
Cyberchiefs
Autonomy and Authority in Online Tribes
Mathieu O'Neil(Author)
Pluto Press
Published on 20. March 2009
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-7453-2797-6 (ISBN)
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Description
People are inventing new ways of working together on the internet. Decentralised production thrives on blogs, wikis and free software projects. Cyberchiefs focuses on the regulations of these working relationships. It examines the transformation of leadership and expertise in online networks, and the emergence of innovative forms of participatory politics.
What are the costs and benefits of alternatives to hierarchical organisation? Using case studies of online projects or 'tribes' such as the radical Primitivism archive, Daily Kos, the Debian free software project and Wikipedia, this book shows that leaders must support maximum autonomy for participants, and looks at the tensions generated by this distribution of authority.
What are the costs and benefits of alternatives to hierarchical organisation? Using case studies of online projects or 'tribes' such as the radical Primitivism archive, Daily Kos, the Debian free software project and Wikipedia, this book shows that leaders must support maximum autonomy for participants, and looks at the tensions generated by this distribution of authority.
Reviews / Votes
'Offers an important and relevant account of the innovations in forms of authority expressed by the social dynamics of Internet group formations' -- Tiziana Terranova, associate professor of Sociology of Communications and Cultural Studies at the University of Naples 'L'Orientale'and author of Network Culture: Politics for the Information Age (Pluto Press, 2004).More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Library binding
Illustrations
1 b&w figure
Dimensions
Height: 215 mm
Width: 135 mm
Weight
416 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7453-2797-6 (9780745327976)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2009
1st Edition
Pluto Press
€124.99
Available for download
Person
Mathieu O'Neil is Adjunct Research Fellow at the Australian National University in the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, and Principal Researcher at Australia's Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. He has contributed articles to Le Monde Diplomatique and is the author of Cyberchiefs (Pluto, 2009).
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART I
1. The Autonomy Imperative
2. The Distribution of Charisma
3. The Tyranny of Structure
4. The Grammar of Justice
PART II
5. The Last Online Tribe: primitivism.com
6. The Primary War: dailykos.com
7. The Imperfect Committee: debian.org
8. The Great Sock Hunt: wikipedia.org
9. Online Tribal Bureaucracy
Notes
Index
Introduction
PART I
1. The Autonomy Imperative
2. The Distribution of Charisma
3. The Tyranny of Structure
4. The Grammar of Justice
PART II
5. The Last Online Tribe: primitivism.com
6. The Primary War: dailykos.com
7. The Imperfect Committee: debian.org
8. The Great Sock Hunt: wikipedia.org
9. Online Tribal Bureaucracy
Notes
Index