DESIGNING NETWORKED EVENTS

In 1989 the goal of designing networked events, including the applications that were developed, was to create meaningful interactions between its participants. Meaningful is meant to be understood here in the context of the theme, issue or situation in which the event or application functioned. The ambitions were to ameliorate understanding, express commitment and facilitate interaction so that people would be better able to act upon their own behalf. By facilitating debate and conversation, by orchestrating the network, a political space was created in which issues were formulated and reformulated. In this sense the networked events have to be understood in today's political climate, in which people's democratic participation is increasingly 'issue' based.