Art and Aesthetics

This week we looked at how, in some circumstances, art is not only representing,but leading the way in media innovation, often through the blurring of boundaries between previously divided mediums. A great example of this can be seen through the ‘New Aesthetic,’ movement created by James Bridle, which focuses on displaying the grain of computation which often represents the limitations of digital artefacts, or a kind of digital glitch, sometimes called the ‘aesthetic of failure’. (Sterling 2012) Confused? Here is an image so you get the idea.

Image taken from ufunk.net.

Basically, what the movement is doing, is representing the digital within the more commonly analogue orientated world that we inhabit in.(Sterling 2012) Ultimately showing the ways in which the two world now frequently combine. It thus reminds me of the discussion of the embodied mind a few weeks ago, when we saw how  inaminate objects such as a smart phone or laptop are now becoming an extension of our own consciousness. James Bridle gave an interesting statement as to why he began the movement;

 “I started noticing things like this in the world. This is a cushion on sale in a furniture store that’s pixelated. This is a strange thing. This is a look, a style, a pattern that didn’t previously exist in the real world. It’s something that’s come out of digital. It’s come out of a digital way of seeing, that represents things in this form. The real world doesn’t, or at least didn’t, have a grain that looks like this. But you start to see it everywhere when you start looking for it. It’s very pervasive. It seems like a style, a thing, and we have to look at where that style came from, and what it means, possibly. Previously things that would have been gingham or lacy patterns and this kind of thing is suddenly pixelated. Where does that come from? What’s that all about?” (Sterling 2012)

This question of what the pattern is about is frequently debated. Some people have suggested that it is a representation of a kind of digital past, as it can be suggested that, as we move in to a world of high-definition and high-pixel density experience,  these kinds of digital glitches, modes, and forms are history. (Sterling 2012)

An example of how the digital pattern is now becoming a style used on varying consumer products. Image taken fromthecreatorsproject.com.

However, what Catt suggests is that the images do not represent retro computer graphics but instead computer vision or  in other words, the graphics that are designed for machines to read. (Catt 2011) The representation of computer pixels in the everyday world enable robot and computer algorithms to ‘see’, for example through the use of QR codes that can be read by smart phones.

Once again, I feel that this topic relates directly to my topic of the transversality in the shopping experience. Up until this week, I had only thought about how the changes in the shopping experience had been represented through the use of the new technologies themselves, for example the scanning of QR on smart phones. However, it is interesting to realise that the QR code itself, which is made up of the style of pixels that computers can read, in an aesthetic sense, represents our movement towards creating a world that can be read by machines with more ease than humans.

“An eruption of the digital into the physical.” Image taken from inventinginteractive.com.

(Work of the week= generative)

References

Catt, D, 2011, “Why the New Aesthetic isn’t about 8bit retro, the Robot Readable World, computer vision and pirates”, Diigo, accessed 20th May 2012, <http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Frevdancatt.com%2F2012%2F04%2F07%2Fwhy-the-new-aesthetic-isnt-about-8bit-retro-the-robot-readable-world-computer-vision-and-pirates?tab=people&uname=andersand&gt;

Sterling, B, 2012, “David M. Berry: Computationality and the New Aesthetic”, Imperica, accessed 21st May 2012, <http://www.imperica.com/viewsreviews/david-m-berry-computationality-and-the-new-aesthetic&gt;

Open- science in the digital age

“Faster” is a word that is frequently used to describe the methods in the digital age. (Seed 2011) It is also a word that has frequently been used in my blog posts, but what it hasn’t been linked to is the changing nature and role of science which is typically seen as something static.

It is due to this that paper-based systems have long been the models in which scientific based knowledge and discussion has been spread. It is also the core medium for knowledge transfer throughout the world. (Wilbanks 2011) As Wilbanks suggests: “The very fact that we call a scientific-knowledge unit a “paper” is a powerful illustration of how deeply the idea of knowledge is tied to the medium.” (Wilbanks 2011)

This, in turn, has created barriers that prevent the public from accessing this knowledge. For starters, scholarly journals are extremely expensive which means that if the average person were interested in certain research results, they would have to shell out a lot of money just to get access. Furthermore, with an abundance of work specific jargon and the need for the research to be extensively reviewed before it is released, what society is presented with is a highly dense and complicated version of research that is not comprehendible by the average person.

