Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship
In most of the world, the current trend in information technology is for open data movement that promotes transparency and equal access. An opposite trend is observed in China, which has the world’s largest Internet population. The country has implemented sophisticated cyberinfrastructure and practi...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Association for Triple Helix and Future Strategy Studies
2015-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201518050733721.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818523224849252352 |
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| author | Weiai Wayne Xu Miao Feng |
| author_facet | Weiai Wayne Xu Miao Feng |
| author_sort | Weiai Wayne Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In most of the world, the current trend in information technology is for open data movement that promotes transparency and equal access. An opposite trend is observed in China, which has the world’s largest Internet population. The country has implemented sophisticated cyberinfrastructure and practices under the name of The Golden Shield Project (commonly referred to as the Great Firewall) to limit access to popular international web services and to filter traffic containing ‘undesirable’ political content. Increasingly, tech-savvy Chinese bypass this firewall and use Twitter to share knowledge on censorship circumvention and encryption to collectively troubleshoot firewall evasion methods, and even mobilize actions that border on activism. Using a mixed mythological approach, the current study addresses such networked knowledge sharing among citizens in a restricted web ecosystem. On the theoretical front, this study uses webometric approaches to understand change agents and positive deviant in the diffusion of censorship circumvention technology. On policy-level, the study provides insights for Internet regulators and digital rights groups to help best utilize communication networks of positive deviants to counter Internet control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:42:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5fb485a471014f59a55c72fbaba33c32 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2383-9449 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T05:42:30Z |
| publishDate | 2015-05-01 |
| publisher | World Association for Triple Helix and Future Strategy Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia |
| spelling | doaj.art-5fb485a471014f59a55c72fbaba33c322022-12-22T01:19:05ZengWorld Association for Triple Helix and Future Strategy StudiesJournal of Contemporary Eastern Asia2383-94492015-05-01141234310.17477/jcea.2015.14.1.023Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet CensorshipWeiai Wayne Xu0Miao Feng1University at BuffaloHealth Media Collaboratory, University of Illinois at ChicagoIn most of the world, the current trend in information technology is for open data movement that promotes transparency and equal access. An opposite trend is observed in China, which has the world’s largest Internet population. The country has implemented sophisticated cyberinfrastructure and practices under the name of The Golden Shield Project (commonly referred to as the Great Firewall) to limit access to popular international web services and to filter traffic containing ‘undesirable’ political content. Increasingly, tech-savvy Chinese bypass this firewall and use Twitter to share knowledge on censorship circumvention and encryption to collectively troubleshoot firewall evasion methods, and even mobilize actions that border on activism. Using a mixed mythological approach, the current study addresses such networked knowledge sharing among citizens in a restricted web ecosystem. On the theoretical front, this study uses webometric approaches to understand change agents and positive deviant in the diffusion of censorship circumvention technology. On policy-level, the study provides insights for Internet regulators and digital rights groups to help best utilize communication networks of positive deviants to counter Internet control.http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201518050733721.pdfnetwork analysistwitterinternet censorship |
| spellingShingle | Weiai Wayne Xu Miao Feng Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia network analysis internet censorship |
| title | Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship |
| title_full | Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship |
| title_fullStr | Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship |
| title_full_unstemmed | Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship |
| title_short | Networked Creativity on the Censored Web 2.0: Chinese Users’ Twitter-based Activities on the Issue of Internet Censorship |
| title_sort | networked creativity on the censored web 2 0 chinese users twitter based activities on the issue of internet censorship |
| topic | network analysis internet censorship |
| url | http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO201518050733721.pdf |
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