I was immediately impressed by Shirky's book Here Comes Everybody by page 1. It was amazing to me how technology really can be used for all sorts of different things, in this case, finding a lost cell phone and seeking justice from the person who isn't willing to return it. An added twist was how the public came together to right the wrongs that someone in uniform was performing.
But besides this, technology is useful in more ways than that. Everyone uses search engines, and I enjoyed reading Shirky's opinions on Wikipedia. This site has never been able to count as a reliable source of information, but can come in handy when small bits of information are needed quickly or for verification. Shirky says that articles are "...sometimes quite lengthy...ending with pointers to more information-is pretty much what you'd wantin an encyclopedia." (p. 115) I disagree with this only because no one has time to read a 5,000 word long paragraph on a subject and then continue to click on all the links provided to them, especially when it comes to Wikipedia. When people visit the site they are visiting it for quick information, even if not always accurate. Besides the inaccuracy, there are thousands upon thousands of articles being added every day, and since everyone is capable of adding to articles and creating their own sites for things, it would take hours for a person to research one topic. There is just too much information to sort through. Here is a website weighing the good and the bad on Wikipedia: http://tinyurl.com/6htj6h.
And all these people aren't just adding accounts on the Wikipedia site, but are also creating accounts on MySpace and YouTube. Shirky talks about a phrase called "user-generated content," used to describe the collection of pictures, video, personal postings and other things that users on the Internet can post. Almost everyone in America uses a computer on a regular basis, and it would be safe to say that on a weekly basis most of those people are uploading, posting or updating content on the web. Social networks are especially prone to this type of participatory activity. Shirky explains that on social networking sites such as MySpace, most users only interact with a few others and not the other tens of millions of people that are signed up, and that the median number of friends is only 55. Although the web site has links to hundreds upon thousands of other accounts, people tend to only stay linked in to a few others, mostly because these social networking sites are a platform for gossip, family news and purely "thinking outloud." (p. 86) Link to a debate on MySpace v. Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/8b56oq.
Shirky does a fine job of covering topics with perfect clarity in today's digital world, but what really peeked my interest were his final thoughts in the epilogue. Shirky describes the differences of the world when he was younger and now. Then, he describes, they were worried about the Space Age and they were certain about the technologies of his era (p. 293) and now I think it would be safe to say that we don't know what the future holds. Even if we are fully trained and knowledgable about the technology we use on an every day basis, we know that tomorrow a totally new product may come out that we need to learn all over again. "There are thousands of experiments in new social forms going on every day, as people who want to gather together try capabilities that have only recently become ubiquitous." (p. 300)
Today's technology and everything new: http://tinyurl.com/323hhqa.
It was interesting with him to start with that story about the "lost phone," and it was even more interesting how he related it to years back before all these technological devices we have now and how it would have been practically impossible to get that large of an audience not only just to hear about his story but actually get so many involved on wanting justice. The sharing of videos and people finding out where Sasha lived and all was incredible!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to Wiki, I myself use it not so much. Every professor has their opinion on the source and the information is supplies, but although I have not used it often, I have never come across inaccurate information. I know many fellow students that use it on assignments quite often to get some quick facts and never heard of them having an issue with it either.
Have you by any chance come across a problem or know someone that has?
Technology of the future, if you find that crystal ball let me know. The point here is convergence is not a specific technology. It is the idea that more can be done with few resources, be it time, people, money, tools. It is about an attitude that the media, companies, individuals need to be willing to explore and push the boundaries of what is current accepted as the norm.
ReplyDeleteCan you see different uses of the tools that are available now, to improve information gathering, or advertising, motivating individuals to action?
Although I've never had a problem with Wikipedia myself, it's also not a risk I'm not willing to take when it comes to school and work only because every person out there can edit it now. I don't know the exact date Abe Lincoln was born, and how do I know the person who put it on Wikipedia knew it too? Finding a more reliable source just seems practical to me.
ReplyDeleteProf, I'm not sure how you could use our current tools differently per se, but already Twitter and Blogs allow the audience to interact and at the same time I think there is a motivation there to get your opinion out when you have accounts at these multiple platforms.