With these factors making it extremely hard for society to access scientific information, in recent years there has been an increased movement towards raw scientific research being shared and available online to the general public. As Wilbanks suggests, this has led to ; “The end user no longer having to passively consume content,” as they can now be a part of accessing and contributing to scientific discussion online, in turn showing that the “mantra of “rip, mix, and burn” doesn’t apply to music, but instead to knowledge.” (Wilbanks 2011)
The significance of open science, and more generally the digital age, is that it has created a more informed public which has consequently altered the power dynamics between former ‘elite’ professional, such as scientists, and society. Of course, I’m not trying to say that the role of scientists has in anyway diminished, however society now has the ability to research for themselves and thus question the information they are being given. A great example of this is the prevalence of self-diagnosing illnesses online, as anyone now feels they have the information to be able to make an informed conclusion about what is wrong with them.

Image taken from cartoonstock.com.

I am a culprit of this activity and have frequently gone to the doctors with a clear idea already of what illness I thought I have. I then proceeded to tell the Doctor what I thought was wrong with me. What this shows is that the elite nature of science professionals is being undermined as people now have information that was once concealed from them.

A shift in agency and control as a result of more open information is definitely something that I should consider when going in to my final assignment. With an increased access to platforms that allow consumers to choose how and when they purchase items, there is less reliance on retail workers.

References
Pisani, Elizabeth (2011) ‘Medical science will benefit from the research of crowds’, The Guardian, January 11,
Wilbanks, John (2011) ‘On Science Publishing’, Seed,

All for one and one for all- social organisation and the emergence of open source culture

This week I will be focusing on various methods of social organisation, particularly the idea of open source culture and the ‘commons.’ Open source culture involves a shift in control whereby society is able to take social issues in to their own hands and work collaboratively to solve problems. More recently that has involved using online platforms for discussion such as social media and wikis. The success of these open organisations, Ostrom says, stems from effective communication. (Anon 2010) She cites the example of an experiment that she undertook:

“At the Workshop we’ve done experiments where we create an artificial form of common property such as an imaginary fishery or pasture, and we bring people into a lab and have them make decisions about that property. When we don’t allow any communication among the players, then they overharvest [the commons]. But when people can communicate, particularly on a face-to-face basis, and say, “Well, gee, how about if we do this? How about we do that?” Then they can come to an agreement.” (Anon 2010)

So what can be achieved through the use of open source culture? Of course, we have already seen examples of open source culture through Wikipedia, which allows for users to add and modify any content that appears on the site.  (Wikipedia 2012) However, the future can see collaborative work on a much larger scale in order to further social movements. A great example of this can be seen through the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ an open network of artists, activists, innovators, webheads, and change agents who are committed to creating the next generation of climate activism. (Coalition of the Willing 2012) They suggest that the social movements that took part in the 60s were a great example of how, on a fundamental level, an open source culture could work, as   although the decade marked the rise of  indivdualism whereby people began to define themselves by their possessions, individuals still chose to act on mass as a ‘swarm’ in order to transform cultural history.  (Knife Party 2010)  They thus propose the use of “swarm politics’” in contemporary social issues, whereby an online initiative can trigger and coordinate the actions and desires of a multitude of people that swarm together due to a common concern. (Coalition of the Willing 2012) Their basics aims and beliefs can be seen through the following animation.

