The public sphere, as a space where political agency is expressed, mobilised and enacted, has undergone profound shifts in the early 21st century. New media and cultural technologies and spaces, and the new forms of connectedness, influence and political agency they invite, have been central to these changing forms of public dialogue. Of particular importance is the inexorable rise of social media, which now seems to saturate everyday life and communication. In a relatively short time, much communication has moved into online digital realms and the conventional (im)balances of power between media producers/consumers, broadcasters/audiences, distributors/receivers have become blurred and contested in ways that media theorists have sometimes struggled to remain abreast of. Dozens of weblog, micro-blog, connective and linking social media technologies have materialised, which enable participants to bypass some of the conventional regimes of media control and regulation.