1

The dynamics of Blue-Red

interaction in the networked online
reality.
Case study: Online dimension of an Israeli operation in
Gaza strip winter !""#-!""$%

Course: &edia and 'olitics in the
Islamic (orld
Professor:
&arc )ynch
By Gregory Asmolov
MA Candidate, Global Communication
2
Elliott School of International Affairs
The George Washington niversity
August !", "##$
The best way to learn about the rules of combat is
watch the battle.

Gadi Wolfsfeld
The Internet lays a good foundation for a battle of ideas, but it does not necessarily
favor a winner.
From Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere! Ber"man
Center report
Introduction:
#nl$ fe% %ee"s ago %e ha&e seen social net%or"s and ne% media pla$ a significant role in a
conflict' (%itter Faceboo" )outube and other Web 2'* and net%or"ing platforms changed the
co&erage of +ranian protests against the re,election of Ahmedine-ad as president of the +ranian
.epublic' (he role of these technologies in organi/ing and coordinating offline protests is
debatable' 0o far there is no credible %a$ to sho% the impact of online acti&it$ on actions in the
ph$sical dimension
1
' 1o%e&er e&en %ithout pro&en conse2uences in the ph$sical dimension
online protests ha&e a tangible impact' First the$ influence the agenda setting and framing not
onl$ of ne% but also of traditional media' +t happens %hen the same content is distributed
through &iral mar"eting as %ell as through traditional media %hen these t%o distribution paths
intersect' 0econd online protests include ne% strategies of information distribution and it
shapes ne% patterns of cooperation and engagement' (hird %e ma$ assume that ne%
strategies for agenda setting3framing as %ell as ne% patterns of engagement3cooperation both
in the global dimension ha&e effect on shaping social net%or"ed,related identit$ as %ell as
shaping a social realit$ 4Walter 5ippmann and later Berger and 5uc"man e6plained %hat role
information pla$s in construction of social realit$7
2
'
1
0ame dilemma %as raised b$ e&ents in Moldo&a in 0pring 2**8
2
5ippmann W Public opinion
Berger P' 5' and (' 5uc"mann' (he 0ocial Construction of .ealit$: A (reatise on the 0ociolog$ of
9no%ledge Garden Cit$ :e% )or": Anchor Boo"s 18;;
<
+t is in particular interesting to understand the ne% patterns of engagement and cooperation in a
situation of conflict' (he situation of conflict creates a uni2ue information realit$' +t has an abilit$
to cause a significant change in agenda from a local to a global conte6t' .esearch on =Mapping
the Arab blogosphere> at 1ar&ard sho%s that the audience in the Arab %orld is focused on their
local dail$ life more than on Pan,Arab topics %ith one e6ception ? the +sraeli,Palestinian
conflict
<
' (he same situation might be %itnessed in a big countr$ as .ussia' People tend to
focus on their dail$ local li&es@ ho%e&er a conflict such as a %ar %ith Georgia becomes the main
topic of the da$ independent of the distance from the front' 0imilarl$ the internal conflict in +ran
2uic"l$ made its %a$ to the center of the global ne%s agenda'
While these cases are different %e can assume %ith a high degree of confidence that conflicts
ha&e the abilit$ to change the priorities of ne%s agenda from local to global' (he first reason for
this is the entertaining nature of conflicts %hich pro&ide action and d$namics for an$ ne%s' (he
second reason depends on the abilit$ of spectators to identif$ themsel&es %ith one side of the
conflict' (he media %ill tr$ to pro&ide framing that ma"es it possible for the audience to identif$
itself@ it is a good %a$ to achie&e higher ratings' 0imilar to a sports game if one is Auropean
one %ill probabl$ not be interested in a game bet%een t%o African teams' But a game bet%een
good and e&il a totalitarian force and the democrats %ill raise interest and engagement since
one %ants the good side to %in' (herefore the Western media pro&ides a framing that clearl$
distinguishes %ho is bad and %ho is good' For instance in Moldo&a the bad side are
Communists@ in +ran the bad side is the Basi- and supporters of Ahmadine-ad ' +n other %ords
conflict is a situation of emergence of another set of agenda priorities from focus on local dail$
life to a more global common denominator'
1o%e&er the situation of conflict is not onl$ about a change in agenda priorities from local to
global' Maurice Blanchot sa$s that true communit$ is achie&ed onl$ at time of crisis and
conflict
B
' For instance people feel togetherness %hen the$ find themsel&es as soldiers on a
battlefield' :e% information technologies pro&ide an option for an audience to feel as soldiers on
a battlefield' 0ocial net%or"s ser&e as a mechanism of global =sociali/ation of conflict> 4the
concept de&eloped b$ 0chattschneider that emphasi/es the go&ernment!s role in pre&enting
from audience to be in&ol&ed in conflict as a method to preser&e stabilit$7
C
' (he$ not onl$
pro&ide an option of =%atching together> but also of =acting together'> (he range of possible
<
Atling Bruce Dohn 9ell$ .obert Faris and Dohn Palfre$ Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere: Politics
Culture and Eissent Ber"man Center .esearch Publication Dune 2**8
B
Willson M' A' (echnicall$ together .ethin"ing Communit$ %ithin (echno,0ociet$' Peter 5ang 2**;
B
acti&ities is %ide from creating uploading promoting and distributing content to &iolating it on
the ri&al side 4e'g' hac"ti&ism7' 0ince information is the basic matter of social realit$ 4according
to 5ippmann the information based pseudo,en&ironment is more important than the real
en&ironment7 distinguishing bet%een offline and online information might be less important'
A&en if the focus is on the online representation of a conflict it is still a part of the social realit$
and it still has a significant impact on decision ma"ing b$ millions and conse2uentl$ on the
ph$sical realit$' (o conclude the situation of conflict causes both a change in agenda from
local to global as %ell as an increase in degree of cooperation due to the fact that ne%
information technologies pro&ide an option for the spectator to be a =soldier on the battlefield>
4these t%o factors are certainl$ interrelated7' Conse2uentl$ the situation of conflict has its o%n
conse2uences for d$namics in social net%or"s! cooperation and competition'
(he +sraeli operation in the Ga/a 0trip during Eecember 2**F,Danuar$ 2**8 has been chosen
here as a case stud$ for conflict situation %ith online dimension' #n Eecember 2G 2**F +srael
launched a militar$ campaign in the Ga/a 0trip codenamed =#peration Cast 5ead'> Euring the
first da$s +sraeli air stri"es caused a significant number of &ictims on the Palestinian side
including numerous ci&ilians' +t created a significant image problem for +srael as a %a&e of
international protests demanded that +srael cease fire'
(his operation %as not the first conflict for %hich information technologies pla$ed a &isible role'
(he 0econd 5ebanon War 40ummer 2**;7 %as probabl$ the first ma-or conflict in +sraeli histor$
in %hich ne% media technologies social net%or"s and user,generated content pla$ed a
significant role in painting the image of the %ar' 1o%e&er the online pro and anti,+srael acti&ities
%ere rather chaotic and unmanaged b$ state actors' At the time of the operation in Ga/a not
onl$ did information technologies pla$ a role but all the sides of the conflict and the actors
ta"ing part in it including the go&ernments 4at least on the +sraeli side7 %ere a%are of the
significance of the social media role and the necessit$ to initiate an online presence for their
polic$'
(o understand the d$namics of online content,oriented collaboration %e should loo" at three
dimensions of anal$sis:
1' +ntras$stem: the d$namic inside the social net%or" 4e'g' %ithin pro,Palestinian net%or"s7
5