Domestically in Australia, we could also look at the work of GetUp which is an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation which aims to give everyday Australians the opportunity to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues. (GetUp 2012)This is achieved through allowing participants to choose the issues that are most important to them and contacting them through various media platforms depending on what suits them. (GetUp 2012)

(Work of the week =collaboration)

References

Anon. (2010) ‘Elinor Ostrom’, p2p foundation <http://p2pfoundation.net/Elinor_Ostrom>

Anon. (n.d.) ‘Elinor Ostrom’, Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom>

Coalition of the Willing, 2012, ‘Who are we?’, WordPress, accessed  29^th April 2012, <http://www.coalitionblog.org/>

Coalition of the Willing, 2012, ‘Swarm politics’, WordPress, accessed 29th April 2012, <http://coalitionofthewilling.org.uk/essays/swarm-politics/&gt;

GetUp, 2012, ‘About’, accessed 29^th April 2012, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki&gt;

Knife Party and Rayner, Tim and Robson, Simon (2010) Coalition of the Willing <http://coalitionofthewilling.org.uk/>

Wikipedia,2012, ‘Wiki’, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki&gt;

The curse of the 24-hour news cycle on Australian politics

The 24-hour news cycle is the death of democracy according to Bob Ellis. (Ellis 2010)  In his article he suggests that the need for politicians, specifically Kevin Rudd, to constantly organise their schedule around a news cycle that is constantly in action, is leaving them with cumulative sleeplessness and low-level paranoia, that is ultimately resulting in them making increasingly bad and strange decisions. (Ellis 2010).He gives an example of a day in the life of a media chasing politician.

“A leader’s Press Officer now has to be reading the papers at 4.30am, and the leader in make-up for the Today show at 6.30am. He may then be at a business breakfast attempting genial oratory at 8am and at a caucus meeting at 9.30am for an hour of punitive admonition. His brain arrives at 11am, there’s a press conference at noon, a lunch with the President of Pilau at 12.30pm and Question Time at 2pm. At 4pm he is on a plane to Perth, reading for five hours of scary turbulence position papers on Climate Change. On touchdown at Perth it is only, locally, 7pm and he has five hours more of genial oratory, ethnic dancing, listening to accented speeches and murmuring pleasantly to strangers before hitting a hotel bed at what in his mind is 2am. At 2.30am his phone rings and there’s a crisis.” (Ellis 2010)

 

 It can also be suggested that this constant bombardment of news is also leading to the use of the ‘Presidential’ style of campaigning, also known as the ‘Carter party’, whereby politicians are focusing more on personality than policies in electoral campaigns, by Australian politicians. As society is constantly presented with news 24/7 , they do not have the time or capacity to absorb large and varying policy rhetoric and instead can, in instances, respond to the use of ‘soft sell’ whereby ideologies are simplified down to the basic level allowing society the space for imagination. Examples of this can be seen through the Whitlam ‘It’s time’ campaign which with it’s simple ‘It’s time’ message was successful in rousing the public who wanted change.

References

Ellis, Bob (2010) ‘Sleepless in Canberra’ The ABC, Drum Unleashed <http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/35116.html>

Thinking outside the box with transversality.

The continuing development of media technologies has meant that the practices of both consumers and developers are constantly changing.

When we look at how these changes are being framed usually from a mainstream perspective, we are often confronted with arguments that focus on the negative impacts they are having on the industries internally, specifically involving the diminishing amount of control producers have over distribution. Two industries where this is evident are the music industry, particularly how music is made, distributed and enjoyed, and journalism under the impact of digital and networked media.

When looking at the changing nature of journalism from a mainstream perspective, it can be suggested that the abundance of news and information that society is constantly being bombarded with has destabilized the typical model from which Journalism has always been conducted as the control shifts away from the producer and towards the consumer. This has led to many people loosing their jobs as well as the suggestion that the quality and role of journalism is slipping as the role of the ‘citizen journalist’, whereby anyone can write and publish their opinion, rises.

In regards to the music industry, it can be seen that the Internet has eliminated a lot of past costs needed for the recording, formatting, marketing, and distribution of music. (Marshall 2011) This has impacted most significantly on producers of music who rely heavily on this mechanism to practice control in the music industry. (Marshall 2011)

However, by thinking transversally it is possible to see that the impact of changing technologies on the functioning of an industry is much more complex than often depicted. A transversal is a line that cuts across other lines, or fields, this leads to the reforming of institutions as new lines cross between older disciplines. (Murphie 2006) Basically, what this means is that rather than marking the demise of particular industries, thinking of an industry transversally is a chance to see it reconfigured in a new way, in order to recreate the field as something else.

