Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks

 Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks

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?

We have access to a way to talk to hundreds of thousands of other computer users around the world. That’s possible because the internet lets any two connected computers exchange data in the form of binary messages The network doesn’t care what the data means or how it is used, and that is its main strength and main weakness.

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

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, ripoffs and malicious software are everywhere.

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?

In some respects, today’s internet is a vast, unregulated, worldwide experiment in openness. It is already having significant impact because of the largely unanticipated consequences of the global adoption of a set of technologies that were built around an assumption of openness without any real concern for the broader implications.

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

I think that there should be more control as the internet already features openness because people from all over world have access to sites and platforms they shouldn't have access to and it's not a great way to protect audiences in an open internet society.

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 a group with specialist skills that manages scarce resources and acts as a gatekeeper. This applies to newspapers because journalists and editors controlled what information was published and distributed to the public.

 
2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?

Shirky argues that newspapers must face the question of what happens when publishing, reproduction and distribution are no longer controlled by professionals. The internet allows ordinary users to publish content themselves, reducing the industry's gatekeeping power.

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

The speech became news because bloggers continued discussing and investigating it after mainstream media largely ignored it. Their coverage kept the story alive until traditional news organisations were forced to report on it.

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

The process by which activities once limited to professionals, such as publishing, become accessible to ordinary people through digital technology.

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 fake news today, where false information can spread rapidly through social media because many users can publish and share content.

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 argues that major technological changes create a long period of disruption before society adapts and new systems become stable. This suggests that the internet may still be creating social and cultural changes that have not fully settled yet.

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

It means that digital technology has removed many of the barriers that once limited publishing to professional organisations. This is important because it challenges traditional definitions of journalism and gives ordinary people a greater role in producing news.

 
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 suggests that the printing press caused a long period of intellectual and political instability before society adapted. Some may argue that issues such as misinformation, political polarisation and online extremism show similar disruption during the internet age, although this is an interpretation rather than a direct claim made by Shirky.

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

Photography demonstrates mass amateurisation because digital cameras, smartphones and photo-sharing platforms allow ordinary people to create and distribute images without professional training or expensive equipment. This has reduced the distinction between amateur and professional photographers.

 
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 it can be positive because it increases participation and diversity of voices, but it can also create problems such as misinformation and make it harder to identify reliable information.