Pages 199-223 in Design to Thrive
describe the social effects of print versus digital media. In this section,
Howard compares the context of current technologies to past technologies. For
example, the recent advancement in social media has reduced the cost of
producing and distributing content. Instead of paying a company to record,
edit, and distribute a story, an individual can use a digital camera and
at-home editing software to create a professional-looking video. That video can
then be uploaded to sites such as YouTube for the world to see. This reduction
in the cost of media production isn’t something new. When Gutenberg introduced
printing to Europe, the cost of creating and distributing newspapers
dramatically decreased. This meant that the news was not limited to rich
people; the average person could buy a newspaper. In addition, more
entrepreneurs were able to start their own newspaper businesses.
In Design to Thrive, Howard
brings up a legitimate counterargument about the value of online communities.
This counterargument states that online communities can cripple individuals by
exposing them to only one point of view about a particular issue. For instance,
a democrat could log on to an online community specifically for democrats. In
doing such, he or she will be exposed to points of views that will be mainly democratic.
In other words, the democrat will be exposed to issues in a biased way. This
can hinder that individual from making informed decisions in the political
arena. On the other hand, if the democrat makes a conscious effort to visit
other online communities (namely republican), he or she will have the
opportunity to learn about issues from both sides of the fence. This example
shows that online communities and social networks can be valuable to an
organization; however, they must be used in the appropriate manner, exposing
individuals to multiple facets of various issues.
I am also interested in the point Dr. Howard makes about the "narrow" perspectives that are perpetuated within certain online communities-- this puts them sort of in opposition to social networks, which begin with one individual and gradually expands; all communities have communication-based foundations, but by absorbing new members into an enclosed information ecosystem they potentially resist expansion as the community moves towards and agrees upon particular conclusions.
ReplyDeleteI think the same is true for education-- "majors" are essentially communities that emphasize a particular specialization, which is perhaps why we have "core" classes in our curriculum, so that students are forced to exit their entrenched communities and be exposed to other perspectives.