The internet has been the most significant social, cultural and technological development of the last 30 years.
- In 1998, just 9% of UK households had internet access.
- In 2018, it had risen to 90%.
- Daily internet use in the UK has doubled since 2006.
- Smartphones are now the most popular device to access the internet. The iPhone was launched in 2007.
The 'Information Revolution'
550 years ago, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg meant that the number of books in existence rose from a few thousand to 20 million in just 25 years. This led to the Reformation, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution in which centuries-old modes of thinking were radically questioned.
The internet has been likened to the Gutenberg revolution – which means we’re living through this ‘Information revolution’ right now:
- “The most important medium of the twentieth century” (Briggs and Burke 2005)
- “An application that will usher in The Information Age” (Castells 1996)
Clay Shirky suggests the 20th century media model “with professional producers and amateur consumers” has been replaced by a more chaotic landscape that allows consumers to be producers and distributors.
From the rise of collaborative projects to publicity campaigns run by volunteers, he believes that “organizations now have to understand, and respect, the motivations of the billion new participants in the contemporary media ecosystem.”
One of big changes with digital platforms is that “Every consumer is also a producer, and everyone can talk back.” Yet what may be more significant is the simple math of how many people can reach each other through the connections in a network. The result is always more connections.
Shirky adds that media had been a hierarchical industry—in that one filtered first, and then published. “All of that now breaks down,” he says. “People are producing who are not employees or media professions. So we now publish first, and then filter. We find the good stuff after the fact. This is dramatically different.”
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?
'The internet lets any two connected computers exchange data'. This makes it an easier way for any two people to be able to communicate more faster and efficiently.
2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?
The negativity of the internet is that there would be the 'spam, abuse or the trading of images of child abuse'. This would be a negativity as people will use the internet to abuse it.
3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?
'Open technology' this means 'social justice and free expression, we need to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’'. I do agree with this as it would create a more positive network.
4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?
- Does it mean an internet built around the ‘end-to-end’ principle, where any connected computer can exchange data with any other computer, while the network itself is unaware of the ‘meaning’ of the bits exchanged?
- Does it mean computers that will run any program written for them, rather than requiring them to be vetted and approved by gateway companies?
- Does it mean free software that can be used, changed and redistributed by anyone without payment or permission?
5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?
I feel like the internet can be abused in many different ways which does not create a good impact on the lives of people's. This is why the internet should be regulated but not controlled. This would allow people to have some freedom but to create a positive impact not a negative impact by using the internet.
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?
To label something a profession means to define the ways in which it is more than just a job. 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”?
The old bargain of the newspaper-world news lumped in with horoscopes and ads from the pizza parlor has now ended. The future presented by the internet is the mass amateurization of publishing and a switch from "Why publish this ?" to "Why not?"
3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?
Negative press coverage altering a political career-except that the press didn't actually cover the story, at least not at first. Indeed, the press almost completely missed the story.
4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?
Mass amateurization is the growth in the creating and distributing 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’?
If one company makes that their headline then the other institution will as well make their newspaper have the same news as a headline no matter whether it is fake or real.
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?
7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?
That anyone can write up something and make it in to a headline whether it is fake or real. Anyone in the developed world can publish anything anytime, and the instant it is published, it is globally available and readily findable.
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?
This makes the readers feel apprehensive as they invested in their work and they could become jobless.
9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?
This means that even though the person that posted that picture has taken it down the picture will always stay there.
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 this is positive as the individuals have a platform in where they can voice out their opinions and view points.
A/A* extension work: read Chapter 1 ‘It takes a village to find a phone’ and Chapter 4 ‘Publish, then filter’ to further understand Shirky’s ideas concerning the ‘End of audience’.
