Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks
Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks
2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?
But the bad sides are also hard to ignore. A lot of bullying and abuse takes place there. There’s pornography that you don’t want to see, and illegal images of child abuse that you might come across. Extremists and radicals can use the network to try to influence people to join their cause, and fraud, scams, rip offs and malicious software are everywhere. Then there’s the dark web.
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
The idea of ‘openness’ lies at the centre of this debate: I believe that if we want an open society based around principles of equality of opportunity, social justice and free expression, we need to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’, and that this is the only way to encourage a diverse online
culture that allows all voices to be heard.
5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?
I would say there should be more control over the internet as many people of all different ages use the internet and sometimes see many inappropriate things which they shouldn't be seeing. If the internet was controlled a little bit better, these things would be restricted on majority of the websites.
Clay Shirky: Here Comes Everybody
Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody charts the way social media and connectivity is changing the world. Read Chapter 3 of his book, ‘Everyone is a media outlet’, and answer the following questions:
1) How does Shirky define a ‘profession’ and why does it apply to the traditional newspaper industry?
A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialization. Newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class there are few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
5) Shirky suggests that: “The same idea, published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets.” How can this be linked to the current media landscape and particularly ‘fake news’?
Seeing one idea in many places used by thousands of peoples is seen to be more reliable than a few professionals saying the same thing. More people seem to give more honest reviews which makes it more reliable and trustworthy.
6) What does Shirky suggest about the social effects of technological change? Does this mean we are currently in the midst of the internet “revolution” or “chaos” Shirky mentions?
Shirky suggested that anyone can share anything they like on the internet which may change how information spreads. I would say we're in the middle of a revolution as more things are changing and become easier to use because more people have say in what is happening.
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
With the growth of social media, anyone is able to share/publish anything on the internet like a journalist. Everyone has their own power to share whatever they like.
8) What does Shirky suggest regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution? Is there any evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution?
This issue became more than academic with the arrest of Josh Wolf, a video blogger who refused to hand over video of a 2005 demonstration he observed in San Francisco.
10) What do you think of Shirky’s ideas on the ‘End of audience’? Is this era of ‘mass amateurisation’ a positive thing? Or are we in a period of “intellectual and political chaos” where things are more broken than fixed?
I agree with Shirky's ideas on the 'End of audience'. This is because audiences no longer rely on the internet for information. Audiences are now able to create and share their own content just like how influencers do. Shirky adds that media had been a hierarchical industry—in that one filtered first, and then published. He also says that: “All of that now breaks down, people are producing who are not employees or media professions. So we now publish first, and then filter. We find the good stuff after the fact. This is dramatically different.”
Media Magazine reading
Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions:
1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?
The network connects us to other people, it provides a great source of information, it can be used for campaigning and political action, to draw attention to abuses and fight for human rights. It’s a great place for gaming and education, which can also be used to make a lot of money (for a few people) as well as a place where you can meet your friends.
Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions:
1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?
The network connects us to other people, it provides a great source of information, it can be used for campaigning and political action, to draw attention to abuses and fight for human rights. It’s a great place for gaming and education, which can also be used to make a lot of money (for a few people) as well as a place where you can meet your friends.
2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?
But the bad sides are also hard to ignore. A lot of bullying and abuse takes place there. There’s pornography that you don’t want to see, and illegal images of child abuse that you might come across. Extremists and radicals can use the network to try to influence people to join their cause, and fraud, scams, rip offs and malicious software are everywhere. Then there’s the dark web.
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
The idea of ‘openness’ lies at the centre of this debate: I believe that if we want an open society based around principles of equality of opportunity, social justice and free expression, we need to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’, and that this is the only way to encourage a diverse online
culture that allows all voices to be heard.
4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?
We know you care about privacy – and why wouldn’t you, I certainly do. So how can the network deliver that? We know you care about other people around the world, and want a fairer, more just world – so how can the network help there? We know you want to understand the world and engage with it, so how do we deliver news media that can operate effectively online and still make money?
We know you care about privacy – and why wouldn’t you, I certainly do. So how can the network deliver that? We know you care about other people around the world, and want a fairer, more just world – so how can the network help there? We know you want to understand the world and engage with it, so how do we deliver news media that can operate effectively online and still make money?
5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?
I would say there should be more control over the internet as many people of all different ages use the internet and sometimes see many inappropriate things which they shouldn't be seeing. If the internet was controlled a little bit better, these things would be restricted on majority of the websites.
Clay Shirky: Here Comes Everybody
Clay Shirky’s book Here Comes Everybody charts the way social media and connectivity is changing the world. Read Chapter 3 of his book, ‘Everyone is a media outlet’, and answer the following questions:
1) How does Shirky define a ‘profession’ and why does it apply to the traditional newspaper industry?
A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialization. Newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class there are few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?
Newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class there are few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?
Mass amateurisation is a result of the radical spread of expressive capabilities, and the most obvious precedent is the one that gave birth to the modern world: the spread of the printing press five centuries ago.
Newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. In these cases, the scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class there are few libraries but many patrons, there are few channels but many viewers.
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
This would have been a classic story of negative press coverage altering a political career-except that the press didn't actually cover the story, at least not at first. Indeed, the press almost completely missed the story. This isn't to say that they intentionally ignored it or even actively suppressed it; several
reporters from national news media heard Lott speak, but his remark simply didn't fit the standard template of news.
Mass amateurisation is a result of the radical spread of expressive capabilities, and the most obvious precedent is the one that gave birth to the modern world: the spread of the printing press five centuries ago.
5) Shirky suggests that: “The same idea, published in dozens or hundreds of places, can have an amplifying effect that outweighs the verdict from the smaller number of professional outlets.” How can this be linked to the current media landscape and particularly ‘fake news’?
Seeing one idea in many places used by thousands of peoples is seen to be more reliable than a few professionals saying the same thing. More people seem to give more honest reviews which makes it more reliable and trustworthy.
6) What does Shirky suggest about the social effects of technological change? Does this mean we are currently in the midst of the internet “revolution” or “chaos” Shirky mentions?
Shirky suggested that anyone can share anything they like on the internet which may change how information spreads. I would say we're in the middle of a revolution as more things are changing and become easier to use because more people have say in what is happening.
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
With the growth of social media, anyone is able to share/publish anything on the internet like a journalist. Everyone has their own power to share whatever they like.
8) What does Shirky suggest regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution? Is there any evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution?
This issue became more than academic with the arrest of Josh Wolf, a video blogger who refused to hand over video of a 2005 demonstration he observed in San Francisco.
9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?
Jeff Howe, author of the forthcoming Crowdsourcing, describes iStockPhoto.com, a Web-based clearinghouse for photographers to offer their work for use in advertising and promotional materials. Prior to services like iStock Photo, amateurs had no outlet for selling their photos, no matter what the quality, leaving the market to professionals.
Jeff Howe, author of the forthcoming Crowdsourcing, describes iStockPhoto.com, a Web-based clearinghouse for photographers to offer their work for use in advertising and promotional materials. Prior to services like iStock Photo, amateurs had no outlet for selling their photos, no matter what the quality, leaving the market to professionals.
10) What do you think of Shirky’s ideas on the ‘End of audience’? Is this era of ‘mass amateurisation’ a positive thing? Or are we in a period of “intellectual and political chaos” where things are more broken than fixed?
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