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Future Research
This study‟s status as somewhat exploratory in nature leaves us with many avenues for further exploration. Online interactivity, news site commenting and public broadcasters online are all relatively new issues for researchers to grapple with. As researchers learn more about any one of these intersecting issues, knowledge and further questions will develop in the others.
We have learned with this study that - despite the promises of web 2.0 functionality, the CBC‟s professed motivations, and calls for a digital commons – the interaction that currently takes place at the CBC website is largely one-way monologic content and that there is very little interaction between users. These findings raise a number of issues pertinent to future research.
Design/Interactivity:There are many variations upon web 2.0 design and online interactive functionality. However, there is very little literature exploring how different design traits influence online interaction. It would be beneficial both for social researchers and for practical site design reasons to further research the relationships between online identity formation/maintenance, conversational threading, and moderation policy on the one hand and user behavior on the other.
Public broadcasters and public space online:The media environment has changed drastically since public broadcasters were founded and since the CBC had its mandate last updated. With the new media environment comes new potential and new responsibilities for public broadcasters. We need explorations into valid ways for public broadcasters to make the transition online and from the age of broadcasting to the age of narrowcasting and no-casting at all.
In a similar vein, Canadian society and other societies around the world need to discuss the ethics of public space online. As more and more public discourse moves from coffee shops and common spaces in the offline world to interactive forums online, we need to better understand how issues such as access, design, the digital divide, net neutrality, and moderation affect issues of public discourse online.
Interpersonality online: Research into how and why people interact with one another online will shed light on interactivity more generally, and on the issue of online public space.
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This study observed that users at cbc.ca rarely engage with one another, and when they do it is usually in order to disagree with one another. We know very little about how different factors such as design, moderation, and topic influence the way people interact online.
Research which aims to help clarify these relationships would help those who build and use the interactive media better understand what they deal with on a daily basis.
Conclusion
This study has demonstrated that, despite the fact that Web 2.0 functionality is often promoted for its ability to put people in touch with one another in new ways, the interactive functionality at cbc.ca is mostly used as a way for readers to leave their own digital marks rather than engage with one another. While in the case of most websites there are few reasons to objectively prefer user interaction over monologic commenting, the CBC‟s case is somewhat exceptional. As a publicly funded institution founded on idealistic principles, the CBC deserves to be held to account differently than its privately owned counterparts.
The digital commons was used above to justify calls for more interpersonal interactivity at cbc.ca. This study demonstrated that in its current inception, cbc.ca remains far from the idealistic online community scholars have advocated for. That said the CBC‟s online efforts have come far in the past fifteen years, and there is no reason to believe they cannot make many further improvements. When it was founded, the CBC was a cutting-edge institution. Throughout its history it has been at the forefront of both radio and television broadcasting in Canada. Similarly, as it began to transition online the CBC was an early adopter and innovator. In particular, the CBC‟s digital transmission experiments – especially its podcasting endeavours – have been globally successful. The CBC can and should extend its tradition of excellence in broadcasting and production to its new realm of user interaction.
By staying abreast of the cutting-edge changes in the quickly transforming fields of web design and online sociality the CBC can ensure that its website moves steadily towards providing a true digital commons.
The design and functionality changes that would move cbc.ca closer to providing a digital commons would also help the CBC ensure that its online activities accord with its professed intentions and its historic role as a key element in the production and maintenance
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of Canadian national identity. In order to make these changes the CBC needs both government and budgetary support and a clear statement of intent. In years past, when the CBC‟s role in Canadian society was unclear the government appointed commissions to explore that role and ensure the CBC was in step with the times. Perhaps it is time to follow in the footsteps of the Massey, Aird and Fowler commissions and re-explore the CBC‟s role in the Canadian mediascape with its new capabilities in mind. A clear articulation of what the CBC‟s role should be online is essential. If the CBC is to continue its distinctive role within Canadian society that articulation needs to clearly spell out how the CBC is to fulfill its traditional role of producer and distributer of content as well as how the CBC is to engage interactively with its audience and allow them to engage with one another.
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