ABSTRACT
For communications professionals, a key issue concerning the internet is the interactivity between users and the fact that anyone can voice their opinions without constraint. Unlike other mainstream media, the internet allows two-way and many-tomany communication. Howard Rheingold (1994) described the network and broadcast paradigm. The network paradigm involves multi-directional communications between citizens (for example people holding discussions using email and online forums), while the broadcast paradigm involves the one-way (downwards) provision of information and entertainment (such as NTL providing video on demand). Rheingold accurately predicted that the big players in the internet industry would form alliances and focus on the Net as a means of exploiting the broadcast paradigm, with an emphasis on piping entertainment into homes. However, the influence of virtual communities – the network paradigm – is perhaps more relevant to PR practitioners.
