Between Media and World
David Weinberger Ph.D.
Harvard Berkman Center for Internet & Society
Self @ evident . com
JohoTheBlog.com
dweinberger@twitter
Venice Sessions - Telecom Italia
October 20. 2009

From medium to content

The Web is not a medium

“Digital life is real life.” - Nicola Greco

<a>
hyperlinks
</a>

The new punctuation
. , ; :
? ! <a>
<a>

Content Medium
<
<a>

Difference
Amplify
Agree Disagree
Extend
Support
Reject
Endorse Denounce
Dispute Concur
Discount Recommend Connect

The change in authority

Authority
The News
Traditional Canon

Certified
Answer
STOP
Belief
Point

A Book Too Far, by Jane Doe
[Due back on the 12th of next year]
Footnote #354: Doe, Jane.
A Book Too Far page 546
Abelardo Morell

New sources of authority:
Metadata

Conifers
Point Perry Island
Wave4536a Lobster (escaped)
Tuna132 Shoes
Wave46756c SS Minnow
Long/Lat
Information
Bonito6575
Tuna778
Tuna865
Reef
Lobster#FCA45
Cod93784c Temp 67F

Flicker.com/nadya

Metadata Data
herman melville
Search

Face
ted C
Web
lass
ific
atio
n
tic Web
S eman
Social
Search
ing
Folksonomies
2.0
Crowd
Sourc
ing
Social Tagging
Me chanic al Turk

In the hyper-abundant,
hyper-linked world, media’s
value tends toward
metadata.

Imperfection

bjortklingd@flickr

Good enough is good enough
(cc) Herrolm @ flickr

Transparency

Certified
Answer
Certified
STOP
Answer
STOP
Belief
Belief
Point
Point

Media in this new world

“Printed matter will be with us forever” -
Giuseppe Vita

Shared interests
Difference
Conversation
Mattering

Participate with transparent
expertise
as someone to whom the world
matters
in a voice that accepts the
messy differences in how the
world matters to us all.

Thank you.
David Weinberger
Blog: www . JohoTheBlog . Com
Email: self@evident . com