A paper presented at the 2016 EROPA Conference on iGovernance: Innovative, Inclusive, Integrity-based in October 2016 at the Manila Hotel Philippines

1. Engaging Government through
Facebook, Twitter, & YouTube
Sheila Lo Dingcong
October 2016

2. http://www.davaobase.com/2015/06/how-trending-is-mayor-rody-duterte-in-social-media/

3. Typology of
Citizenship
Westheimer and
Kahne (2004)
1.Personally
responsible
citizen
2.Participatory
citizen
3.Justice-orientated
citizen

4. People getting involved in their
local communities and acts that
aim to contribute to building and
maintaining a democratic society
(Nosko & Széger)

5. A combination of knowledge, attitude,
skills and encompass active learning
for political literacy and empowerment,
addressing structures and relations of
power and working to change these,
where necessary, in the pursuit of
social inclusion and social justice
agendas (Lister 1997)

6. • Operating on the basis of a continuous
dialogue between civil society and
decision-makers (Nilsson 2012)
• Realizing your potential to affect change
within your political community and actively
participating in processes that will alter the
status quo, ostensibly for the greater good
of society (Skwirk Online Education)

7. By Tim Davies
https://prezi.com/ziwaz1jgr2we/online-social-networks-and-active-citizenship/

8. Social media is the collection of
online communication channels
dedicated to community-based input,
interaction, content-sharing and
collaboration. (Techtarget, 2015).

19. The concept of governance
provides the basis in
understanding, qualifying, and
interpreting the phenomenon of
social media and active
citizenship.

20. The exercise of authority is uppermost in
government and remains significant in
governance, but is no longer its single
focus. This is because the power in
governance is not so much wielded as
shared, and authority is defined not so
much by the control of the ruler as by the
consent and participation of the
governed (Carino, 1999).

21. E-governance is the public sector’s
use of information and communication
technologies with the aim of improving
information and service delivery,
encouraging citizen participation in the
decision-making process and making
government more accountable,
transparent and effective. (UNESCO,
2011)

22. It involves new styles of
leadership, new ways of debating
and deciding policy and
investment, new ways of
accessing education, new ways
of listening to citizens and new
ways of organizing and delivering
information and services.

23. E-governance is likewise the use of
ICT not only by government but by
different actors in society to enable
them to have access to information
and participate in societal endeavors,
build capacity among themselves as
citizens, and become genuine
partners in development. (UNESCO,
2011)

24. • As Narendra Modi, India’s Prime
Minister, puts it, “access to
governance has to be guaranteed
with transparent systems that deliver
responses and outcomes. The
strengthening of democratic
governance empowers the population
to become active partners in the
growth process.”

25. This is not only limited to the national
level but increasingly are
mainstreamed in local government in
cities and municipalities through
social media and corporate
transparency (Bonson et.al, 2012).

26. Linders (2012) proposes that e-
government further evolves into
a we-government where citizens
are co-producers in the age of
social media.

27. Social media innovations have
likewise encouraged participatory
politics by networking democracy
at all levels of society (Loader &
Mercea, 2011).

28. This is highly evident in the active
role of our wired young population
who mostly populate social media
in political participation as well as
civic engagement (Loader, 2014).

29. The paper explored into the
virtual worlds of YouTube, Twitter,
and Facebook and dug into video
uploads, microblogs, and status
updates on politics and political
leaders.

30. Conducted rapid assessment process
to immediately develop a preliminary
understanding of the phenomenon
from the emic point of view to arrive
at tentative findings – social media as
effective platforms that enable active
citizenship

31. Content analysis through desk-
scoping exercises of the three
social media sites using
keywords and hashtags in
scouring online content.

32. • YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are the most
popular and widely used social media sites
utilized by Filipinos from all socio-economic
classes.
• These served as the main data sources
because of their high penetration and
utilization rate and thus, they contain
tremendous amount of information.

33. • Showbiz
Government –
created in 2010
when the Aquino
administration took
power in
government
• Based on it profile
picture and cover
photo (as of May
2016), the FB

34. Still exists up to
now and converted
into a Pro-PRRD
page but did not
change its name;
covered the whole
six years of PNoy
including the May
2016 elections

35. • As of May 2016, it has attracted 705,296
people who talks about the page, has
171,000 likes (now 233,610 as of Sept
29), contains 17,000 photos, and 22
videos with over half a million views.
• Contains 65 notes, press statements,
media advisories, and manifestos, call for
actions, blogs, articles, op-ed, etc.

36. • Tweets come out on a daily basis and so
numerous with each tweet getting lots of
comments, likes, and retweets
• The volume of tweets shows how
popular PNoy was as president
• 2016 elections took a lot of space for
negative tweets on PNoy
• Tweets continue to intensify even after
the elections

37. • Brief assessments on his performance
point to negative influences of the
people around him particularly his
friends
• Positive tweets periodically appear to
defend him
• Negative tweets mostly come from
Duterte supporters because he won the
elections; other political camps (Binay
and Poe) also contribute negative

38. • In May 2016, a search for Duterte in
YouTube resulted to 310,000 video hits
that talk about him as a private individual,
local government official, presidential
candidate, and the 16th president of the
Philippines
• Pre-election videos presented a mix of
sowing fear and spreading hope
• Post-election videos present a more
affirmative tone of his character

39. • Millions of views contributed
immensely to his popularity across
the nation and the positive things he
has done for Davao City precede
him
• With millions of Filipino YouTube
viewers, the platform has definitely
connected him to the people
particularly those who do not know

40. • Highly influenced by Filipinos’
phenomenal propensity (as evidenced by
time spent on social media) for SNS use
• Affirming as well as challenging/criticizing
state actions and policies perceived as
anti-poor or anti-people
• Based on FB page and tweets analyzed,
Filipinos are more vocal in expressing
sentiments on matters they disapprove of

41. • Online watchdog community acts as
counterbalance to the government,
thus creating a semblance of power
sharing in molding public opinion.
• Tweets are tit-for-tat because of the
limitations of 140 characters, thus
exchanges are lengthy but have
lesser offensive or upsetting impact

42. • YouTube videos are less interactive
but highly engaging and time-
consuming
• The high volume of Duterte videos in
YouTube cannot be disregarded as a
contributing factor to his success

43. • Duterte phenomenon is an outlier
(irrational logic) – he defies institutional
values and norms, disregards propriety
and decorum, openly admits being anti-
government and a socialist, and agitates
for a revolution and martial law.
• Yet despite all these, he surpassed
records in the polls, garnering majority
votes across all social and economic
classes in the country

44. • Emergence of social media and SNS is a
powerful technological innovation that
positively impacts citizenship.
• Empowers citizens to express their views
and opinions which may be ignored but
cannot be denied
• Social media shapes public opinion
because of their intensity, volume, and
openness.

45. • Interface feature of SNS adds to
heighten the exchanges and reach of
information between and among
netizens
• It pushes forth Carino’s (1999)
governance paradigm of “dispersing
power and authority with the
governed and soliciting their consent
and participation in rule-making.”

46. • Citizenship can be distinguished from
nationality on the basis of its use and
purpose.
• National by virtue of birth, parentage, and
naturalization
• Citizenship requires the deliberate
exercise of one’s rights and liberties,
responsibilities, and the nurturance of
these inherent ideals

47. • Involvement and participation on political
matters that directly or indirectly affect
our daily lives mean activating our
citizenship.
• Social media provides this platform for
citizens to set in motion active citizenship
and trigger the ordinary person on the
street to participate and get involved in
public affairs whether consciously or
unconsciously