Talk us into it
The role of conversation in a changing society and public realm
Conversation has long been the cornerstone of our society. New technologies enable us to speak to people anytime, anywhere. However, there is growing concern – both in the UK and elsewhere - that we are talking less than we used to. This work suggests that this is a misconception and that the issue is actually much more complex.
Talk Us Into It
at 10:16am on Tuesday, 19th September 2006
Our recent publication, Talk Us Into It, has been covered today in the Times.
The pamphlet argues that we need to put conversation back into the public realm. New technologies and communicaitons platforms have encouraged more and more people to 'have their say' and given more and more of us the chance to put forth our opinion, but is this at the expense of the face-to-face conversations that we need?
What we're looking to do in the future is think about how we can work with people to enable these conversations. The pamphlet suggests some ways in which we can do this. As we move on, though, it would be great to hear more thoughts.
The pamphlet argues that we need to put conversation back into the public realm. New technologies and communicaitons platforms have encouraged more and more people to 'have their say' and given more and more of us the chance to put forth our opinion, but is this at the expense of the face-to-face conversations that we need?
What we're looking to do in the future is think about how we can work with people to enable these conversations. The pamphlet suggests some ways in which we can do this. As we move on, though, it would be great to hear more thoughts.
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Comments
Absolutely - I'm all in favour of people having their say. I think free speech is an essential foundation of democracy. But Demos doesn't appear to - or at least, your new director Madeleine Bunting doesn't. She seems to have a list of things that shouldn't be said, as they might offend people and cause them to kill nuns.
Is it possible to publish a new pamphlet, perhaps entitled "Shut up" which would have a list of things Demos has decided are unsayable?
Ta.