The humanbot
I love movies and I love those cult TV shows that spawn massive followings. In reading this article only one thing came to mind and that is the tag line from Transformers, “Robots in disguise.” But this is not simply an abstract catchphrase for Optimus Prime, today it means something completely different. People today are slowly changing the way they think and act in the pursuit of faster access and knowledge. Now, I haven’t taken many journalism classes but everything I have heard seems to point to headline writing as somewhat of an art. It seems to me this is really the first impression a reader will get from the writer, and we all know first impression means everything. When I am glancing through the newspaper I am more likely to read an article that is rather clever and somewhat humorous because it makes me wonder what else might amuse me in the article. However, in this world of increasing speed and efficiency that “art” is becoming quickly obsolete.
Legal Realities
In today’s world the notion of uniqueness carries far less weight than it did 50 years ago. Most great artists and writers frequently draw on other works for inspiration and in doing so can quite easily and sometimes without being aware adopt styles of the works they admire. In the abstract I think that everyone on some level is guilty of copyright infringement. However I do understand the need for this kind of tort. If people are not allowed ownership of their work than there is little incentive to push the boundaries of conventional reality. While the law is certainly an important consideration in any publishing venture I think that people must hold themselves to an even higher authority, their own morals and ethics. One quote that has stuck with me seems appropriate in this situation, rhetoric, defined as making an argument in the public sphere, is the act of “the good person speaking well.” If we are to be taken seriously for our thoughts and convictions then we as originators of content must be comfortable that we meet our own standards for judging credible material. It seems to me that printing a libelous comment will not only earn you trouble with the law but would in many ways undermine the intended goal of a blog meant to address social concerns of our day.
“Why On-Demand changes Everything”
The thrust of this article expresses the BBC’s commitment not just to “continued centrality and national cultural life,” but to embrace the “next phase of broadcasting’s technological future.” The BBC has been experimenting with an on-demand player, with a 5,000 in house trial with a 7-day availability mostly to accommodate and preserve the rights of content owners. At present limited access to on-demand content is available for radio broadcasts and some video content, however, not to the extent that is being proposed. This new media outlet will allow for a significant amount of content to be viewed using peer to peer interaction software and will eventually include an archive of content accessible from multiple devices. However there are some reservations particularly from those who believe the the BBC’s forays into media will make it difficult for others to break into the market. Interestingly enough it encourages diverse viewing experiences.
Blogs in the global atmosphere
In class we have discussed how blogs can be used as soapboxes for people to advocate on behalf of some cause or political idea. What I appreciated about this weeks readings is that it dabbled in how this medium manifests itself in other markets. I found it particularly interesting when it talked about the Russian backlash against a US company for trying to censor it political commentary. The idea that one company/nation can exercise that kind of control is quite remarkable, albeit dangerous. This clearly illustrates the age of interdependence we live in today. Last summer I traveled to Italy and participated in a class on the European Union which discussed this notion of eliminating borders between nations. My concern is that with this level of connectedness do we run the risk of losing character at the global level? Today it a US company the buys out livejournal, but what about tomorrow when a Chinese corporation buys the rights to i tunes and starts removing certain artists because of their lyrics. I think it is important that we stay mindful of the messages that we advocate and what kind of message or actions send as well.
Reaganomics of Media Reporting
J. Patrick Coolican’s article “The Perils of Political Narrative,” was a very thought provoking assessment of the state of politics today. Even those trying to operate outside the conventional sphere find themselves slipping back into its rhetoric. I would say what Coolican is essentially doing is making an analogy for trickle down economics as it applies to the media. He and his colleagues both wrote and operated under the assumption that the culinary leadership was very strong and would provide a united front for which ever candidate she choose to support. This mirrored the same presumption that local and national media choose to operate under. Only on caucus day the union ended up going for Clinton as oppose to Obama, a complete one-eighty than what had been promised by the leadership. What happened as Coolican correctly points out, he and his colleagues who normally operate on the fringes bought into the false narrative, and “rehash[ed] the campaign machinery’s narrative. Someone how that message still penetrated the minds of the bloggers and independent thinkers.
Time marching on
Being a bit of a history buff I found the readings from DFB to be particularly interesting and especially the comments from Alexis de Tocqueville. He characterizes the print industry as being incredibly high paced, relatively speaking, with the typical circulation lasting no more than a day. In addition he describes it as being far less formal than the strict form taken by “aristocratic literature.” Where style will be “loose…strong, and bold.” Furthermore emphasis will be placed on speed over accuracy, brevity over length, and imagination over depth. Stefanac rightly acknowledges just how closely this resembles the current talk about blogging. But more than just this comparison this seems to be the conversation surrounding every new advancement in mass communication. This begs the question, are these qualities being infused into these new mediums simply a reflection of societies changing attitudes? The conversation surrounding new technology suggest to me that these notions come from the medium themselves, this I find is not entirely correct. Sure the internet moves infinitely faster than print media but did it really make the choice to sacrifice accuracy for a few more seconds? This was a human decision in the race to break the latest story.
End of professionalism, a new dark age?
My reflection on this week’s reading led me to an idea that I have continually wrestled with and have found to be a source of constant frustration. I am reminded of an argument I encountered in in reading “Closing of the American Mind” by Alan Bloom. The thrust of the argument is that students are being indoctrinated in to a religion of acceptance and openness as oppose to being taught to think critically and make value judgments by teachers and professors especially in higher education. I find this relates to Shirky because it seems to me that when we lose professionalism we lose an identity. Professionalism has come to mean some much more than those characteristics Shirky attributes to it. Professionalism at least to me means maintaining decorum being tough yet firm in one’s resolve of problems and conflict and above all taking responsibility and ownership of your thoughts, insights, and observations. When publishing became widely dispersed and as technical as a few clicks of the mouse society lost its boldness preferring to hide under the guise of ambiguity and obscurity.
Mediated Society
Of this week’s topics I am choosing to focus on a very important subject that has in the past, and will certainly be in the future, very controversial, privacy. For many reasons privacy seems more like a chore than a fundamental right these days. Is our privacy being taken away from us or is it being forfeited? Which ever way you choose to look at it, it is my opinion that we are heading down a dangerous road. In an interview with Stefanac, Bruce Sterling asserts, “I have a real problem with the word privacy. It meant something at one point…But now, there are so many types of intrusions, the whole term will have to be renegotiated.” Blogs, while vitally important to increased democratization are enabling the further degradation of privacy.
New Media, New Bully?
The growing trend in this country to judge something’s worth on the basis of its immediacy, efficiency, and consolidation is a notion I have tried, to a large extent, to avoid, in that sense you could say I am a little old fashioned. It seems to me that a lot of substance gets lost in this preoccupation. This, in my opinion is partly why the term “blog” is as common as fork and spoon to some while at the same time completely foreign to others. The first time I understood the term blog as an ongoing dialogue came from its reference in a television program on showtime. Like that moment, this week’s readings left me with that feeling of disorientation one has after waking up from a long nap. That feeling in many ways speaks to Gillmor’s message in her opening discussion of “We the Media.”