*chattschneider A' A'(he 0emiso&ereign People: A .ealistHs Iie% of Eemocrac$ in America
1arcourt Brace College Publishers 18GC'
C
2' +nters$stem: the d$namics bet%een ri&al net%or"s 4e'g' bet%een pro,+sraeli and pro,
Palestinian net%or"s7
<' Metas$stem: the d$namics bet%een t%o le&els: state actors and online social net%or"s
4e'g' bet%een the 0audi go&ernment or Arab 5eague and a pro,Palestinian online
net%or"7'
(he Arabic information en&ironment pro&ides a uni2ue platform for conflict sociali/ation in a
global dimension' Marc 5$nch!s description of the Pan,Arabic net%or" societ$ e6plains ho%
po%erful it might be on the field of online cooperation and &iral distribution of content:
=+t comprises +slamic net%or"s and mos2ues :G# and transnational organi/ations and
prominent public figures and intellectuals' +t includes a &ast Arab Eiaspora that is increasingl$
able to maintain contact %ith and acti&el$ engage %ith the politics of the Arab %orld through
information and communication technolog$ ? %hether b$ %atching Al Da/eera in 0an Francisco
or b$ emailing friends from Eenmar"' (he ne% Arab public is actuall$ composed of multiple
o&erlapping publics that should be defined not territoriall$ but b$ reference to a shared identit$
and a common set of political arguments and concerns' +ronicall$ perhaps the Arab %orld has
achie&ed something of %hich Auropean enthusiasts onl$ dream: a transnational public sphere
united b$ a common language and a common ne%s agenda' =
;
(he anal$sis of +ntras$stem d$namics %ithin the Arab informational en&ironment social
net%or"s and social media re2uires "no%ledge of Arabic' (herefore it %ill be be$ond
frame%or" of this paper' (he interaction bet%een go&ernment and social net%or"s is one of the
most sensiti&e topics' +t demands an access to inside information and a deep "no%ledge of the
political and social realit$' #n the Arab side it is especiall$ difficult since there is no single state
actor 4as in the +sraeli case7 but numerous state actors and organi/ations on the Pan Arab le&el
%hich are affiliated %ith state actors' (herefore this le&el %ill be also mostl$ outside of this
paper!s frame%or"'
+ %ould li"e to focus %ith regards to the +nters$stem le&el on the mutual impact of the pro,+sraeli
net%or"ed acti&it$ and the Pro Palestinian net%or"ed acti&it$' I would like to claim that the
dynamics of one system and its patterns of +eha,ior depend on the patterns and
dynamics of the ri,al side' +n this case %e might %itness t%o main patterns in inters$stem
d$namics:
;
5$nch M' Ioices of the :e% Arab Public' +ra2 Al,Da/eera and Middle Aast politics toda$ Columbia
Jni&ersit$ Press 2**; p' 22'
;
1' &utual monitorin- and stud$ing of each other!s net%or"ed content related strategies
2' &utual mirrorin- ? one side copies the strateg$3 tactics of the other side to pre&ent it
from achie&ing an$ ad&antages'
Follo%ing this h$pothesis %e can as" a 2uestion if these inters$stem d$namics can cause a
balance %ith neither side reaching an$ significant ad&antage'
+n pre&ious research + defined a fe% main fields of an +sraeli online acti&it$ during the operation
in the Ga/a 0trip:
1' #nline institutionali/ation of net%or"ed leadership: creating %eb platforms that attempt to
coordinate3 manage pro,+sraeli net%or"ed acti&ities %ithin social net%or"s'
2' #ffline institutionali/ation of net%or"ed leadership: creating situational rooms in the
ph$sical dimension that attempt to coordinate3 manage pro,+sraeli net%or"ed acti&ities'
<' Multiplatform3 Multilanguage3 Multicontent approach ? creating a situation in %hich the
same content e6ists in &arious %eb platforms3 &arious languages3 in &arious forms 4te6t3
pictures3 &ideo7'
B' Coordination of reaction to ri&al content and polls management strategies
C' (echnological assistance to net%or" members to bridge the technological s"ills gap and
ma"e the cooperation more effecti&e and s$nchroni/ed'
+n this paper + %ill present a fe% e6amples of the s$mmetrical acti&ities on the pro,Palestinian
side including online and offline +nstitutionali/ation technological assistance and coordination
strategies' + %ill also describe briefl$ the role of Al Da/eera in online coordination and
management' (he description of the case studies %ill be follo%ed b$ anal$sis and conclusions'
+t should be mentioned that the research has a fe% methodological limitations' (he case studies
are limited to the Anglish language segment of social net%or"s' (his anal$sis is based on
ethnographical approach of follo%ing and monitoring some of social net%or"s groups' (hese
groups are used onl$ as e6amples and there no doubt that the$ are not the onl$ platform of
online acti&ities %ithin information %arfare during the operation in the Ga/a 0trip' (he paper
does not tend to present an$ conclusions based on data %ith statisticall$ pro&en significance
but reflect the d$namics of online interaction bet%een the pro,+sraeli and pro,Palestinian
net%or"s'
G
Case study:
Israeli side:
At the beginning of the conflict a J'0' based pro,+srael ad&ocac$ organi/ation called =0tand
%ith us> together %ith the Communication 0chool from the +nterdisciplinar$ Center in 1er/li$a
4+srael7 established three situation rooms for coordinating online net%or"ed acti&ities' At the
same time a special %ebsite 1elpus%in'org %as created b$ the school acti&ists' Both initiati&es
%ere online and offline platforms for net%or" management that %ere interrelated' (he main
missions of the situation rooms %hich %ere also reflected at the %ebsite included:
1' Content monitoring in the o&erload information realit$ 4disco&ering the pro,+sraeli items to
promote and the anti,+sraeli items to refute7'
2' Ee&elopment3 e6panding of pro,+sraeli net%or"s %ithin global social net%or"s platforms
4creating pro,+sraeli groups7' Ee&elopment of relations and coordination %ith Eiaspora!s online
net%or"s 4+sraelis out of the countr$ or emigrants inside +srael7'
<' Pro,+sraeli content distribution3 promotion through 0ocial net%or"s 0earch optimi/ation
0ocial Boo"mar"ing on a Web 2'* sites li"e )outube and %ithin traditional online media
platforms'
B' Participating the discourse: sending pro,+sraeli +nternet users to respond to pro Palestinian
content3 comments in traditional media comments forums and polls'
C' Ee&elopment and translation of content for promoting %ithin foreign social net%or"s'
;' Assistance and ad&ice to pro,+sraeli acti&ists 4e'g' pro&iding tal"ing points7'
(he role of situational room %as focused on monitoring of +nternet content brainstorming online
campaign management and being in touch %ith different go&ernment and non,go&ernment pro,
+srael organi/ations' (he online platform %as used as an instrument to coordinate acti&it$ of pro,
+sraeli net%or"s and pro&ide guidelines'
F
(he page pro&ided content in an eight languages 4reflected b$ the eight flags7 different
mediums of content %idget and pictures that could be uploaded to pri&ate blogs and also
ser&ed as a hub for &arious pro,+srael lin"s' As a part of multiplatform polic$ and an attempt to
e6pand the net%or"s 1elp Js Win opened a Faceboo" group and (%itter account' Both the
%ebsite and Faceboo" group pro&ided a list of ma-or steps that should be ta"en b$ those %ho
%ant to help to +sraeli ad&ocac$ effort:
&ake your ,oice heard - . Thin-s you can help us win this +attle:
% Doin Groups and post comments on Media Websites
% Doin our mailing list and %e %ill send $ou updates
% )ou can change $our Faceboo" picture to sho% $our support 4 $ou can get the +sraeli
flag pic here 7
% )ou can add the KassamCount application on Faceboo"
% )ou can help us and Eigg for israel'
% Follo% us on (%itter
% 0pread the %ord an$%a$ possible
8
A special attempt %as made to manage the flo% of pro,+srael +nternet users to specific sites
%here according to the +sraeli point of &ie% the presentation of +sraeli side %as %rong or3and