When thinking transversally it can be seen that a larger focus can be placed on the relationship between the creator and the audience as it is clear that is no longer simply a market relationship whereby the creator is selling something to the audience. Instead, it is a relationship whereby both parties hold certain amounts of control and thus are mutually beneficial for one another. In terms of the music industry, artists now have more control over the way in which their music is being distributed. Similarly, consumers also have control over the music that they wish to listen to and the way in which they access this music.

In terms of Journalism, there are now a larger variety of platforms from which news can be consumed. Furthermore a conversation can now take place whereby the consumer is able to respond to the news they are being given through comment boxes, forums and through the creation of individual blogs. Although to an extent, this could be seen as a possible downside for journalists as their control is being diminished, it is also a chance for them to communicate the bigger picture as they have access to an increasingly large range of information and opinions.

A great example of the ways in which journalists are utilising these changes positively can be seen through the work of The Guardian who are leaders in the ‘open journalism’ movement as they educate and urge consumers to get involved in researching and telling their own news and experiences. Their campaign towards ‘open journalism’ is a testament to the idea that by crossing boundaries and thinking outside the box an industry is able to utilise and manipulate shifts of control in order to further work done within the industry.

This weeks topic has definitely sparked my interest as a potential topic for my final assignment. As mentioned above, transversality has led to a shift in the relationship between producer and consumer. Aside from journalism and music, another area that has significantly changed is the retail experience with the growing online presence resulting in retailers needing to adapt their approach in order to combine both online and in store methods.

References

Marshall, W, 2011, ‘Nancy Baym rethinks the music industry’, The Boston Phoinex ,accessed 15^th April 2012,

<http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/119004-nancy-baym-rethinks-the-music-industry&gt;

Murphie, A, 2006, ‘Editorial’, [on transversality], the Fibreculture Journal, 9 <http://nine.fibreculturejournal.org/>

Rusbridger,A, 2012, ‘The Guardian: A world of news at your fingertips’, Guardian News and Media Limited, accessed 14^th April 2012, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2012/feb/29/open-journalism-at-the-guardian&gt;

Virtual reality: virtually reality?

Before I began this weeks reading I was quite naïve to the possibilities of Virtual reality. To me, it seemed to be a technology for the video gamers, whereby gamers can be placed in to a fake world in which they can play a game. I didn’t understand the sheer potential of the technology to enhance the day-to-day life of an individual. A simple definition of virtual reality can be seen as computer simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds. (Wikipedia 2012) These environments are typically visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special stereoscapic displays. (Wikipedia 2012) A fairly straightforward example can be seen as World of Warcraft where we are able to make and become part of a virtual world.

However in more recent years, simulations have begun to include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. With some advanced systems furthering this technology by including tactile information, generally known as force feedback, in medical and gaming applications.  (Wikipedia 2012) This, in turn, allows for us to participate differently in the virtuality of the actual world. A great example of this can be seen in a virtual demonstration conducted by the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering whereby without moving any part of their real bodies, two monkeys have been trained use their electrical brain activity to direct the virtual hands of an avatar to the surface of virtual objects where, upon contact, they are able to differentiate their textures. (Anon 2011) This was achieved through expressing the texture of the virtual objects through a pattern of minute electrical signals transmitted to the monkeys’ brains. (Anon 2011)

Although this technology is still in early development, what this essentially allows for is a new sensory channel to be created through which the brain can resume processing information that cannot reach it anymore through the real body and peripheral nerves.(Anon 2011) This could mean that severely paralyzed patients would have a chance to explore and receive feedback from the outside world. (Anon 2011) Like last weeks post in which we saw the use of  ‘memory-bearing objects’ as an extension of the mind, this example again shows the ability of technology to be an extension of human processes.

