Habermas on Blogging

"By 'the public sphere' we mean first of all a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed. Access is guaranteed to all citizens."

-Jurgen Habermas

So what would Habermas have to say about a blogging portal like dailykos.com?

Daily Kos would be an example of what Habermas refers to as "refeudalism," a step away from progressivism towards the early public sphere which was ruled by the bourgeois. This comes ironically of course, given that the site is a result of technological advancement and exists in an unmonitored environment. While the website has no laws blocking anyone from accessing it, it is inherently exclusive in many ways:

• It's participants must be computer literate and have internet access
• Participants without a decent political knowledge will suffer natural exclusion
• The people running the site are middle to upper class, well educated citizens

The third point is what really sums up the idea of feudalism. In this sense, the public sphere is represented by the upper class, who let their thinking dictate that of the public. Habermas would refer to it as the nobility creating the "organs of public authority." While the site is available to all, one must possess certain middle to upper class traits to access it, and the bourgeois prioritizes the information published on it.