+sraeli reaction %as re2uired' =More articles to respond' Eecent article in =(he Washington
(imes>' 5ess than decent responses' Please Post'> ? sa$s one of the directions that %ere
published on the =1elpJsWin> %ebsite +t is onl$ one of hundreds of e6amples' (he special
online tool =Gi$us,Megaphone> %as distributing calls for different pro +srael online actions
including &oting for the +sraeli side in different online pools' +t %as also supported b$ initiating
chain letters'
But probabl$ the most successful action of the +EC situation room %as de&eloping of the online
application =Kassam counter'>
G
A&er$ time a Kassam roc"et fell in +srael during the %ar the
Kassam Counter automaticall$ changed the Faceboo" status of an$one %ho subscribed'
At its pea" GC*** users from 1C* countries had LdonatedL their Faceboo" status to the
Kassam Counter' :i& Calderon one of the situational room managers said that he "ne% that it
%as a success %hen a %oman from (hailand %rote to him as"ing LWhat is a KassamM +t
demonstrates the situation %hile +C(s pro&ide the abilit$ to set an agenda in a place %here this
agenda has ne&er emerged before and might be not understood due to a lac" of the rele&ant
"no%ledge or conte6t'
(he Kassam count also follo%ed multiplatform strateg$ and e6panded to different social media
%eb sites 4e'g' (%iiter7'
G
Ee&eloped b$ Ean Peguine and Ari" Fraimo&ich
1*
+t should be mentioned also that in the +sraeli case coordinated acti&it$ too" place also on a
hac"ti&ism field 4e'g' pro&iding soft%are for contributing a computer for Botnet7' 1o%e&er
promoting and distribution of content as a part of agenda setting and framing strategies %ere
much more significant in the +sraeli case than an$ hac"er!s acti&it$' (he latter is more about
&iolating content of the ri&al side than promoting $our o%n'
'alestinian side:
(his chapter %ill sho% that the Palestinian side had platforms and strategies %hich %ere &er$
similar to the +sraeli side and actuall$ reacted and interacted %ith the +sraeli acti&ities' (he first
e6ample is online platform for net%or" leadership and coordination:
=Ga/a (al" is a site created as a tool of the ne% resistance and to sho% the crimes of the
occupation and %hat is happening in Ga/a' We also gathered here photos &ideos and
reports %hich reflect the massacres ta"ing place in Ga/a' )ou can contribute and share
pictures &ideos or articles of demonstrations and supported to Ga/a sent it to
infoNga/atal"'com> ? sa$s the %ebsite Ga/atal"'org ? the main hero of Al Da/eera!s program
%hich %as dedicated to online %arfare'
11
(he %ebsite pro&ides a list of instructions on>1o% to resist #nline> %hich in man$ areas reminds
of the similar the list at 1elpJsWin'org' (his is the list:
1' (%itter is the most popular microblogging platform and it!s one of the main streams for
ne%s' (%eet about Ga/a ne%s photos and &ideos of the massacre and +sraeli aggression'
Doin the con&ersation against +sraelis and Pro +sraelis and occupation' (here is a %ar against
us there and %e must %in it' EonHt forget to add OGa/a to $our t%eets'
2' Write in $our blog about situation in Ga/a about the 1olocaust against Palestinians in
Ga/a'
<' Jpload photos to Flic"r $our &ideos to )outube about terror in Ga/a ci&ilians "illed b$
+sraeli occupation and for demonstration supporting Ga/a in $our countr$' 4 EonHt forget to
choose good (ags and description 7
B' Change $our account a&atar e&er$%here to one of these suggested pictures or an$ one
supporting Ga/a'
C' Put Al,Da/eera death toll %idget in $our blog 4Widget here 7'
;' 1elp to build Al,Da/eera interacti&e map about War in Ga/a'
G' Go into demonstrations supporting Ga/a on the second life'
F' 0pread all lin"s supporting Ga/a in social net%or"s' 4 Faceboo" M$0pace Eigg etc''7'
8' 1elp us to spread Ga/a(al" as a source for (1A (.J(1'
1*' 0end us an$ helpful material to publish it on Ga/a(al" to infoNga/atal"'com'
(he %ebsite %as supported b$ situational room +n Eoha' (he stor$ of situational room %as also
told at a special Al Da/eera program %hich %as dedicated to online %arfare' From the &ideo
footage %e can clearl$ see at the report that the situational room in Eoha %as follo%ing the +sraeli
=1elp Js Win> %ebsite'
F
Faceboo" also pro&ided a hub for pro,Palestinian net%or" at the group> 5etHs collect C*****
signatures to support the Palestinians in Ga/a> 4later the name %as changed to one million7' =We
are (a"ing the lead in Fighting the Propaganda War> said the headline of the group' At the end
of the operation more than ;***** users %ere members of the group' +t is interesting that unli"e
the pro, Palestinian side the +sraeli side tried to create man$ small Faceboo" hubs since
according to Faceboo" polic$ $ou cannot send message to more than C*** group members at
one time' (he Faceboo" group has also included a list of directions to its members'
F
http:33%%%'$outube'com3%atchM&P-A/;-pg85iM
12
This is Let's collect 500000 signatures to support the alestinians in !a"a page with the
following instructions for networ# members$
1' Doin
2' +n&ite $ou friends to -oin'
<' Become informed' .ead non,biased ne%s'
B' (ell $our friend %hat $our learn'
C' Contact the media in support of Ga/a'
;' Contact $our elected official to put pressure on +srael'
G' Contact the J: securit$ council and other agencies'
+n both lists of directions %e can see that almost an$ guideline has a similar one on the +sraeli
side' (he group mission of the pro,Palestinian Faceboo" page %as translated into 2C
languages' (he page also ser&ed as a hub for pro,Palestinian lin"s' +t also included a te6t of a
letter to President, elect #bama %ith a call to support the Palestinian side' Another interesting
point is that the page!s forum included discussions about +sraeli methods of information %arfare'
0o far %e ha&e seen that the Palestinian side has the same organi/ation of online campaigns
4online and offline institutionali/ation7 and the same strategies 4multiplatform presence
1<
Multilanguage approach similar lists of guide lines7' 1o%e&er the most interesting case could
be %itnessed on the field of technological assistance'
Faceboo" users %ere as"ed to =donate their status> that %ould automaticall$ displa$ a running
count of the Palestinian dead and %ounded
8
'
(he de&eloper of the page Abdallah Ahab confirms that it %as made as a reaction to the +sraeli
application:
=(his application %as de&eloped to repl$ to some Qionist de&elopers %ho de&eloped
Faceboo" applications that update subscribersH status periodicall$ %ith the number of
missiles launched b$ Palestinian resistance' (he$ sei/e the Faceboo" platform
de&elopment tools and the huge numbers of subscribers %ho %ill recei&e these updates
through their friends lists to portra$ +srael as the &ictim %ho is defending itself and %in
the international compassion and support' Aspeciall$ that the %estern,targeted media
donHt broadcast the real picture about the current cold,blooded attac" on Ga/a and its
-ustification'>
.ecentl$ Faceboo" change its polic$ and no% automatic update of status is not possible
an$more' =According to these ne% policies the application can no longer update the userHs
status automaticall$ as the user has to appro&e the status content first = sa$s the 0upportga/a
page'
Israelis a-ainst 'alestinians- 'latform for *tru--le:
#ne of the interesting illustrations to the d$namics of the internet%or"s acti&ities are online polls'
0ome of polls %ere managed b$ +sraeli Arab and Western media' #ther polls %ere created on
the independent platforms' + %ould li"e to briefl$ discuss the result of poll at the %eb site +srael,
&s,Palestine'com' At the end of the +sraeli operation in the second half of Danuar$ B<<***
users &oted for +sraelis 4Blue on image7 and C<1*** &oted for Palestinians 4.ed7'
1*

8
http://apps.face+ook.com/support-aza.
