After graduating from the then School of Communication and Information in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 1997, I embarked on an exciting and rewarding career in marketing and communications for both profit and non-profit organizations. As a fundraising executive at a prominent non-profit organization, I pioneered a new fundraising initiative. I then joined Guardian Pharmacy where I was involved in multi-faceted marketing communications, and subsequently took up the position of Account Director at a local communications agency. Stemming from a desire to do something dramatically different, I rejoined academia and completed my Masters in Communications in NTU in 2004. Prior to joining NUS as a Phd student in 2007, I was involved in part-time teaching and freelance brand consultancy work.

Dr Cho Hichang

Blogging networks as an emerging social movement: dynamics in online and offline networks, and implications for engendering change.

Since its emergence in the 1980s, the widespread adoption of the Internet has brought about many dramatic changes on different levels. The non-hierarchical attribute of the World Wide Web has also led to a plethora of utopist assumptions concerning the impact of technology. Social movement theorists posit that the use of new media will facilitate the growth of social movements due to the ease of mobilization and recruitment, and the cultivation of a collective identity. By adopting the theoretical frameworks of both classic and new social movement perspectives, my study examines political blogging in Singapore and how it constitutes an emerging social movement.

• Political communication and new media
• Social movements
• Social networks and online communities
• New media literacy
• E-science

Soon, C. & Park, H.W. (2007). The emergence of e-research in Asia, its potential and the realities for the social sciences: case studies of Singapore and South Korea. Paper presented at Oxford eResearch Conference, September 11-13, 2008, Oxford,U.K.

Soon, C. (2007). Exploring online political communities in Singapore: A hyperlink analysis approach. Paper presented at NUS-Yonsei University Joint Conference, January 31 - Feb 2, 2007, Singapore.

Soon, C. and Kluver, R. (2005). The Internet and online political communities in Singapore. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, May 26 - 30, 2005, New York City, NY, USA.

Kluver, R. & Soon, C. (June 2003). The Internet in Singapore: Boon, blessing or bane? Paper presented at the ASEAN Information Seminar Series: Social and Cultural Impact of the Internet at ASEAN, Singapore.

Soon, C. & Cho, H. (under review). Politics online: Who’s in, who’s out and who rules in the social network of Singapore political bloggers and organizations. Revised manuscript submitted to the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication on September 20, 2008.

Soon, C. and Kluver, R. (2007). The Internet and online political communities in Singapore. Asian Journal of Communication, 17(3), 246-265.

Soon, C. and Park, H.W. (forthcoming). The rise of e-science in Asia: Dreams and realities for social science research. Case studies of Singapore and South Korea. In N. Jankowski (Ed.) E-research: Transformations for scholarly practice. Publisher: Routledge.