ICTlogy

Observations:

From the conclusions:

Firstly, technology use in civil society is never for the sake of technology itself. Instead it should aim to widen the interaction between civil society groups and communities and the beneficiaries with which- and for which- they work. Technology use should help empower civil society and encourage and support them to maintain a dynamic interaction with the public. With such an aim, strategising the use and adoption of technology in civil society is imperative if a more significant impact of civic activism is to be expected.

Secondly, with the rapid innovation of new media technology and vast development of civic activism taking place at the same time, a causal relationship between the two might be seen to be inevitable for many people: that the latter is seen to have been caused by the former. While such causality might not always be wrong, there is an apparent danger to mistakenly favour technological superiority over human agency involvement, particularly when it comes to policy analysis. This implies therefore, that in policy orientation, the focus should first be addressed to develop the agency’s capabilities both in appropriating the technology and in understanding the dynamics of civic and political realms.

Finally, as networking becomes more central for organisations today, the use of Internet and social media should also be strategically oriented to facilitate networking, both within the civil society sector and between civil society and other sectors, such as public and private organisations. Clearly this will pose new challenges, but likewise, it will also present new opportunities.