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?

It became open to innovation like email, the web, Spotify or Snapchat, allowing audiences to communicate and connect to loads of computers as well as other people who uses the internet. 

2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet?

Some negatives are that it also makes it next to impossible to stop spam, abuse or the trading of images of child abuse, which could be harm or unethical to audiences, especially towards youth audience due to the context that they take in. 

3) What does ‘open technology’ refer to? Do you agree with the idea of ‘open technology’?

'Open technology' refers to the idea that it's a place where audiences can have equal opportunities, free expressions and social justice, allowing other people's opinions to be heard without them taking into account criticisms against their opinions. 

4) Bill Thompson outlines some of the challenges and questions for the future of the internet. What are they?

-What could the internet do for you and your friends, and what could you make it do?

-We know you care about privacy – and why wouldn’t you, I certainly do. So how can the network deliver that?

-We know you care about other people around the world, and want a fairer, more just world – so how can the network help there?

-We know you want to understand the world and engage with it, so how do we deliver news media that can operate effectively online and still make money?

5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?

I think that there should have more control when it comes to the internet as more people are as well as the youth audiences are getting more exposed to the internet as well as how to use it, especially that they are growing up in a generation where internet is worldwide and popular. Also, the idea that most people relies on the internet even when it comes to their daily routines. In addition, I think that the internet should be regulated due to the idea that there are negative features of the internet, mostly on social media such as violence which could affect how audiences consume the internet, applying Bandura and Webner's cultivation theory. Audiences might change how they see the world.

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?

Shirky describes a profession as a group of people who have developed a particular set of skills and are paid to use those skills. This applies to traditional newspapers because journalism was mainly done by professional journalists who were trained, employed and paid by newspapers.

2) What is the question facing the newspaper industry now the internet has created a “new ecosystem”?

The main question is how newspapers can survive when the internet allows people to create, share and access news without needing a traditional newspaper. The internet has changed how information is produced and distributed, so newspapers have to find a new role in this changing environment.

3) Why did Trent Lott’s speech in 2002 become news?

Trent Lott’s speech became news because he made controversial comments about segregation and the history of the American South. Although the comments were initially not given much attention by the mainstream media, bloggers and other people online discussed them and brought them to a much larger audience.

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

Mass amateurisation is when ordinary people are able to do things that were previously mainly done by professionals. For example, people can now write news stories, take photographs, make videos and publish them online without working for a professional media organisation.

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’?

This can be linked to fake news because information can spread extremely quickly across social media. If many people share the same false or misleading story, it can appear believable simply because lots of people are talking about it. This means that information does not always need to come from a professional news organisation to reach a huge audience, although this can also make misinformation much easier to spread.

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?

Shirky suggests that technological change can cause a period of disruption and uncertainty before society works out how to use the new technology properly. I think we are still experiencing some of this internet “chaos” because social media and the internet continue to change how we communicate, get news and form opinions.

7) Shirky says that “anyone can be a publisher… [and] anyone can be a journalist”. What does this mean and why is it important?

It means that people no longer need to work for a newspaper or television company to publish information. Anyone with a phone or computer can write something, take a photo or record a video and share it with thousands or even millions of people. This is important because it gives ordinary people a much bigger role in creating and spreading information.

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?

Shirky suggests that after the printing press was introduced, society went through a long period of intellectual and political disruption before new systems developed. He believes the internet could create a similar period of uncertainty. Recent events such as political disagreements on social media, misinformation and the rapid spread of conspiracy theories could be seen as examples of this kind of disruption.

9) Why is photography a good example of ‘mass amateurisation’?

Photography is a good example because taking photographs used to require expensive equipment and specialist knowledge. Today, almost everyone has a camera on their phone and can take, edit and publish photographs instantly. This means photography is no longer mainly controlled by professional photographers.

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 Shirky’s ideas are still relevant because the internet has changed people from being passive audiences into active participants. Mass amateurisation can be positive because it allows more people to express themselves and share information. However, it also creates problems because false information can spread quickly and it can be difficult to know what sources to trust. Overall, I think the internet has brought both new opportunities and new problems, and society is still learning how to deal with them.