Bags of chips are never filled to the top and usually don’t have much in them. This is a funny way of showing that..
“Cognative Surplus”- Change Society?
I agree with Shirkys’ view. Shirkys’ explanation of “cognitive surplus” has two parts, collaborating for communal purposes and also for civic purposes. This concept of collaboration for civic purposes is to help aid people in need of help ( ie. The use of platforms such as Twitter, Facebook etc.. in Egypt and many of those countries that recently spoke out to the world), which is bringing all the people around the world together, those who are concerned for those in need can collaborate and help.
Shirky states that in the 20th century and even early 21st century users of the internet only consumed what was on the internet, not because they were necessarily lazy but because there wasn’t the opportunity to create. He then goes on to explain that now with blogging , cell phones and many other types of media outlets users can create content and can be producers and even one who just creates something intended to be a joke is contributing (Communal purposes). His focus though is Civic value that its not just about helping those that use the platform but it helps everyone in that society, because of these collective efforts from people everywhere in the world. He believes that once we use or time on the internet to create civic value rather than communal or entertainment on the internet, then “cognitive surplus” can change the world.
Wikis- Here Comes Everybody
Shirky in chapter five talks about the start of wikipedia and how it is a main source for referencing information that as been composed by all different users. He then goes on to talk about how this platform is very successful but the amount of changes and editing that goes on really impacts the quality of the content. In this chapter Shirky describes that less than 2 percent of wikipedia users contribute information to the platform and it affects the content that is viewed by so many users. In my opinion wikipedia is a great source of information regardless of how many people contribute to it or not. The information i gathered from wikipedia over the last 5 years or so was extremely helpful and has not failed me.
In chapter six, Shirky talks a lot about what I spoke about in my previous blog, the effects of the internet and how its enabling us to collaborate with each other to revolutionize the world. Shirky also describes that its not the platform or the internet people are using that’s changing us, but its the actions and the behavior of the users. Yes, i agree that the behaviors are revolutionizing us today but i do believe social networks are the driving force for these actions and without these technologies none of this would be possible.
It is crazy what kind of world we live in today, where information is at our fingertips wherever, whenever or however we want it to be. Even right now as i type this blog im sitting in the middle of a park with the information of the internet and with the connection of the internet communicating with my fellow students and the world around me. Shirky brings out all of these ideas and provides concrete examples to pretty much depict what he is saying.
Power of the Web
Clay Shirky in this book gives real concrete examples of the power of the web and how its changing things. At first i thought this book was going to be boring but i actually found it very interesting. Shirky goes on to explain how he posted a website page and attracted so many followers.
The internet is so vast and attracts so many users together and pretty much form one big community. The book goes on to explain how individuals are being “media outlets”, that each one of us can post content and ideas.
Given these opportunities by the internet enables us to to change the world today. For example the revolutions that are happening throughout the world starting in Tunisia and moving on into Egypt. The connection that the internet brings, Facebook for example, enables people to communicate fast and efficiently. The internet definitely has its pros and cons but i believe the pros outweigh the cons. If you just look at how the world is changingin a positive way , you would most probably think the same.
Privacy Issues
“Spying on the Home Front” was a very interesting video. Although, i had known about this issue for quite a while now, it was exciting to see the interviews with the people who are directly involved with those operations. As for the issues involved in this case, I can see both sides very clearly, but in all honesty the points that the government/agencies are making are far more important than any claims anyone else may have in defense to them. Yes, the laws are somewhat being violated and yes these agencies are collecting massive amounts of data and yes peoples privacy rights are being taken from them, but is that not worth the lives of and the safety of the American people?
There are those out there who think the government is out there to gain as much power as they possibly can, in some cases that may be the case, but in this case I beg to differ. I think that the governments role here is not only OK but its necessary. Even if nothing has come out of these operations it was still in the best interests of the government to fully protect the safety and lives of their citizens. Ethically speaking it is an invasion of our privacy and is not ethical, but like the famous Machiavelli states “the end justifies the means”.
Hello world!
Welcome to Blogs@Baruch!
This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging.