Is anybody reading this? Indymedia and internet traffic reports
Abstract
This paper examines the Internet server traffic reports of eight North American Indymedia websites from January to May 2003 in an attempt to address the question of audience research and alternative media. The traffic reports indicate a significant increase in traffic at all of these websites beginning in March 2003, the month when open hostilities broke out in Iraq. These results suggest a connection between Indymedia and mobilization. In addition, further research based on Internet server traffic reports is described and encouraged.
Author Biography
Andy Opel
Andy Opel is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Florida State University, teaching documentary video production and media studies. He recently co-edited a volume, Representing Resistance: Media, Civil Disobedience and the Global Justice Movement (Praeger 2003). His work has also appeared in Enviropop: Studies in Environmental Rhetoric and Popular Culture and the Journal of American Culture. His research interests include the emerging media and democracy movement as well as the intersection of consumer culture and the environment
Rich Templin
Rich Templin is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at Florida State University. He is currently the Director of Communications for the AFL-CIO in Florida as well as a founding member of the Tallahassee-Redhills Indymedia Center. His research interests include alternative media and the (dis)connections between networked activism and traditional labor politics.