Clay Shirky: End of audience

 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?

-Greater access to information 

-Global communication 

-Access to education 

-Greater participation

-New opportunities for creativity 

-Social connections 

-Economic opportunities 

-Greater freedom of expression

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

-Privacy and surveillance

-Cybercrime

-Misinformation and unreliable information

-Abuse of personal data

-Online harassment

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

Open technology means technology that is accessible and available for people to use.I agree with the idea because openness encourages innovation,creativity and freedom of expression. 

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

Who should control the internet?

How much should governments regulate it?

How can people's privacy be protected?

How can society deal with misinformation and harmful content?

Who should be responsible for what people publish online?

How can everyone get fair access to technology?

How can we maintain the internet as an open and democratic space while preventing abuse?

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

I think there should be a balance between openness and regulation.The internet should remain open enough for people to communicate,create and express their opinions.However, some regulation is necessary to protect users from serious harms.

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 argues that a profession is a group of people who have developed systems and rules around a particular activity.This applied to newspapers because journalism was traditionally controlled by professional journalists and editors.

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

The key question is 'What happens when anyone can publish?'

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

Bloggers discussed the comments online which caused the story to spread.Eventually mainstream media organisations picked it up

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

Mass amateurisation is the process where ordinary people can perform activities that were previously controlled by professionals.

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’?

Shirky's argument is particularly relevant to today's social media environment.This is because anyone can publish information and false or misleading information can spread extremely quickly.This means that if thousands of people share the same claim it can appear credible even if it is not supported by reliable evidence.This links to Shirky's idea that the combined amplification of many amateur sources can become more powerful than traditional professional media.

6) 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 access to a newspaper, television station or publishing company to distribute information

7) 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 argues that the invention of the printing press created a long period of intellectual and political disruption.There is evidence of this today through the growth of social media politics