Recent Press and Opinion

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• Analysis and Opinion
• Interviews
• Reviews
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Analysis and Opinion

Social Media and Produsage

Axel Bruns. “Inside the Moral Panic at Australia's 'First of Its Kind' Summit about Kids on Social Media.” Crikey, 15 Oct. 2024.

Axel Bruns and Aleesha Rodriguez. “An Age Ban on Social Media Is Unworkable – What Are the Alternatives?” Australian Academy of the Humanities, 4 Oct. 2024.

Axel Bruns. “If Meta Bans News in Australia, What Will Happen? Canada’s Experience Is Telling.” The Conversation, 2 July 2024.

Axel Bruns and Daniel Angus. “The Yes Voice Campaign Cannot Afford to Be Drawn in to a Rearguard Battle with Its Opponents.” The Guardian, 26 July 2023.

Ehsan Dehghan and Axel Bruns. “The Rise of #Robodebt: How Twitter Activists Pushed a Government Scandal from Hashtags to a Royal Commission.” The Conversation, 7 July 2023.

Axel Bruns. “Journalismus im Umbruch: Wikimedia, Bürgerjournalismus und 'Open News'.” Dossier: Wikipedia. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2013.

Jean Burgess, Farida Vis, and Axel Bruns. “How Many Fake Sandy Pictures Were Really Shared on Social Media?” The Guardian: DataBlog, 6 Nov. 2012. Also republished at The Conversation, 8 Nov. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “At Times of Crisis, Twitter Shines Brightest.” Continuity Q3 (2012): 16-17.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Media and the Olympics: Prepare for Further Disappointment.” The Conversation, 2 July 2012.

Axel Bruns. “How Not to Use Twitter: Lessons from Qantas and Westpac.” The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “How Twitter Played a Vital Role in the Queensland Floods.” The Conversation, 11 Jan. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “When Obama gets Osama, the World Turns to Twitter.” The Conversation (3 May 2011).

Axel Bruns. "Doing Social Media - Some Fundamental Principles." Keeping Good Companies 62.5 (June 2010): 309-11. Also republished in Corporate Governance Quarterly (Spring 2011): 15-17.

Axel Bruns. "Who Controls the Means of Produsage?" Re-Public 30 Jan. 2008. (Also available in a Greek translation: "Ποιος ελέγχει τα μέσα παραγωγής/κατανάλωσης;")

Journalism, Citizen Journalism, and Politics

Axel Bruns, Samantha Vilkins, and Tariq Choucair. “New Polling Shows ‘No’ Voters More Likely to See Australia as Already Divided.” The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2023.

Axel Bruns and Daniel Angus. “The Yes Voice Campaign Cannot Afford to Be Drawn in to a Rearguard Battle with Its Opponents.” The Guardian, 26 July 2023.

Ehsan Dehghan and Axel Bruns. “The Rise of #Robodebt: How Twitter Activists Pushed a Government Scandal from Hashtags to a Royal Commission.” The Conversation, 7 July 2023.

Axel Bruns. Participant in “Desinformation vor der Europawahl – Wie groß ist die Gefahr?” Science Media Center Germany press briefing, Cologne, 12 Apr. 2019.

Axel Bruns. “Beyond the Cult of Numbers: We Need a More Sophisticated Approach to Social Media Metrics for Editorial Decision-Making.” Walkley Magazine 89 (Aug. 2017): 19-20. Republished at Medium.

Matt Ho. “The Turkish Spring?” Interview with Axel Bruns. SYN FM (5 June 2012).

Axel Bruns. “Queensland Election on Twitter: A Scorecard for Bligh and Newman.” The Conversation (22 Mar. 2012).

Axel Bruns. “King Canute Is Alive and Tweeting ... and He Works at Sky News.” The Conversation (9 Feb. 2012).

Axel Bruns. “Norway Tragedy Exposes Pundits' Tunnel Vision on Terrorism.” The Conversation (25 July 2011).

Axel Bruns. “The Trouble with the Fourth Estate.” Presented at “Whether Bloggers Are the New Fourth Estate”, Australasian Study of Parliament Group (Queensland Chapter) event, Brisbane, 26 Aug. 2010.

Axel Bruns. “All a-Twitter on the Campaign Trail.” National Times, 28 July 2010 (extended version: Gatewatching 28 July 2010).

