New Media and the Internet in the Regional Stability Design Process

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a number of author's studies on the possibilities of using new media and the Internet to design innovative social reality in the conditions of such a polyethnoconfessional region as the Republic of Tatarstan. Using an example of an analysis of online discussion and practices around two problematic cases (the obligation to learn the Tatar language by schoolchildren of the republic and the construction of a new incinerator in the territory of Tatarstan), we managed to obtain results, firstly, regarding typical areas of using the Internet by users, and models for their responding to online information; secondly, an assessment of the main sources of information about the Republic of Tatarstan in the network, representations of the positive and negative aspects of the life in the republic in the context of online discussion; thirdly, to identify groups of factors that determine the degree of activity demonstrated by users of social networks online and offline; and, finally, describe strategies for linking online and offline activity when discussing socially significant problems of the republic. The conclusions indicate the factors and necessary conditions for mobilizing users of online discussions for specific actions outside the Internet (participating in meetings, flash mobs, and charity events, joining various kinds of communities, and establishing new personal contacts).