1*
(oda$ the situation is a little different %ith +sraelis leading %ith C1'GR and Palestinians reaching BF'<R
1B
As + mentioned earlier the online Polls %ere one of the most significant targets for net%or"
management acti&ities from both sides' I would like to claim that the results of the poll don0t
represent the pu+lic opinion +ut the dynamic of the internetwork relations. +n most of the
polls as %ell as in man$ discussions follo%ing an article on the traditional media %eb sites
responses tended to represent both sides e2uall$
11
' When the comments %ere anti, +srael the$
%ere follo%ed b$ fe% pro +srael comments and &ice &ersa'
(he poll on +srael,&s,Palestine'com might be a good e6ample for internet%or" d$namics' + can
offer se&eral e6planations for its results' First people are more moti&ated to react if their side is
less represented' +t means if $ou are +sraeli and $ou see that $our side is losing the poll or ha&e
onl$ one pro,+sraeli comment against ten pro,Palestinian $our moti&ations to ta"e an action %ill
be higher' 0econd people be more moti&ated to engage their friend 4their social net%or"7 if their
side is less presented and therefore %ill acti&el$ use &iral mar"eting methods 4chain letters
posting on personal blog (%itter Faceboo" status etc'7' (hird the actors %hich are dealing %ith
net%or" leadership %ill tr$ to ma"e an$ effort to identif$ 4as a part of monitoring7 platforms that
their side has %ea" representation on them and use all instruments to engage ma6imal number
of platforms and net%or"s to change the situation and ma"e their side %inning' Eue to the fact
that so far %e ha&e seen that each side is monitoring and follo%ing the other side and using
the same methods probabl$ both sides %ill act according to the same strategies'
11
(his thesis certainl$ demands empirical research and statistical anal$sis'
1C

We can see from the statistics of the poll 4in the picture7 that the number of &oters from +srael
41BF'***7 is almost e2ual to number of pro Palestinian &oters from Ag$pt 4C*'***7 0audi Arabia
4C1'***7 and Dordan 4B8'***7 combined' +t might be surprising to some e6tent since the
populations of these three Arab countries are much larger than the population of +srael' (he
same "ind of surprise might be seen %hen %e loo" at the total results of the poll since %e ma$
assume that the number of potential members of pro,Palestinian net%or"s 4all of the Arab %orld
all of the +slam net%or"s and most of the Auropean countries7 is more significant than the
potential number of pro,+srael net%or"s 4+srael the J'0 De%ish Eiaspora in other countries7'
We can e6plain it b$ claiming that the +sraeli side has the ad&antage of access to the +nternet
and higher a&erage +nternet s"ills among its population' 1o%e&er in m$ opinion this
e6planation is not enough since e&en despite the digital di&ide Arab countries ha&e a relati&el$
large +nternet audience' (he +nternet Penetration .ate in Arab 0tates as a R of Population at
the end of 2**F 4at the time of the operation in the Ga/a 0trip7 %as 22'GR in 0audi Arabia
1F'2R in Dordan and 1*'CR in Ag$pt'
12
(he absolute number of +nternet users in these
countries is more than total population of +srael' Furthermore %e should ta"e into account the
uni2ue characteristic of the Arab public sphere according to 5$nch 4=a transnational public
sphere united b$ a common language and a common ne%s agenda>7%hich pro&ides additional
ad&antage to the Pro Palestinian side'
12
0ource: %%%'internet%orldstats'com
1;
Another e6planation to the success of the +sraeli side might be language ad&antage since the
rate of Anglish spea"ers in +srael is probabl$ higher than in the Arab countries' 1o%e&er %e
should remember that &oting is a &er$ simple procedure and it can be simplified e&en more b$
light technological assistance and net%or" leadership' +f the +sraeli side has no clear
technological or significant language ad&antage to o&er%helm the pro,Palestinian numerical
ad&antage %e should loo" for other e6planations' (he first e6planation for this situation might
-ust claim that the pro,+srael side is more moti&ated than the pro Palestinian 4including not onl$
&oting but also using &iral mar"eting strategies to engage in &oting its o%n social net%or"7' We
ma$ also assume that the net%or"ed leadership on the pro,+srael side is more significant than
that on the pro, Palestinian side since the Arab net%or"ed sphere is bigger and more
fragmented bet%een different actors %ho can claim leadership and therefore the numerical
ad&antage of the pro,Palestinian net%or"s is bridged b$ the relati&e efficienc$ of the +sraeli
net%or"ed leadership'
1o%e&er %e ha&e seen that online and offline institutions for net%or" leadership as %ell as
content oriented strategies e6ist on both sides' We ha&e seen also seen that the net%or"s
from both sides tend to follo% each other learn from each other and replicate each other!s
acti&ities'
(herefore + %ould li"e to offer another e6planation' (he relati&e balance in representation of
both sides is a result of inter,net%or" d$namics' +t might be considered as a propert$ of ne%
informational s$stem' (he acti&it$ of both sides decreases %hen the representation of t%o sides
reaches appro6imate balance' (he reason is that particular members of net%or"s as %ell as
hubs of net%or"s leadership continue to put an effort to change a situation %hen the$ lose'
1o%e&er %hen the inter,net%or" d$namics reach a point of balance the$ focus on other
platforms' (he inter,net%or" d$namics in this case %or" as pendulum until the point of
appro6imate balance is reached' Another possible reason for balance is that both sides
replicate methods of each other to ma"e an impact' +f it is right it means that results of polls
ha,e nothin- to do with pu+lic opinion. They are only a reflection of inter-network
dynamics.
1G
1l-2azeera and the 3etwork leadership colla+oration model.
