Throughout Clay Shirky’s chapters seven through nine I found some interesting points and definitely things I can relate to. Shirky brings up many examples from his personal life concerning social networking sites and his experiences with them. He gives insight into social networking sites and explains the intensity of the fact they have really changed the way people communicate with eachother.
Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace have changed the way we communicate with others, reconnect with people and the way we connect with new people. Shirky shares a few situations where these technologies introduce him to friends of friends. He calls this “Friend of a friend networking” Known as FOAF networking. Sites such as Facebook do just this, Facebook makes it a point to introduce friends of friends to each other. They provide you with a page of people who you may know, that are coincidentally friends with your friends. Shirky states, “As more people adopt simple social tools, and as those tools allow increasingly rapid communication, the speed of group action also increases, and just as more is different, faster is different”(161). We always used to communicate through the fun to find out about each others lives, and now we at the click of a button we can communicate and explore each others lives as much as the other person is willing to share. We have become faster in our technology and with our social tools that has enhanced the way we communicate with others.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Shirky 4, 5 and 6
In Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” chapters four through six brings up some many interesting points concerning the virtual world. Shirky brings many examples, ideas and opinions to these chapters. It was interesting to read about the virtual world, and even on a little background on blogs, social networking sites and Wikipedia throughout the chapters. He brings to light some very interesting points about as he states, “Worlds mass of amateurs”(81).
Shirky begins by discussing some examples given from a few blogs written by teenagers. The blogging world has allowed many of us to get our thoughts down and to share our personal situations with others. This not only can occur through blogs but through Video Blogs provided on YouTube as well. As discussed in class everyone can be an author in the virtual world and Shirky brings to light the extensity of people doing just that. Shirky states, “Saying something to a few people we know used to be quite distinct from saying something to many people we don’t know”(86). Shirky also goes into great detail by explaining to the audience the differences of broadcast media and communication media. With broadcast it was a one to one conversation, with communication it was a one to many, and now we have a many to many where communications can be done through group conversations. Blogs and video blogs are similar to diaries where people can get out their feelings and thoughts but the difference is with blogs and video blogs you have people writing to you and commenting you about what they think as well. Shirky states, “…a blog stops functioning like a diary for friends and starts functioning like a media outlet”(89).
Some of the Net Generation isn’t as hesitant as the Boomer Generation about giving out personal information. We do live in a world where nothing is private anymore, and nothing cannot be found if we really want to know. The Net Generation has become a very social and they like to share information with others, not matter what that information may be. We see these examples not only in Shirky’s book but Tapscott and Barons books as well. We are no longer in a privacy world, with social networking sites such as Facebook, we see that our privacy is no longer in tacked, we’re in a world where our activity, photos and information can be seen and taken at any time. This is only going to get worse as the years go by.
Shirky begins by discussing some examples given from a few blogs written by teenagers. The blogging world has allowed many of us to get our thoughts down and to share our personal situations with others. This not only can occur through blogs but through Video Blogs provided on YouTube as well. As discussed in class everyone can be an author in the virtual world and Shirky brings to light the extensity of people doing just that. Shirky states, “Saying something to a few people we know used to be quite distinct from saying something to many people we don’t know”(86). Shirky also goes into great detail by explaining to the audience the differences of broadcast media and communication media. With broadcast it was a one to one conversation, with communication it was a one to many, and now we have a many to many where communications can be done through group conversations. Blogs and video blogs are similar to diaries where people can get out their feelings and thoughts but the difference is with blogs and video blogs you have people writing to you and commenting you about what they think as well. Shirky states, “…a blog stops functioning like a diary for friends and starts functioning like a media outlet”(89).
Some of the Net Generation isn’t as hesitant as the Boomer Generation about giving out personal information. We do live in a world where nothing is private anymore, and nothing cannot be found if we really want to know. The Net Generation has become a very social and they like to share information with others, not matter what that information may be. We see these examples not only in Shirky’s book but Tapscott and Barons books as well. We are no longer in a privacy world, with social networking sites such as Facebook, we see that our privacy is no longer in tacked, we’re in a world where our activity, photos and information can be seen and taken at any time. This is only going to get worse as the years go by.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Shirky 1,2,3
This week’s reading assignment of “Here Comes Everybody” By Clay Shirky, made it hard to pick what to discuss for this week, Shirky provided many interesting insights to technology in today’s society. It was an interesting first three chapters that allowed me to gain some insight of today’s world, my net generation and how we are using the technology around us whether it be good or bad.
