| Abstract: | Emerging technologies of communication and cooperation are increasingly mediated through flows of connectivity and information, leading to distributed forms of civil participation. In this article I discuss ‘technologies of civil society’ whereby people who are investing in information-access, increased mobility and knowledge-sharing contribute to multiple networks of co-participation and cooperation. Civil society is increasingly becoming visible through the technologies used to receive, organize and utilize the information flows. In order to sustain cooperation, complex interrelations between individuals and their technically mediated communications must of necessity be deliberate and intentional strategies. I argue that communication technologies are informing strategies of civil participation and cooperation at ever more accelerated rates, aiding bottom-up strategies of organization. ‘A society's fitness is determined by its social cognitive map’ (Robert Artigiani) |