An interesting dilemma can be seen through W.J. Hennigan’s article concerning the development of a drone that is able to fly and land by autonomously. Although this, again has its advantages as it will mean “deploying far fewer U.S. military personnel to other countries, achieving greater national security at a much lower cost and most importantly, greatly reduced casualties,” the idea of a heavy armed aircraft flying by itself is unnerving for many. (Hennigan 2012) Furthermore, as Noel Sharkey, a computer scientist and robotics expert points out: “Lethal actions should have a clear chain of accountability,”(Hennigan 2012) which becomes difficult when the participant that caused the destruction is a robot weapon.  (Hennigan 2012)This will raise many questions about the morals and ethics of war as if misconduct occurs, who will actually be held accountable? (Hennigan 2012)

Of course, both of these examples can be seen as quite extreme examples of the possibilities of virtual reality however on a more basic level, as Mychilo S. Cline suggests, virtual reality will be integrated in to the daily life of individuals, and will be used in various human ways. (Wikipedia 2012) Take, for example, Chris Grayson’s reading which gives many examples of how virtual reality can be useful in everyday life, from locating the nearest desired services, to allowing you to try clothing and watches and from your own home. (Grayson 2009)

Through this blog, I hope what I have shown is that virtual reality technology is an important tool that is progressing to become useful in all aspects of human life. The only question that is left to ask is; in a society where there are now endless opportunities  to use virtual reality to enhance the human experience, how do we know what is real and what is simulated?

These questions are something that I would like to approach for my final assignment. I am interested in working in the fashion industry in the future and have found the recent incorporation of virtual technologies in to retail stores an interesting development. The launch of QR codes on the outside of Sportsgirl (Youl 2012) has meant that consumers no longer have to be involved in the tactile experience of going in to the store to buy the clothes. I think that researching how virtual technologies have altered the shopping experience would definitely be an interesting topic to pursue.

(Phrase of the week- How we know what is real)

References

Anon. (n.d.) ‘Virtual Reality’, Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality>

Anon. (2011) ‘Monkeys ‘Move and Feel’ Virtual Objects Using Only Their Brains’, ScienceDaily, October 5,

Grayson, Chris (2009) ‘Augmented Reality Overview’, GigantiCo <http://gigantico.squarespace.com/336554365346/2009/6/23/augmented-reality-overview.html>

Hennigan, W. J. (2012) ‘New drone has no pilot anywhere, so who’s accountable?’, Los Angeles Times, January 26, <http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-auto-drone-20120126,0,740306.story>

Youl, S,2012, ‘ Sportsgirl introduces innovative QR code feature’, Power Retail, accessed 25th March 2012, < http://www.powerretail.com.au/multichannel/sportsgirl-qr-code-feature/>

Technology: Our mind embodied?

We have all experienced that feeling when you lose something that contains important information that you can’t get back. From a piece of paper, a diary or a SIM card, these “memory bearing objects” (Stiegler) are an embodiment of our memory, a piece of our mind that has been offloaded in to the world and without them, we feel that we have also lost a range of important information that we no longer remember internally. I mean if you think about it, how much would you remember without your technology?

In his book: “ The Extended Mind”, Richard Menary suggests that some objects in the external environment are utilized by the mind in such a way that they become extensions of the mind itself. (Wikipedia) This is termed as ‘active externalism’ and suggests that the mind and the environment begin to act in a “coupled system.” (Wikipedia) Of course, this is not to say that the brains role has been diminished in anyway. Alva Noe uses the analogy of the mind as an engine of a car suggesting that:

“How my car drives depends on what goes on inside its engine. Modifying the engine affects the driving behavior. Speeding up, slowing down, and such like, in turn, affect the engine. But it would be bizarre to say that the driving really happens in the engine. If my car has no wheels on it, or is up on the lift, it won’t drive, whatever happens inside the engine.” (Noe 2010)

What this means is that while mental acts and processes such as feeling excited, thinking about someone, hoping for something to take place still can only happen through the activation of systems in the brain and nervous system (Noe 2010), without an environment to interact with, these mental thoughts and feeling cannot be put in to action.  (Noe 2010)

