Networked Information KCB201 Virtual Cultures Dr Axel Bruns [email_address]

Visions of the Network Age Vannevar Bush’s vision: Technology aiding us in navigating the information available to us, and storing (and sharing) the knowledge we accumulate. (Technology as driver, determining what people are able to do.) Mark Pesce’s vision: People using technology to develop new ways of being, of communicating, of knowing, and to change culture, society, the world. (People as drivers, enabled by technology.) Reality? technological determinism social constructionism

Vannevar Bush’s vision:

Technology aiding us

in navigating the information available to us, and

storing (and sharing) the knowledge we accumulate.

(Technology as driver, determining what people are able to do.)

Mark Pesce’s vision:

People using technology

to develop new ways of being, of communicating, of knowing, and

to change culture, society, the world.

(People as drivers, enabled by technology.)

Reality?

technological determinism social constructionism

New Media Technologies Three elements to keep in mind: the technologies themselves, and their in-built features the communication activities and practices we engage in using these technologies the social arrangements that form around these technologies (Flew p. 2) Key features of information in new media: manipulable – digital format makes editing simple networkable – transmission and sharing on a global scale dense – even large amounts can be transmitted quickly compressible – enabling duplication and storage of large amounts impartial – networks transmit both trash and treasure equally well (Flew p. 3)

Three elements to keep in mind:

the technologies themselves, and their in-built features

the communication activities and practices we engage in using these technologies

the social arrangements that form around these technologies

(Flew p. 2)

Key features of information in new media:

manipulable – digital format makes editing simple

networkable – transmission and sharing on a global scale

dense – even large amounts can be transmitted quickly

compressible – enabling duplication and storage of large amounts

impartial – networks transmit both trash and treasure equally well

(Flew p. 3)

A Time of Change Entering the information age: shift from analogue to digital emergence of global information networks (wired and wireless) transition from manufacturing to information, knowledge, creative industries (in developed nations) economic, political, media globalisation convergence on various levels online communities, networked social structures bottom-up, ad hoc network organisations unexpected consequences of information availability and flexibility alternative sources of information and knowledge undermining of established power structures struggle for control of the network, of information, of meaning

Entering the information age:

shift from analogue to digital

emergence of global information networks (wired and wireless)

transition from manufacturing to information, knowledge, creative industries (in developed nations)

economic, political, media globalisation

convergence on various levels

online communities, networked social structures

bottom-up, ad hoc network organisations

unexpected consequences of information availability and flexibility

alternative sources of information and knowledge

undermining of established power structures

struggle for control of the network, of information, of meaning

Networked Information Competing logics of information: traditional model: core information produced by established institutions in society governments, researchers, industries, media internal processes determine what is released and what is not information can be trusted because it has an institutional imprint information is evaluated and ordered by professionals with expert knowledge examples: publishers, libraries network model: information produced by all of us, and published immediately personal blogs, YouTube clips, Wikipedia entries, etc. ‘ official’ and ‘unofficial’ information co-exist in the network, and are equally easy to find can any piece of information be trusted? user must decide for themselves information is evaluated by all of us, all the time – and we’re sharing those evaluations examples: Google , del.icio.us expert power  people power or academic logic  Google logic

Competing logics of information:

traditional model:

core information produced by established institutions in society

governments, researchers, industries, media

internal processes determine what is released and what is not

information can be trusted because it has an institutional imprint

information is evaluated and ordered by professionals with expert knowledge

examples: publishers, libraries

network model:

information produced by all of us, and published immediately

personal blogs, YouTube clips, Wikipedia entries, etc.

‘ official’ and ‘unofficial’ information co-exist in the network, and are equally easy to find

can any piece of information be trusted? user must decide for themselves

information is evaluated by all of us, all the time – and we’re sharing those evaluations

examples: Google , del.icio.us

expert power  people power or academic logic  Google logic

Making Sense of Networked Information New survival skills: finding, evaluating, sharing (and trusting that others do so too) finding a Website through Google, del.icio.us, recommendation from peers evaluating its usefulness, describing and tagging it for future reference sharing that evaluation through del.icio.us or other social networks keeping track of what others find, evaluate, share finding communities of like-minded users collaborating with them on finding information (and filtering out disruptions to the process) Google logic: measuring importance and relevance of information by tracing patterns in large-scale user behaviours … and it works – Google PageRank but where does this leave the traditional knowledge institutions?

New survival skills:

finding, evaluating, sharing (and trusting that others do so too)

finding a Website through Google, del.icio.us, recommendation from peers

evaluating its usefulness, describing and tagging it for future reference

sharing that evaluation through del.icio.us or other social networks

keeping track of what others find, evaluate, share

finding communities of like-minded users

collaborating with them on finding information

(and filtering out disruptions to the process)

Google logic:

measuring importance and relevance of information by tracing patterns in large-scale user behaviours

… and it works – Google PageRank

but where does this leave the traditional knowledge institutions?