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. 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?
It allows you to email people, exchange files, use mobile phones to talk to other users around the world. It is open to innovation like email, the web, Spotify or Snapchat. 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 money 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?
It makes it almost impossible to stop spam, abuse or the trading of images of child abuse. Lots 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. There is also the dark web, made up of websites and online services accessed via specialised browsers and tools that make it very hard to identify who is using them, which is used to sell drugs and for other illegal activity
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
Open technology refers to an open society based around principles of equality of opportunity, social justice and free expression, that needs to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’, and this is the only way to encourage a diverse online culture that allows all voices to be heard. Open technology is an important part of modern society because it gives voices to those who may not have had the opportunity to express themselves in the past. The power of speech is more important than ever because it allows people to share their own experiences about things and spread and gain awareness for certain things
4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?
Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet as what the internet could do for you and your friends and what you could make it do. People have the opportunity to shape the internet and it can be a great tool if you know how to use it. Privacy is very important so there is the question of how the network can deliver that, there is also an emphasis on interaction from people around the world so there is the question of how the network can help there, there is also an emphasis on the understanding of the world and engagement with it so there is the question of how to 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?
Internet regulation is very necessary in the society we live in because there is a lot of access to media that can be harmful and dangerous so regulation of the internet can limit the exposure that young people have of certain media that may be harmful towards them. Many people still have the freedom to express themselves online without any issues but regulation of the internet only allows appropriate things to be put online- young people may be exposed to dangerous media if there is no regulation. I don't think that regulation of the internet is restricting anybody from posting the content they want, it is only making the internet a safe space for people who are vulnerable to seeing certain types of media
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?
Shirky defines a 'profession' as something that exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialisation. Most professions exist because there is a scarce resource that requires ongoing management. In the case of newspapers, professional behaviour is guided both by the commercial imperative and by an additional set of norms about what newspapers are, how they should be staffed and run, what constitutes good journalism, and so forth
2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?
"What happens when the costs of reproduction and distribution go away? What happens when there's nothing unique about publishing anymore, because users can do it for themselves?"
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
Trent Lott's speech in 2002 became news because he practically confessed that America would have been better off if Thurmond had won the election in 1948. Two weeks later, he was rebuked by President Bush, politicians and the press on both the right and the left leading to his announcement of not seeking to remain majority leader in the new Congress
4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?
Mass amateurisation refers to the capabilities that new forms of media have given to audiences and the ways they apply these skills to create and distribute content to compete with larger, professional institutions
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’?
This can be linked to the current media landscape and particularly 'fake news' due to the common occurrences false news in the media which is often shared amongst people and increases the coverage of the false news and encourages more people to believe it which makes it harder to distinguish between false news and real news
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 suggests that the social effects lag behind technological ones by decade so real revolutions don't involve an orderly transition from point A to point B. Rather, they go from A through a long period of chaos and only then reach B. In that chaotic period, the old systems get broken long before new ones become stable
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
This means that releasing content that can be found and accessed globally is important because it means that audiences don't need to be professionals in order to be successful. There is more opportunity to produce independently and allow you to gain an audience despite the independent production of the media
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?
Regarding the hundred years following the printing press revolution Shirky suggests the printing press broke more things than it fixed, plunging Europe into a period of intellectual and political chaos that ended only in the 1600s. There is definitely evidence of this “intellectual and political chaos” in recent global events following the internet revolution as we've seen by political figures such as Donald Trump with controversial views that caused him to be reprimanded by being banned across a number of social media platforms
9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?
Photography is a good example of mass amateurisation because prior to services like iStockPhoto, amateurs had no outlet for selling their photos which made it impossible for amateurs to thrive
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?
Shirky's ideas on the 'End of audience' are extremely applicable in the digital age especially because it means that it has become increasingly difficult for professionals to profit in their field despite their speciality. We are arguably in an era of “intellectual and political chaos” due to the chaos that is happening in the political climate in the UK, especially due to the inconsistency in our politics at the moment
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