+n m$ pre&ious papers + ha&e claimed that in a situation of conflict state actors loo" for %a$s to
approach net%or"s and build an impact in the ne% informational en&ironment' +n the +sraeli
case go&ernment on the one hand and net%or" leadership hubs that %ere created b$ academic
institutes and :G#s on the other hand created a channel for mutual collaboration' (he +sraeli
go&ernment pro&ided not onl$ the main messages b$ but also &ideo footage for distribution
through social net%or"s' (he +sraeli Ministr$ of Foreign Affairs as %ell as the +sraeli militar$
4+EF7 for the first time uploaded content to )outube %hich made this content friendl$ to be
promoted &irall$' >' Content pro&ision b$ the go&ernment %as crucial since the Ga/a 0trip %as
closed for co&erage b$ traditional media'
(he significance of go&ernment!s role as &ideo footage pro&ider can be seen from the .ussian
e6ample' Euring the .ussian,Georgian %ar the lac" of &ideo footage from the .ussian side
40outh #ssetia %hich %as closed militar$ /one7 %as &er$ &isible and significant comparing to a
lot of footage from Georgian side %hich %as open to media' As a conse2uence the pro,
.ussian social net%or"s had nothing to promote' (herefore %e ma$ e6plain the high acti&it$ of
.ussian hac"ers %ho &iolated ri&al content as a conse2uence of a lac" of abilit$ to promote
their o%n content'
#n the Palestinian side the monopol$ on &ideo footage belonged to a fe% (I companies %ho
had (I cre%s inside the Ga/a 0trip before the start of +sraeli operation and the decision b$ the
+sraeli go&ernment to close Ga/a to the media' +t included primaril$ Al Da/eera Al Arabi$a and
local (I agenc$ .amatan' 1ere + would like to focus on acti,ities of 1l 2azeera and claim
that durin- the operation in the Gaza *trip4 1) 2azeera played not only the role of the
traditional media4 +ut also those of a pro,ider of content for online networks and4 to
some e5tent4 network leader for the pro-'alestinian networks' +n other %ords the roles that
%ere pla$ed in the .ussian and +sraeli cases b$ go&ernment academic institutions and :G#s
in the Palestinian case %as pla$ed b$ a satellite (I station' +n m$ opinion it is another facet of
Al Da/eera!s emergence as a &irtual state
1<
' + %ould li"e to list here fe% actions that %ere ta"en
b$ Al Da/eera including creating engaging and empo%ering net%or"s'
First as a (I channel that is a&ailable to most of the Arab %orld Al Da/eera has a significant
abilit$ to set the Pan,Arabic agenda' At the outset of this paper + ha&e mentioned that the first
condition for creating conflict net%or" d$namics is the abilit$ to define the situation as a conflict
1<
As an e6tension for thesis from 0eib!s (he Al Da/eera Affect
1F
for members of these net%or"s' Al Da/eera is the most successful mechanism of conflict
sociali/ation inside the Arab %orld' B$ pro&iding ne%s about conflicts as the first and
sometimes onl$ stor$ it %as effecti&e in creating the agenda shift from local 4economical
political social as %ell as entertainment7 to global conflict issues' +n other %ords Al Da/eera
%as one of the main mechanisms of creating a conflict,related common denominator in the Arab
%orld %hich %as re2uired for shaping the identit$ of net%or" members and the emergence of
net%or"ed conflict, related collaboration'
Al Da/era also created presence on almost all Web 2'* platforms including )outube and (%itter'
(his presence pro&ided =distribution friendl$> first,hand content from the Ga/a 0trip for the
net%or"s! members %ho %ere interested in promoting pro,Palestinian content' (o some e6tent
Al Da/eera as a Ga/a footage monopolist pla$ed the same role as +sraeli ministr$ of Foreign
Affairs and +EF %hen the$ established their Web 2'* platforms %hich pro&ided first hand &ideo
footage from the Ga/a 0trip' Moreo&er Al Da/era chose to replace the usual =all rights
reser&ed> restriction b$ the =Commons <'*> license %hich encourages editing sharing and
commercial and non,commercial distribution of the content' +t %as a clear signal that the (I
channel hoped the material %ould find its %idest possible audience &ia social net%or"s and Web
2'* platforms'
Mohamed :anabha$ the head of Al Da/eera!s ne% media department e6plained that from the
channel!s point of &ie% this strateg$ %as a %a$ to bridge the gap of limited representation in the
J'0' 1e called this strateg$ =distri+uted distri+ution>
1B
Ss$ndicating content online &ia
)ou(ube .eal +ndependent'co'u" the 5i&e0tation and Qattoo apps and a host of other
outlets
1C
to allo% them to reach people Al,Da/eera ma$ not other%ise ha&e reached especiall$
$outh' #ther distribution platforms included apps for iPhone and Faceboo"' As %e ha&e seen
earlier soft%are tools not onl$ pro&ide effecti&e %a$s to distribute content but also ma"e
cooperation easier %hen a large number of people use the same tools'
1B
(he =distributed distribution> strateg$ changes the definition of media' We cannot an$more distinguish
bet%een pri&ate and public content' An$ content %hich is transferred from one node 4net%or"!s member7
to another e6ist not onl$ in the conte6t of personal con&ersation but also in the conte6t of net%or"' +t
means that at some point it might be distributed b$ &iral mechanisms through the net%or"s and e&en
reach traditional media as %ell as traditional media content might be distributed through social net%or"s'
+n this case traditional media is not a separate platform from the social media but -ust huge hubs %ith a
big number of connections'
1C
Andre%s .' +nter&ie%: Mohamed :anabha$ 1ead #f :e% Media Al Da/eera: Winning #&er (he
0"eptics #nline paidcontent.org, Mon *2 Feb 2**8
18
1o%e&er either it %as onl$ a ne% strateg$ to substitute the lac" of access to the J'0' mar"et
through Web or not the fact that Al Da/eera engaged and empo%ered pro,Palestinian net%or"s
%as still there' Moreo&er %e should underline the fact that it happened %ithin the escalation of
the conflict' :et%or"s %ithout content in a situation of conflict are li"e blood s$stem %ithout
blood' Al Da/eera pro&ided the blood for the s$stem and made it %or"'
(here is another point that made Al Da/era!s position connected to the position of state actors'
(raditional media actors are usuall$ moti&ated b$ a search for profit' 0tate actors! moti&es e'g'
the +sraeli militar$!s moti&es are not related to moneti/ation but primaril$ to national political
and securit$ interests' +n this case Al Da/era %as closer to being a state actor as opposed to
being a traditional media outlet due to almost unlimited budget pro&ided b$ Katar' =A&er$one
%ould li"e to see a business model and some profit emerge but at this point %e!re all about
distribution and ma"ing sure %hoe&er %ants to see us can see us'> , said Mohamed :anabha$'
Al Da/era acti&ities included e6amples of engagement and empo%erment normall$ seen b$
net%or"s' First it ad&ertised the online %arfare' According to 1ar&ard Jni&ersit$!s report on
=Mapping Arab Blogosphere> the &ideo on online %arfare %as among the 2* most lin"ed
)outube clips in the Arab blogosphere' Al Da/eera also used cro%dsoursing technologies
de&eloped b$ Jshahidi
1;
to create a &isuali/ation of e&ents based on the audience!s information'
+t also as"ed its audience to submit contributions through http:33$our&ie%s'al-a/eera'net3'
1a&ing almost unlimited budget political fle6ibilit$ a %ide audience access to a closed area of
conflict and multi platform e6istence made it possible for Al Da/eera to ta"e on the roles of
