Discussion Post (11/18): How Luther went viral

In the article, "How Luther went viral," the author draws a parallel between Luther's media environment during the Reformation and today's online environment of blogs, social networks and discussion threads.  The author states that Luther's media environment was a “decentralized system whose participants took care of distribution, deciding collectively which messages to amplify through sharing and recommendation.”  The author asserts that participants in the system are a “networked public” rather than “audience.”

Do you believe citizens in the era of the Reformation were truly a networked public, or was the public an audience of Luther’s ideas as much as an audience of the ideas of the church?

Do you agree with the similarities the author asserts between Luther's media environment and our media environment today? Do you believe we are a networked public or an audience?