Clay shirky

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?

• email and exchange files with other people at other universities
• The net if open to innovation like email, the web, Spotify or Snapchat

2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?

• Network becoming invisible
• impossible to stop spam, trading of images and abuse.

3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?

• having an open society based around principle of equality of opportunity, social justice and free expression and also encourages 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?

• Internet is very vast, unregulated and worldwide experiment in openness. Also has no concerns for broader implications for openness

5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?

• it is very hard to control but i think it should be controlled due to problems like trading of images and child nudity etc. This should be stopped but furthermore people need their privacy

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?

• Clay Shirky defines profession as 'to define the ways in which it is more than just a job'. It applies to traditional newspaper industry  as 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”?

As the internet developed created a new ecosystem, the internet is a mass amateurization of publishing and has switched from ''Why publish this?'' to''why not?''

3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?

• Trent Lott's speech gained controversy with his speech which led to him trying to gain allegiance with Thurmond by stating ' We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

• The growth in non-professionals that have applied their capabilities to solve problems like create and distribute content.

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’?

• Shirky says that one idea in the media is being used multiple times meaning if they are replicated it may be twisted becoming fake.

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?

The internet allows people to make changes that are very major

7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?

• Before journalists had to be trained in order to make the articles that would be eye-catching to the audience. But due to the growth in technology and the freedom to write what you wish. You are allowed to be your own journalist.

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?

Shirky says the changes brought about by the printing press revolution in Gutenberg created a lot of pressure for those who took pride in their work / life. This meant that scribes were no longer required due to the increase in the printing revolution, so it caused concern for people who feared being unemployed.

9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?

• Photography is an example of mass amateurisation because with photography you can become your own profession and are allowed to produce high quality pictures for the news/articles.
  
  
  

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 think mass ataeurization is positive due to the fact that anyone can express themselves and become their own journalist through the usage of the internet. Also allowed to create their own voice .