Like always, when thinking of technological advancements we must consider how this has changed both our own lifestyle and the way that we consume media. So are these “memory-bearing’ objects a help or a hinderance? Bernard Stiegler suggests that “these techno-logical forms of knowledge, objectified in the form of equipment and apparatuses” engender a loss of knowledge.  (Stiegler)

He suggests that we are constantly involved with mnemotechnological apparatuses of all kinds, in forms such as our smart phones, our laptops and GPS’s, where we increasingly confide a greater part of our memory.  What this means, however, is that to lose a cell phone is to lose the trace of the telephone numbers of our correspondents and to realise that they are no longer in the psychical memory but in the apparatus’s. (Stiegler)

Furthermore, as we continue to delegate these small tasks of remembrance to our phones or laptops, we become less able to do the task for ourselves. Memory becomes an automatic function at the press of a button. (Stiegler)

However, it is also important to consider that the use of technology to aid memory is simply another technological step forward and is not unlike writing something down in a diary or a notepad. To finish I will leave you with an extremely short interpretation of a thought experiment shown in ‘The Extended Mind” (Wikipedia)  which shows that memory bering objects are in fact fundamental in the lives of some people, and still surround us, even without technology.

References

Chalmers, David (2009) ‘The Extended Mind Revisited [1/5], at Hong Kong, 2009’, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S149IVHhmc>

Noë, Alva (2010) ‘Does thinking happen in the brain?’, 13:7 Cosmos and Culture <http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2010/12/10/131945848/does-thinking-happen-in-the-brain>

Stiegler, Bernard (n.d.) ‘Anamnesis and Hypomnesis: Plato as the first thinker of the proletarianisation’ <http://arsindustrialis.org/anamnesis-and-hypomnesis>

Wikipedia (2012) ‘The Extended Mind,

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Mind>

Media Ecologies. We are what we consume.

As media students we are constantly asked to reflect on how the media we produce and consume is part of the larger picture of society and culture. Although we mostly reflect on how we, as the media providers, utilise technology to influence our audience, we do little to consider how we are the ones being controlled by our technology. It is here that the Media Ecology Theory comes in.

Neil Postman describes Media Ecology as; “the matter of how media of communication affect human perception, understanding, feeling, and value; and how our interaction with media facilitates or impedes our chances of survival.”  (Media Ecology Association)

If we break this down further and look at the traditional definition of ecology; “the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment” (Dictionary.com), what it basically concerns is the idea that, as media creators and consumers, we are an integral part of the broader media environment in which; “ Parts no longer exist simply as discrete bits that stay separate, they set in play a process of mutual stimulation that exceeds what they are as a set.” (Fuller 2005)

So why are we not aware of how much we are supposedly altered by the media which surrounds us? Neil Postman suggests that we are half concealed by our assumption that what we are dealing with is not an environment, but merely a machine. (Media Ecology Association) Though to an extent I do feel that this is true. I mean, realistically, when we organise get-togethers with friends, or undertake group discussions for assignments, all on Facebook, do we ever stop to think about how we would actually do this with such ease otherwise? At the same time, I do feel that the theory down plays the active nature of the audience, who can now play a part in creating and manipulating the media they consume for their own, and broader society’s’, benefits.

Using Wikileaks as an example, the ability for individuals to distribute otherwise suppressed information on societal powers has ultimately “changed the relationship between citizens and governments” (Dietz 2010) as it reflects a shift in “in the way we are ruled and the information we are entitled to expect about how decisions about our future are made”.  (Dietz 2010) Although from the perspective of higher authority, this can be seen as a way in which the medium has impacted on how they function, for larger society, it is a way in which they utilise technology in order to manipulate and re-distribute power for themselves.

To finish, I would like to leave you with a question that was posed to my fellow students and I by Andrew Murphie; How many of the thoughts, perceptions and actions that are “yours” could you have without media interventions? I think after considering this, the majority of us wouldn’t see the idea of society being part of a reliant relationship with technology quite as strange as we first thought.