Axel Bruns. "Soziale Medien: Nützlich nur aus der Opposition?" Homo Politicus, 29 Mar. 2010.

Axel Bruns. "King Canute's Guidelines for Bloggers." ABC Unleashed 21 Oct. 2009.

Axel Bruns. "Online 'Produsers' Dish Up the News." Online Opinion 11 Apr. 2005.

ATNIX: Australian Twitter News Index

ATNIX is a weekly index measuring the number of links to Australian news and opinion sites being shared on Twitter, published at The Conversation. For a full archive of all ATNIX-related posts, also see the ATNIX archive at Mapping Online Publics.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Hunting Down Spammers.” The Conversation, 28 Nov. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Health History Haunts Abbott.” The Conversation, 21 Nov. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: The Calm before the Storm?” The Conversation, 18 Nov. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: A Quiet Week before the Election.” The Conversation, 9 Nov. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Of Hair Loss and Other Spam.” The Conversation, 1 Nov. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Big Week, Few Highlights.” The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Gillard Goes Global.” The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Not All about Alan Jones.” The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: From Julian Assange to Alan Jones.” The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Riots, Marriage, Bestiality.” The Conversation, 27 Sep. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Quiet Week despite the Riots.” The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: ACL, Turnbull, Chomsky.” The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Trolls, Peter Reith, Fairfax Job Cuts.” The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Sales vs. Abbott, Data Retention, American Idol.” The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: ABC, Assange and Abbott.” The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Australian Twitter News Index: Olympics, Interns and Racism on Facebook.” The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “How to Measure Influence: Using Twitter to Rate Australian News Sites.” The Conversation, 18 July 2012.

Club Bloggery

An ABC Online series with Jason Wilson and Barry Saunders, covering the 2007 Australian federal election and other topics.

Axel Bruns, Jason Wilson, and Barry Saunders. "Baillieu and the Blogs of War." ABC Online 15 May 2008 (extended version: Gatewatching 15 May 2008).

Axel Bruns, Jason Wilson, and Barry Saunders. "Once Were Barons." ABC Online 28 Feb. 2008 (extended version: Gatewatching 3 Mar. 2008).

Jason Wilson, Axel Bruns, and Barry Saunders. "Super Rehearsal for November." ABC Online 14 Feb. 2008 (extended version: Gatewatching 16 Feb. 2008).

Jason Wilson, Barry Saunders, and Axel Bruns. "Which Way in '08?" ABC Online 8 Feb. 2008 (extended version: Gatewatching 8 Feb. 2008).

Jason Wilson, Barry Saunders, and Axel Bruns. "When Rumour and Comment Become the News." ABC Online 25 Jan. 2008 (extended version: Gatewatching 29 Jan. 2008).

Axel Bruns, Jason Wilson, and Barry Saunders. "Not Funny." ABC Online 3 Dec. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 5 Dec. 2007).

Jason Wilson, Barry Saunders, and Axel Bruns. "Scoring the e-lection." ABC Online 23 Nov. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 23 Nov. 2007).

Axel Bruns, Jason Wilson, and Barry Saunders. "Election Flops on YouTube." ABC Online 16 Nov. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 16 Nov. 2007).

Jason Wilson, Axel Bruns, and Barry Saunders. "Jumping the Shark." ABC Online 9 Nov. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 10 Nov. 2007).

Jason Wilson, Barry Saunders, and Axel Bruns. "Digging Deeper." ABC Online 2 Nov. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 5 Nov. 2007).

Axel Bruns, Jason Wilson, and Barry Saunders. "Bloggers Watch as Journalists Turn on Each Other over Worm." ABC Online 26 Oct. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 26 Oct. 2007).

Jason Wilson, Axel Bruns, and Barry Saunders. "Beyond Gotcha: Blogs as a Space for Debate." ABC Online 19 Oct. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 19 Oct. 2007).

Axel Bruns, Jason Wilson, and Barry Saunders. "Blogging outside the Echo Chamber." ABC Online 12 Oct. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 12 Oct. 2007).

Barry Saunders, Jason Wilson, and Axel Bruns. "Consulting Bloggers as Citizens." ABC Online 5 Oct. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 5 Oct. 2007).

Jason Wilson, Axel Bruns, and Barry Saunders. "Who's Afraid of the MSM?" ABC Online 27 Sep. 2007 (extended version: Gatewatching 30 Sep. 2007).