The insightful story of the “Sidekick” definitely captivated me, it was interesting to read, and to read Skirky’s view on it as well. Shirky explained many times throughout the text that Evan, could not have succeeded in his attempt to gain the phone back if it were not for the recourses that were available to him in this day of age. Shirky states, “It’s unlikely that Evan could have achieved what he did even five years ago, and inconceivable that he could have achieved it ten years ago, because neither the tools he used nor the social structures he relied on were in place then years ago”(11). Evan had many resources such as MySpace, Digg, forwarding emails, texting, blogging, and the phone company storing Ivanna’s information on their servers which is where they found out who has the sidekick. Technology is amazing, the phone company information then led them straight to the then current owner of the phone, which led them to her email, and MySpace information. What Evan did by posting the “missing phone” online for people to see, is similar to the many flyers someone would post on poles and phone booths for a missing dog. We have come a long way where if something is missing or need to get news out there, we can get it out to the world, not just our local community.
This story reminded me of the socialite Paris Hilton who lost her dog Tinker Bell, the story was definitely heard around the world and was on major news stations, internet sites, and newspapers. Just like the Sidekick story, the missing dog story would not have become so big if it were not for the recourses available to us. With social networks like facebook, myspace, and email contacts news spreads faster, not just to your friends, but friends of friends and so on. Skirky states, “Despite Evan’s heroic efforts, he could not have gotten the phone returned if he had been working alone”(7). Evan had millions of people behind him, either encouraging, or helping him in his endeavor.
A small story about missing phone or even a missing dog doesn’t mean much to people who it doesn’t concern. Everyone loses things, and often never sees them again. But with the tools we have online, it’s more likely to reach and find people who are concerned, willing to help, and get answers from rather than only getting help from a few people in your local community. What the internet resources and technology has done for us is allowed us to reach people on a whole new level. We are no longer limited to the people in our local RL community, we now are able to have many communities we take part in, in the virtual world. And with reaching these communities, and expanding our social network then begins gaining the attention from others such a news stations, to reach even more people who are not computer oriented. With the sidekick story, gaining the social network Evan did, caught the attention of The New York Times, and CNN, which would otherwise ignored Evans efforts if it had not been for his social network in the virtual world.
The insightful story of the “Sidekick” definitely captivated me, it was interesting to read, and to read Skirky’s view on it as well. Shirky explained many times throughout the text that Evan, could not have succeeded in his attempt to gain the phone back if it were not for the recourses that were available to him in this day of age. Shirky states, “It’s unlikely that Evan could have achieved what he did even five years ago, and inconceivable that he could have achieved it ten years ago, because neither the tools he used nor the social structures he relied on were in place then years ago”(11). Evan had many resources such as MySpace, Digg, forwarding emails, texting, blogging, and the phone company storing Ivanna’s information on their servers which is where they found out who has the sidekick. Technology is amazing, the phone company information then led them straight to the then current owner of the phone, which led them to her email, and MySpace information. What Evan did by posting the “missing phone” online for people to see, is similar to the many flyers someone would post on poles and phone booths for a missing dog. We have come a long way where if something is missing or need to get news out there, we can get it out to the world, not just our local community.
This story reminded me of the socialite Paris Hilton who lost her dog Tinker Bell, the story was definitely heard around the world and was on major news stations, internet sites, and newspapers. Just like the Sidekick story, the missing dog story would not have become so big if it were not for the recourses available to us. With social networks like facebook, myspace, and email contacts news spreads faster, not just to your friends, but friends of friends and so on. Skirky states, “Despite Evan’s heroic efforts, he could not have gotten the phone returned if he had been working alone”(7). Evan had millions of people behind him, either encouraging, or helping him in his endeavor.
A small story about missing phone or even a missing dog doesn’t mean much to people who it doesn’t concern. Everyone loses things, and often never sees them again. But with the tools we have online, it’s more likely to reach and find people who are concerned, willing to help, and get answers from rather than only getting help from a few people in your local community. What the internet resources and technology has done for us is allowed us to reach people on a whole new level. We are no longer limited to the people in our local RL community, we now are able to have many communities we take part in, in the virtual world. And with reaching these communities, and expanding our social network then begins gaining the attention from others such a news stations, to reach even more people who are not computer oriented. With the sidekick story, gaining the social network Evan did, caught the attention of The New York Times, and CNN, which would otherwise ignored Evans efforts if it had not been for his social network in the virtual world.
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