century which described places of discussion. It signified a transformation in society as democracy was emerging. Coffee houses and salons became the places for discussion, the hubs in the network for idea exchange, important to democracy.

Society was further transformed when the rise of mass media led to the breakdown of the public sphere. The purpose of the public sphere

The Social Media Sphere

was altered to suit mass media; true participatory democracy became non-existent.

Social Media has become the new networked narrative. Facebook provides a platform for users to create and contribute to narratives about themselves and others in their network. Networked Narratives can be created through “Groups”, which allows users to form communities to conduct collaborative discussions. It’s like a virtual public sphere, instead of meeting at a coffee house, you are meeting online.

However, there is control over our narratives, leading to the breakdown of the public sphere. Facebook uses an algorithm to tailor users networked narratives, but as McNeill (2012, pg. 76) expresses, “their [Facebook] processes have profound implications for how users see and understand themselves and their networks.” Eli Pariser explains this concept of filter bubbles in his TED Talk, where a user’s News Feed is filtered to ensure only their interests appear limiting the shaping of their identity. NcNeil (2012, pg. 76) quotes Zuckerburg explaining the value of the news feed: “A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa”. This shows how much power Facebook has over its user’s News Feed which influences the user’s networked narrative.

References

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 6: networked narratives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

McNeill, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography.Biography 35(1), 65-82. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved September 1, 2016, from Project MUSE database.

Peltier-Davis, A C. (2015). The incredible jun: a town that runs on social media [Image]. Retrieved from http://cybrariansweb.com/2015/04/20/the-incredible-jun-a-town-that-runs-on-social-media/