| Steven Carlson on Fri, 8 May 1998 05:08:18 +0200 (MET DST) |
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| <nettime> The Power of the Medium |
Connected by Steven Carlson --------- developing Internet markets in Hungary, Europe and beyond The Hungarian Internet is finally becoming interesting in media terms. This week several different threads are converging into an interesting story. For starters, the Hungarian national elections takes place in four days time. The local Gallup office is publishing daily election poll results on the net, despite a ban on publishing such information in the eight days leading up to the vote. Gallup argues this law does not apply to the Internet medium. See: <http://www.gallup.hu>. Gallup's action has generated controversy on the sziget-l discussion list, created just two weeks ago. Sziget, which means "island," is an invitation-only list bringing together professional Hungarian Internet developers. (I described the birth of sziget-l in my last column.) Meanwhile, the Internet has disappeared from Hungary's yearly computer fair, IFABO. Two years ago the Internet was a novelty at IFABO, and a handful of companies were making big noise. This year the Internet is such an integral part of the computing industry that it has receded quietly to the background. This is good news, because it indicates the focus of the local net is moving away from Internet access toward the question of content, in other words: media. *** Growing up as a Medium The events of this week signal a shift that is taking place in the Hungarian Internet. The net is growing up, becoming a proper medium. The Gallup affair might even turn out to be a defining moment in this development. Most of my readers are aware the story of US President Clinton's sexual involvement with Monica Lewinsky first appeared on the Internet. This event was a powerful demonstration of the Internet's potential as a publishing medium and a signal that the Internet is well on the way to becoming mainstream in the US. It's still too early to tell how large an impact the Gallup story will have on Hungarian public perceptions of the net. The story is only just breaking. The first round of the election takes place on May 10, and the second round on May 24. If Gallup continues to publish its polling results, and if the Electoral Commission decides that these results have influenced the vote, then the Commission may decide to declare the election invalid. However most observers agree this is unlikely. The National Electoral Commission already has determined that Gallup's action is illegal. Yet a well-respected constitutional scholar, Andras Sujo, has taken a stand in Gallup's favor, arguing the law does not specifically mention the Internet. In any case, the Electoral Commission has no power to sanction Gallup for defying the ban. *** Learning the Power of the Medium Ironically, Gallup may wind up losing in the court of public opinion. Gallup's activities have generated heated discussion on the sziget-l discussion list, created just two weeks ago as a forum for Hungary's commercial Internet community. With few exceptions, most of the sziget-l participants think that Gallup is breaking the law, and should stop publishing the poll results. Sadly, much of the sziget-l debate over the Gallup affair has been characterized by snide remarks and personal attacks. This kind of behavior is not only unprofessional, but completely counterproductive. I think this is due, in part, to how the list is set up. I'll discuss this topic in more detail in a later message. In any case, sziget-l can easily claim a significant share of Hungary's "Internet elite," which means the discussion list is now an important forum of opinion. Included among the sziget-l participants are the very journalists who report about the Internet in radio, television and print. Not surprisingly, the coverage given the Gallup case in the "offline media" closely reflects the opinions being expressed in sziget-l. Thus, within two weeks of conception the sziget-l list is already an intriguing demonstration of the power of this medium. I'll have more to say when I know more. I'm interested in any tips or opinions you'd care to volunteer. ! Steven Carlson is Chief Strategist at iSYS Hungary Kft ! http://www.isys.hu ! http://pk4.com ! ! Copyright (c) 1998. Steven Carlson <[email protected]> ! reserves the right to be identified as the author of this work. ! Forward freely with this notice attached. ! ! to subscribe: <[email protected] ! to unsubscribe: <[email protected] ! http://www.isys.hu/connected --- # distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: [email protected] and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: [email protected]