[spectre] [pub] Cyberchiefs

[mathieu at coombs.anu.edu.au]

[apologies for cross-posts]

Hi everyone

Thought some might be interested to know that my book 'Cyberchiefs' which
analyses leadership and organisation in free software projects, weblogs
and wikis has been released. Please see the blurb below for more info.

Cheers,

Mathieu


*******

Cyberchiefs: Autonomy and Authority in Online Tribes

Mathieu O’Neil

April 2009

PB / £ 17.99 / $ 32.95 / 978-0-7453-2796-9 /  215mm x 135mm  / 242 pp



‘Going against all easy celebrations of an Internet culture without
authority or power structures, Cyberchiefs 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.


People are inventing new ways of working together on the internet.
Decentralised production thrives on weblogs, wikis and free software
projects. In Cyberchiefs, Mathieu O’Neil focuses on the regulation of
these working relationships. He 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, the Daily Kos political weblog, the
Debian free software project, and Wikipedia, O’Neil shows that leaders
must support maximum autonomy for participants, and he analyses the
tensions generated by this distribution of authority.



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, Manière de voir and Factsheet 5. He has also worked as
a magazine editor and designer, as an editor on the collective New Media
Art weblog Under the Sun, and has curated international digital art
exhibitions.

Publisher webpage (US): http://us.macmillan.com/cyberchiefs

Obligatory Facebook page: Coming soon!

*******




Mathieu O'Neil, Ph.D

Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute
The Australian National University
Room 4101, Coombs Building (9)
ACT 0200 - Australia

E-mail: mathieu.oneil at anu.edu.au
Tel: (61) 2 61 25 38 00
Web: http://adsri.anu.edu.au/people/visitors/mathieu.php