content pro&ider and engager for net%or"s' We ma$ claim that this is another %a$ in %hich Al
Da/era acts as a &irtual state entit$'
Another reason for the uni2ue role of Al Da/era is the role of ne% media in the Arab %orld'
According to 5$nch the Arab media tend to ta"e an acti&e role in attempting to mobili/e the
public to become politicall$ in&ol&ed
1G
' Al Da/eera!s traditional emphasis on the public
1F
and its
acti&it$ on ne% mediaplatforms ma"e it a mobili/ing actor' 5$nch describes the Arab %orld as a
%ea" international public sphere that lac"s institutionali/ed mechanisms for affecting polic$'
18
+n
the case of conflict on the social net%or"s field Al Da/eera has pro&ided mechanisms %hich
1;
Jshahidi'com
1G
5$nch' Ioices of the :e% Arab Public' +ra2 Al,Da/eera and Middle Aast politics toda$ Columbia
Jni&ersit$ Press 2**; P' C2
1F
+t %as e6pressed recentl$ b$ the (I channel general director Muhammad 9hanfar in his public speech
in EC'
2*
made social net%or"s acti&ities more influential and effecti&e' +t facilitated an Arab public that
shares the conflict agenda as a common denominator it then empo%ered that public %ith
content engaged it in =distributed distribution> and through this created a frame%or" for
net%or"ed coordination'
+n the Arab %orld states are too local to build an impact in the Pan,Arabic net%or"' (heir impact
is limited b$ political struggles and conflicts bet%een &arious Arab states' Furthermore there is
another de&elopment that ma"es state actors %ea"er' According to Wolfsfeld states! ad&antage
is an abilit$ to dictate the rules of the game in the media and not onl$ to pla$ the game
2*
' But
the emergence of the net%or"ed realit$ especiall$ in net%or"s %hich share one identit$ among
man$ states limits states abilit$ to dictate an$ rule of the game'
Al Da/eera!s polic$ is ad-ustment to the ne% net%or"ed realit$ b$ for e6ample creating
lin"ages bet%een traditional media social media and social net%or"s' +n this case a state
4Katar7 creates an actor that is more fle6ible and more global and as a conse2uence can build
a net%or"ed impact much faster that state itself' (he Pan,Arabic dimension of Al Da/eera also
ma"es possible to reach a status %hen it can create rules for state actors %hich is the opposite
of the Wolfsfeld!s thesis 4since media shapes the rules7' +n this case the 2uestion is if the
created actor 4Al Da/eera7 starts to be more po%erful than the creator itself and %hat does it
meanM
1nalysis:
18
5$nch Ioices of the :e% Arab Public' +ra2 Al,Da/eera and Middle Aast politics toda$ Columbia
Jni&ersit$ Press 2**; C<,CC
2*
Wolfsfeld G' Media and political conflict: :e%s from the Middle Aast' Cambridge Jni&ersit$ Press 188G
21
Mernissi reminds us that =the Jmma the &er$ concept of the communit$ in +slam Lmeans a
group mo&ing to%ards the same goal>> and defines Muslim dream as transformation to%ard =a
debate,lin"ed planetar$ communit$ into a &irtual realit$>
21
' (he Jmma!s concept as %ell as the
media s$stem %ith a common language and abilit$ to set the same agenda for entire Arab %orld
4as described b$ 5$nch7 ma"es the Arab public sphere an ideal informational en&ironment for
global net%or"ed acti&it$ and cooperation and conse2uentl$ conflict sociali/ation'
(he immediate 2uestion that might be raised is if this tendenc$ might ha&e an$ significant
impact on the ph$sical dimension' #ne ma$ claim that it e&en has an opposite effect' (he
anon$mous Ag$ptian blogger 0andmon"e$ described =Faceboo" status %arfare> as =A form of
masturbator$ self,congratulating c$ber acti&ism that doesnHt reall$ cost $ou an$ time or effort>
and =doing something %hile reall$ the$ are doing nothing>
22
' Ea&id Farris points out that
Faceboo" acti&ist ha&e a lo% commitment to ph$sical action'
2<
According to 5$nch the po%er of the Arab 0treet is limited b$ lac" of mechanisms of polic$
affecting'
2B
(he 2uestion is if the =net%or"ed street> is a shift onl$ in hori/ontal dimension of
acti&ities! organi/ation 4street mobili/ation7 or this shift also includes emergence of ne% abilities
to ma"e an impact %ithin the hori/ontal dimension 4effect of street on decision ma"ers7'
As it %as mentioned at the outset of this paper online content oriented acti&ities ta"e a part in
social construction of realit$' (herefore e&en if %e don!t see an$ immediate conse2uences of
online net%or"ed cooperation it has an impact on decision ma"ing' Furthermore collaboration
b$ itself contributes to situation definition as a conflict 4agenda setting7 and e6pands the range
of engaged net%or"s through traditional3 social media and &iral mar"eting'
1o%e&er in m$ opinion the probable impact %ill not be limited to the social realit$ shaping b$
agenda setting and framing' (he net%or"ed Jmma is still onl$ in its beginning' But %e ma$
assume that a decrease in the digital di&ide as %ell as in digital illiterac$ %ill ma"e it more and
more po%erful' As a conse2uence the potential impact of the :et%or"ed Jmma %ithin conflicts
%ill also increase' (he content,oriented net%or"ed acti&it$ as a mechanism of uncontrolled
=conflict sociali/ation> %ill pla$ a more ma-or role' +t %ill be more and more significant since the
21
Mernissi Fatema (he 0atellite the Prince and 0chehera/ade : (he .ise of Women as Communicators
in Eigital +slam
22
0andmon"e$ #n Faceboo" 0tatus Warfare 0andmon"e$'org 11 Dan 2**8
2<
Will Ward 0ocial media in the Ga/a conflict Arab media and societ$ Arab Media T 0ociet$ Februar$
2**8
2B
5$nch Ioices of the :e% Arab Public' +ra2 Al,Da/eera and Middle Aast politics toda$ Columbia
Jni&ersit$ Press 2**; p' GC
22
d$namics of e6panding the range of conflicts has a tendenc$ to increase as an a&alanche due
to the nature of the Web 2'* en&ironment and culture of distribution 4e'g' ret%eeting reposting in
social net%or" embedding &ideo content in blogs social boo"mar"s etc'7'
(he rate of net%or"ed acti&ism %ill also increase %ith emergence of a ne% >digital born>
generation ac2uiring ne% participator$ practices and s"ills' We can alread$ %itness the process
of s"ills de&elopment' 5$nch points that the real significance of realit$ (I in the Arab %orld
realit$ is that =(I fans ha&e been inno&ators in the use of technolog$ to organi/e and mobili/e
across distances>
2C
' According to 5$nch the s"ills of online and net%or"ed organi/ation inspired
b$ .ealit$ (I =ma$ be more transferable to the political realm than some reali/e>'
Another factor that might contribute to the increase of impact of the =net%or"ed Jmma> is
people!s mobilit$ in global dimension and immigration' Eue to globali/ation and immigration
flo%s there are groups that in a situation of conflict might belong to different %orld%ide net%or"s
%hile being in the same countr$' (heir commitment to a particular net%or" might be more
significant than their commitment to a state'
(he last point is the increase of our dependence on the online %orld' (his increase %ill ma"e
the role of online %orld in social realit$ construction more significant' +n addition graduall$ the
online %orld %ill become the li&e en&ironment and not onl$ a source of information'
1o%e&er e&en if %e are tal"ing about net%or"ed content,oriented acti&ities onl$ as an
instrument for shaping social realit$ and communit$ building understanding of its d$namic is
important' (he inter,s$stem d$namic h$pothesis %hich %as suggested here tal"s about ne%
logics and mechanisms of social realit$ shaping' Moreo&er it pro&ides not onl$ an ans%er for