Interviews

Citizen Journalism, Social Media, and Politics

Kate FitzGerald. “The Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society Mini Series #2.” Read Them Sideways podcast episode 7, 8 Sep. 2024.

Stilgherrian. “The 9pm War on Social Media with Professor Axel Bruns.” The 9pm Edict podcast episode 229, 31 Aug. 2024.

Sebastian Svegaard. “CrowdTangle Closure and What It Means for Researchers.” Read Them Sideways podcast episode 5, 26 Aug. 2024.

Centre for Responsible Technology. “'Cookers' in Their Underpants – The Voice and Social Media.” Burning Platforms podcast, 31 July 2023.

Michael Geist. “Axel Bruns on What the Australian Experience Teaches about the Prospect of Facebook Blocking News Sharing in Response to Bill C-18.” Law Bytes podcast 146. 15 Nov. 2022.

Jessica van Vonderen. “Qld Politicians Embrace Twitter.” ABC TV News Queensland, 16 Mar. 2012.

Jessica van Vonderen. “Tweets Sing to Election Tune for Growing Audience.” ABC 7.30 Queensland, 16 Mar. 2012.

Axel Bruns. “Echtzeitnews: Neue Herausforderungen für den Journalismus.” Radio Netwatcher. Freier Rundfunk Oberösterreich, 13 June 2011.

Leeanne Torpey et al. "The Politik of Social Networks." The Fourth Estate, 2SER radio, 14 Nov. 2008.

Produsage

Vasilis Kostakis. "Peer Governance and Wikipedia: Identifying and Understanding the Problems of Wikipedia's Governance." First Monday 15.3 (12 March 2010).

Janna Anderson and Lee Rainie. "Future of the Internet IV." Pew Internet & American Life Project, 19 Feb. 2010.

Jan Engelmann. "In der Open-Source-Demokratie wartet man keine Einladung ab." Interview with Axel Bruns. Polar: Politik|Theorie|Alltag 7 (Herbst 2009): 47-51.

Vasilios Kostakis. "Peer Governance and Wikipedia." Interview with Michel Bauwens and Axel Bruns. P2P Foundation, 22 June 2009.

Olaf Kolbrück. "Produsage and Business: Sharing Your Brand with Users." Interview with Axel Bruns. Sevenload 13 May 2009.

Henry Jenkins and Axel Bruns. "From Production to Produsage: Interview with Axel Bruns." [Part 1, part 2.] HenryJenkins.org, 9/12 May 2008.

Social Media and Crisis Communication

Emma Sykes. “Emergency 2.0: How Social Media Proved Itself in the Queensland Floods.” 612ABC Brisbane, 5 Apr. 2011.

ABC Radio National. “Social Media and Disasters.” 2 Apr. 2011.

Philipp Albrecht. “Hashtags für den Notfall.” Politik-Digital, 24 Mar. 2011.

Rachel Sullivan. “The Coming of Age.” Fast Thinking (Autumn 2011): 70-71.

Karen Berkman. “Social Media Helps Communication during Queensland Floods.” ABC TV News Queensland, 19 Jan. 2011.

New Media Education

Trebor Scholz and Axel Bruns. "Share, Share Widely: Technologies for Distributed Creativity." Interview with Axel Bruns (adjusted by Trebor Scholz) for WebCamTalk 1.0 (audio also available: 23MB MP3 or streaming media). Also published in "Dot Org Boom." Official publication of Pixelache Festival 2005.

Reviews

Rimi Khan. Review of Smart Services CRC Social Media - State of the Art report. Media International Australia 134 (Feb. 2010): 155-6.

Michael Dezuanni. Review of Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage . Screen Education 53 (2009): 58-9.

J. Richards Stevens. Review of Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production, by Axel Bruns. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, May 2008.

Tricia Farwell, Tama Leaver, Damien Pfister, and Daniel C. Smith. Reviews of Uses of Blogs, edited by Axel Bruns and Joanne Jacobs. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, February 2008.

Michel Bauwens. The Produsage Revolution: A Stellar New Book. (Review of Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage.) P2P Foundation, 15 Nov. 2007.

Kate Milberry. Review of Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production, by Axel Bruns. Canadian Journal of Communication 31.3 (2006).

Press Coverage

Produsage

Ilona Koglin. "Neue Wege." Page Magazin (Aug. 2009): 80-81.

Graham Readfearn. "Popularity Wanes for Facebook, MySpace Users." Courier-Mail 27 Feb. 2008.

Rosemary Sorensen. "Time You Turned on the Tube." Weekend Australian 17 March 2007: "Features", 6. Republished at Trendwatching.com, 19 March 2007.

Jason Nahrung. "Digital Filmmaking Weapons of Choice." Courier-Mail 27 Sep. 2006: "The Guide", T4.

Citizen Journalism and Blogging

Margaret Simons. "New Media Lessons from Election '07." Crikey 10 Apr. 2008.

Juliana Tiraboschi. "Você é o Repórter." Galileu Sep. 2007: 62-65. ( Babelfish translation from Portuguese.)

Brisbane City News. "A Blog a Day Keeps Tradition at Bay." 27 Sep. 2007: 8.

Anna Edwards. "Extra Ads Won't Box in Our Votes." mX 7 Sep. 2007: 4.

Jennifer Dudley. "Internet Key to Getting Word Out." Courier-Mail 28 Dec. 2004: "News", 5.

Jennifer Dudley. "Fame Is Just a Blog Away." Courier-Mail 11 Nov. 2004: "Features", 31.

Sandy McCutcheon. "Blogs and Blogging." ABC Radio National, "Australia Talks Back", 12 July 2004.

Social Media

Ali Benton. “When Corporate Social Media Goes Wrong.” ABC Radio National, 29 Feb. 2012.

Matthew Liddy. “How Twitter Covered the Queensland Floods.” ABC News Online, 11 Jan. 2012.

Fiona Mackrell. “Researching the Twitterverse.” ArtsHub, 1 July 2011.

Anthony Fensom. “Asia-Pacific’s Annus Horribilis.” The Diplomat, 6 Apr. 2011.

Campus Daily. “Recent Disasters a Social Media ‘Wake-Up’ Call.” 5 Apr. 2011.

The Australian. “Disasters Forge Better Kiwi Tweeters.” 4 Apr. 2011.

Alex Dickinson. "We Know Where You Are Says Facebook." Herald Sun, 11 Mar. 2010.

Alex Dickinson. "Burglars, Pedophiles Could Exploit Facebook GPS Location Move." Courier-Mail, 10 Mar. 2010.

Anna Caldwell. "Kids at Risk as Net Forums like Facebook Reveal Bullying." Courier-Mail, 20 Feb. 2010.

Emily Bourke. "Stabbing Victim's Internet Memorial Sabotaged." ABC AM, 16 Feb. 2010.

Charlotte Glennie and Emily Bourke. "Schoolyard Murder Puts Spotlight on Knife Culture." ABC News Online, 16 Feb. 2010.

Internet Trends

Carl Franzen. "Pew: Internet Revolution Will Be Slow, Painful." AOL News, 2 April 2010.

Ari Sharp. "Rudd Flags Internet Ombudsman." The Age, 27 Feb. 2010.

Dan Nosowitz. "The Future of the Internet, Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Report." Fast Company, 18 Feb. 2010.

Jennifer Dudley. "Broadband: When Lost Was Found on Line." Adelaide Advertiser 26 July 2006: "Supplement", C5.

Jennifer Dudley. "The Need for Speed - The Best Way to Unleash the Internet." Sydney Daily Telegraph 26 July 2006: "Features", "Special Broadband Edition", 1.

Jennifer Dudley. "Time to Jump on Bandwagon." Courier-Mail 26 July 2006: "The Guide", T4.

ttn (news for kids). Network Ten 24 May 2005.

Jennifer Dudley. "iPods Open World of Words." Courier-Mail 29 April 2006: "E-Mail", N6.

Fran Metcalf. "Click and Beware." Courier-Mail 19 May 2006: "Today", 18.

Jennifer Dudley. "Net Users Quick to Download Disorder." Courier-Mail 11 April 2005: "News", 7.

Katrina Witham. "Personal Touch Takes Time." Courier-Mail 23 Dec. 2004: "News", 6.

New Media Education

Milanda Rout, "Hi-Tech Carrots to Tempt Generation C." The Australian 18 July 2007: 24.

Internet Archiving

Steve Meacham. "Editing Our Future." Sydney Morning Herald 4 May 2005: "News and Features", 18.

Music

ABC Science Online. "Two-Timing Boosts Musicians' Repertoire." 4 Oct. 2006.

Hindustan Times. "Musicians Most Likely to Collaborate with Those from Other Musical Genres." 4 Oct. 2006.