the 2uestion on the nature of the patterns but also on the possible conse2uences of these
d$namics'
(he d$namics %hich %ere offered in this paper included =mirroring> 4mutual monitoring learning
and reacting7 and balancing' +n the area of mirroring %e ha&e seen the same multi platform and
multilanguage strategies the same directions to net%or" members on both sides and the same
technological tools' 1ac"ti&ism %as not under in&estigation in this paper but %e could see the
same patterns on both sides! hac"er acti&ities'
2C
5$nch M' H.ealit$ is :ot AnoughH: (he Politics of Arab .ealit$ (I
2<
(he 2uestion of %hether the balance is a result of net%or" leadership or a function of self
organi/ation 4or both7 as %ell as is if it happens due to both sides of conflicts using the same
methods remains open' +f %e claim that the +sraeli abilit$ to balance the Arab side due to its
:et%or" leadership ad&antage 4the side %hich is more successful in promoting of its agenda is
the side %ith more organi/ed mechanism of net%or" leadership7 as %ell as language
technological s"ill and access to the +nternet the 2uestion %hich should be as"ed is if at some
point the +sraeli abilit$ to balance %ill be bro"en' +t might happen at the point %hen the pro3pan,
Arab net%or"s ad&antage 4due to number of nodes in the net%or"7 %ill be unreachable for the
number of nodes that the pro,+sraeli side can mobili/e engage and manage' +n other %ords the
2uestion is %hether balancing is a permanent propert$ of net%or"ed s$stems or a temporal
situation due to current state of the net%or"s on both sides' +n the latter case in the future the
pendulum might be found onl$ on one side'
0ince the net%or" that includes more nodes is more po%erful in its agenda setting3 framing
abilit$ e6panding the net%or"s is crucial to e6panding the abilit$ to ma"e an impact on
agenda3framing' (his is a situation of a =relationship race> %hich %as described recentl$ b$ the
ne% Jndersecretar$ of 0tate for Public Eiplomac$ Dudith Mc 1ale
2;
' =.elationship race> means
both an abilit$ to promote $our agenda and framing from a position of significant other
2G
as %ell
as the abilit$ to engage people in promoting of $our agenda3framing' (he success of this
strateg$ depends on the state!s abilit$ to maintain lasting relationships' (he increase in the si/e
of net%or"s ma"es =race of relationship> and maintaining relationship a crucial factor in the
state!s abilit$ to ma"e its agenda dominant' (herefore go&ernment3state actors are tr$ing to
connect to their citi/ens as =friends> on their net%or"' +n other %ords %e ma$ %itness a
go&ernments! attempt 4or actors affiliated %ith state7 to penetrate to personal social net%or"s'
Conse2uentl$ %e ma$ assume that the attempt of different actors to e6pand their net%or"s %ill
cause turf battles o&er different audiences' For instance Muslim Americans ma$ be an
audience for both the =net%or"ed Jmmah> and the =democrac$ and J'0' &alues> affiliated
net%or"s' Probabl$ in their dail$ li&es people can be members on both t$pes of net%or"s'
1o%e&er a conflict might create a situation in %hich nodes cannot hold t%o net%or"ed
identities at the same time' (he dominance of the net%or"ed identit$ that relates to the place
%here the node li&es is not certainl$ guaranteed'
2;
Mc1ale Dudith A Public Eiplomac$: A national securit$ imperati&e' Address at the Center for a :e%
American securit$' Dune 11 2**8
2G
+ use this term in its sociological conte6t' M$ assumption in this case is that the members of pri&ate
net%or" as a sub-ect to interpersonal interaction are more significant information sources that %eb search
or traditional media'
2B
+ %ould li"e to finish this anal$sis %ith dealing briefl$ %ith < 2uestions:
1' Eo social net%or"s promote %ith higher probabilit$ for peace or conflict due to the realit$
described in this paperM
2' What is the role of bridge bloggers in the realit$ of conflict sociali/ationM
<' +s the Arab public sphere united or fragmentedM Eo the results of this paper support the
conclusions of 1ar&ard!s =blogosphere mapping> report %hich states that the Arab
blogosphere is state,oriented and not globalM
The Contact Theory a-ainst the 6Clash of 3etworks7.
=0ocial theorists from Mill and Ee%e$ to Ben"ler and 0unstein stress the importance of open
dialog bet%een differing perspecti&es as a "e$ practice underl$ing democrac$ > ? sa$s
Ber"man!s =Mapping Arab blogosphere> report' +t concludes that a &ie% of the +nternet as
primaril$ a &ehicle for radicali/ation is %rong and hopes that =the +nternet %ill empo%er political
mo&ements that can mo&e Arab societies to%ard democratic &alues and go&ernance'> 1o%e&er
the focus of this paper %as not internal 4inside the Arab %orld7 but on the d$namics bet%een the
Arab %orld and the other net%or"s' What are the d$namics of the emerging global net%or"ed
public sphereM +s the global net%or"ed sphere a combination of personal social net%or"s state
related net%or"s culture3 language related net%or"s or something elseM
Euring the presentation of the =Mapping blogosphere> research its authors mentioned the
=Contact theor$>' According to this theor$ the more contact that groups ha&e %ith one another
the greater their le&el of understanding and the lo%er the chances of conflict' 1o%e&er it loo"s
li"e that contact can contribute not onl$ to understanding but also create friction and as
conse2uence increase tension' +f in the past ri&al sides of a particular conflict had a problem
reaching each other toda$ the realit$ is different' (he =blue,red> discourse o&er the +nternet is a
characteristic of almost an$ conflict during the last $ears' (his paper sho%s that contact in a
situation of conflict in most cases onl$ contributes to polari/ation'
According to the homophil$ concept people tend to form relations %ith others %ho are similar to
them' +n a situation of conflict the common enem$ becomes a strong cause to form net%or"s'
0ocial net%or"s toda$ become more and more the mechanism of data mining' +n the realit$ of
information o&erload people prefer to consume content that is consumed3 recommended b$
2C
their friends 4and not an anon$mous ma-orit$ e6pressed as a page ran" b$ Google!s algorithm7'
+n the ne% realit$ e&er$one is a gate"eeper for his or her net%or"' (his situation demonstrates
also a shift from the influence of a limited number of =significant others> 4famil$ close friends7
to%ards a more e6panded circle of %ea" social connections 4as e6plained b$ 0chir"$ in his
recent boo" =1ere comes e&er$bod$>7'
As a conse2uence membership in a particular net%or" especiall$ in a situation of conflict
increases the role of =selecti&e e6posure> that reaffirms the net%or"!s identit$' (he choice of
being a member of particular social net%or"s is a choice as to %hat information $ou %ant to be
e6posed and %hat information $ou %ill e6pose3distribute to members of $our pri&ate social
net%or"' (he members of different net%or"s li&e in absolutel$ different realit$' For instance
members of pro,+srael net%or"s ha&e a lot of friends %ith the Kassam count application but no
friends %ith the Bod$ count application and the opposite is true for pro,Palestinian net%or"s'
Conse2uentl$ one person might get hundreds of message about Kassams and no messages
about people %ho %ere "illed in Ga/a' +n addition e&er$ net%or" de&elops its o%n spiral of
silence 4a theor$ b$ Alisabeth :oelle,:eumann7 %hich pre&ents the minorit$ %ithin the net%or"
to e6press their &oices openl$'
(he net%or" polari/ation and abilit$ of contact bet%een ri&al net%or"s might contribute to people
engaging in conflict' +f in the past in order to meet $our enem$ $ou had to go to the battlefield
toda$ there is no limit to accessing the sphere of conflict' (herefore %e might thin" that a realit$
that might de&elop in the future is not clash of ci&ili/ations but a clash of net%or"s %hile the
abilit$ of inter,net%or" contact is the engine of the confrontation' +t %ill be a clash of agendas a
clash of frame%or"s and a clash of identities %hile e&er$ side loo"s for e6panding its o%n
net%or" 4=.elationship .ace>7' (o some e6tent this realit$ %as described in the :et%ars
concept b$ Ar2uila and .osenfledt
2F
' But both authors tal"ed about limited net%or"s that are
loo"ing for achie&ement of particular goal' Currentl$ %e are tal"ing about a global engagement
in %hich e&er$one is a part of a net%or" and an$ conflict might become global due to
uncontrolled and &er$ fast conflict sociali/ation (he globali/ation on the one hand and
net%or" fragmentation on the other hand remo&e an$ borders from the sociali/ation of
conflicts ma"e the sociali/ation process %orld%ide and decrease stabilit$'
2F
Ar2uilla D' T E' .onfeldt =What :e6t for :et%or"s and :et%ars> in Ar2uilla D' T E' .onfeldt 4Ads'7 %
:et%or"s and net%ars : (he future of terror crime and militanc$> .and 2**1'
2;
(hat is the role of +rid-e +lo--ers in conflicts8
+n a paper on=Blogging the :e% Arab Public> 5$nch names the three categories of bloggers in
the Arab %orld: public sphere bloggers acti&ists and bridge bloggers' According to 5$nch:'
%&ridgebloggers primaril$ address Western audiences usuall$ %riting in Anglish %ith the
intention of e6plaining their societies'>
28
0ince the main role of bridge bloggers focuses on
interaction bet%een different net%or"s their role ha&e to be considered as a part of inters$stem
d$namics anal$sis'
(he 1ar&ard!s research sho%s that the agenda of bridge bloggers blogs is different from other
bloggers' =Bridge bloggers are important interpreters of their home countries! politics and
cultures perhaps allo%ing us to get be$ond cartoonish &ie%s of one another appreciate the
comple6it$ of &ie%s in the Arabic blogosphere> ? sa$s Ber"man!s report' (herefore the 2uestion
that %e should as" should focus on content as dependent &ariable and include t%o independent
&ariables: =bridge bloggers> and =situation of conflict>'
1augbolle describes the impact of situation of conflict on the blog!s content' 1e mentions three
sorts of discourse in 5ebanese blogs during the 2**; %ar %ith +srael: =mudslinging> 4bet%een
opposite &ie%points7 =cleansed> 4spaces for agreement and propaganda7 and tempered spaces
4%here opposite &ie%points argue rationall$7
<*
' (his categori/ation belongs to anal$sis if intra,
net%or"s d$namic %hich is be$ond this paper' 1o%e&er e&en here the authors confirms that an
increase in conflict changes the borders of discourse: =As the death toll of ci&ilian 5ebanese
started to mount a profound gap opened up and con&ersation became nearl$ impossible>'
What is the inters$stem function of Bridge bloggers %ithin a situation of conflictM (he recent
e6amples include (%itter users from +ran and Moldo&a' Eespite the fact that onl$ a &er$ fe%
people in these t%o countries use (%iiter and e&en less (%ittering in Anglish ? their co&erage
had a huge role in empo%ering and engaging global net%or"s outside the countries in the
global dimension' A&gen$ Moro/o& an author of =:et Affect> blog ma"e a &er$ interesting
anal$sis of Bridge (%itters
<1
'
+ %ould li"e to offer three optional h$pothesis for shift in bridge bloggers acti&it$'
28
5$nch' M' Blogging the :e% Arab Public Arab Media T 0ociet$ Februar$ 2**G
<*
1augbolle 0une From A,5ist to Webtifada: Ee&elopments in the 5ebanese Blogosphere 2**C,2**;
Arab Media T 0ociet$ Februar$ 2**G
<1
Moro/o& A' (%itters re&olution is not a m$th :et Affect Foreign Polic$'com 1*3*B32**8
2G
1' First bridge bloggers are gate "eepers in conflict framing' (he &oice of bloggers is
considered to be authentic and therefore the$ might ha&e an impact' (he$ are focusing
on translation of the realit$ of conflict from =local> to =global>' (o some e6tent the$ are
bet%een being pro&iders of content and its distribution'
2' (he main strategic goal of bridge bloggers is to e6pand the net%or" of Anglish readers
%ho are lo$al to the Arab %orld through content distribution'
<' Eue to good Anglish 4and other languages7 s"ills the$ can become a hub for net%or"
leadership inside Arab societ$ 4monitoring the Anglish language field of battle7'
1ra+ pu+lic sphere: united or fra-mented8
According to 1ar&ard!s research on the Arab blogosphere personal life and 5ocal +ssues are
most +mportant than pan,Arabic foreign and global topics' =More de&eloped national net%or"s
focus more attention in%ard> , concludes the Ber"man!s report on the Arab blogosphere
mapping' (he mapping %hich the authors also call the 6&RI of social mind7 also
demonstrates clearl$ blog,clusters %hich are related to states'
1o%e&er according to the research the one political issue that commands the most attention of
bloggers across the Arab %orld is Palestine 4and in particular the militar$ operation in Ga/a in
Winter 2**F,2**87' According to the same report among the top <* most popular )outube
mo&ies in the Arab %orld eight are about the +srael3Palestine conflict and si6 are about Ga/a in
particular'
(his paper tried to build the case that in a different conte6t the =M.+ of the social mind> is &er$
different' +n particular the blogosphere3 soc' net%or"s! M.+ in a conflict situation in the Arab
%orld as %ell as in the global dimension %ill be loo"ed &er$ different from the dail$ life'
We ma$ thin" about a long menu of different "ind of agendas: local national pan,Arab pan,
Muslim global' 1o%e&er in a time of conflict the sociali/ation of conflict flo% through the blood
s$stem of social net%or"s cause a change in agenda from local to more global' 0ame shift
might be %itnessed in a self definition of node!s identities %hen e&er$ member of net%or" %ill be
%ith a high probabilit$ affiliated %ith particular framing of this conflict' (herefore situation of
conflict is at the same time situation of emergence of globali/ation 4sociali/ation of conflict in
global dimension7 and fragmentation 4affiliation of e&er$ node %ith particular net%or" and high
commitment to net%or" %hich is a side in a conflict7' :et%or"ed globali/ation and fragmentation
at the same time is the most dangerous combination for the %orld!s stabilit$'
2F
Conclusion :
+n this paper + tried to s"etch the d$namics bet%een different social net%or"s in the situation of
conflict and to estimate the conse2uences of this d$namics' (he paper pro&ides a frame%or"
and fe% h$potheses for further research' +n addition to statistical anal$sis of internet%or"
d$namic and balancing the same "ind of d$namics should be chec"ed in a conte6t of other
conflicts'
1o%e&er despite the lac" of strong methodological basis + belie&e that the topic of this paper
has a significant importance' (he potential of social net%or"s has not onl$ ad&antages but also
challenges that might increase the instabilit$ in the global dimension' (herefore social net%or"s
d$namics in a situation of conflict is something that %e should stud$ and understand'
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