 

References

Deitz, Milissa (2010) ‘The New Media Ecology’, On Line Opinion: Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate <http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=11410&page=1>

Dictionary.com, ‘Ecology’, < http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ecology&gt;

Fuller, Matthew (2005) ‘Introduction: Media Ecologies’ in Media Ecologies: Materialist Energies in Art and Technoculture Cambridge, MA; MIT Press: 1-12

Media Ecology Association ‘What is Media Ecology’ <http://www.media-ecology.org/media_ecology/>

Murphie, A, ‘Course outline and readings’, < http://arts3091.newsouthblogs.org/course-outline-and-readings/#weekthree&gt;

Rawlings, Thomas (2011) ‘Games as a Happening, as a Service (Notes from my Talk at Goldsmiths)’, A Great Becoming <http://agreatbecoming.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/games-as-a-happening-as-a-service-notes-from-my-talk-at-goldsmiths/>

 

 

New year. New topic.

As I embark on my final year of a Journalism degree, I have once again been pulled back to the process of blogging. This semester, this blog will serve as a platform for my reading journal on another core media subject; ARTS3091: Advanced Media Issues-New Media, Cultural and Social Change. Feel free to comment/share your opinions on the topics I will cover over the following months.

Arts2090 Major Essay by Kady Holt

When publishing changes, so does society. Investigate and compare the impact of two publication technologies, one pre-1900 and one post-1962, on a specific aspect of society (e.g. education, politics, creative industries, science, entertainment, social relationships).

The Printing Press vs. Social Media. How it has changed social relationships

The printing press; a mechanism created by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, which until the late 20th century was the principal means of printing. The process involved applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium, which allowed for the ink to transfer. (Wikipedia, 2011)

Gutenberg's printing press.

Social media; the use of various online technology tools, which enable people to communicate easily via the Internet, in order to share information and resources. This can include resources such as text, audio, video, images, podcasts, and other multimedia communications (Doyle, 2011) and is represented through sites such as Facebook, Twitter, personal blogs and Flickr.

An example of some of the many forms and uses of social media.

Two highly different mediums, created in largely different eras, however with one important thing in common, they allowed for social relationships to transform and flourish. This essay will explore and contrast these two differing publishing mediums’ impacts on social relationships.

One of the key impacts that the printing press had on social relationships was that it allowed educational barriers in the class system to be broken down. With books now being able to be printed in mass numbers, the working class was able to access books, giving them the opportunity to learn to read. (Kirkpatrick, 2011)

This was important for numerous reasons; firstly it allowed for the working class to more easily understand the information that was being communicated to them in regards to news in society. This meant that the working class could become more socially involved with what was going on around them as for the first time they understood, and were well informed, about societal situations.

Secondly, it allowed the working class to take a more active role in communicating themselves, as they now had a platform which enabled them to do so. As the printing press allowed for books to be mass produced, it became easier for anyone to publish their ideas in books, newspapers or magazines. This led to increased equality amongst social classes as the opinions of the working class could now be heard. This allowed for larger social discussions to occur, involving thoughts and opinions that would have otherwise been unheard of, a result that benefited social relationships greatly, as different social classes were able to interact more equally for the first time. (Kirkpatrick, 2011)

On a larger scale, what this can suggest is that the printing press allowed literature to become part of the ‘commons’ which meant that it was now available, and shared by everyone in society equally. (Bollier, 2002) This resulted in society becoming more democratised (Hertzberg,2000) and thus made social relationships larger and more diverse, as everyone was given a chance to access the same resources.

The Gutenberg Bible. The bible was the first book that was printed by Gutenberg using movable type, allowing it to be accessible to everyone.

Likewise, as the ability to share information was now more evenly distributed amongst the masses; it significantly impacted on the dynamic of social relationships for powers that were once dominant in society. No longer was the process of social relations strictly linear, with large powers being able to control large numbers of people without objection. This can be seen through the example of the Church, who found it increasingly more difficult to maintain their power and control due to the printing press. Before it was created, the church was heavily relied on for copying books. However with the printing press diminishing this reliance, it became much harder for the Church to censor and control what was being written. (Butler, 2007) This resulted in their power becoming limited and thus their role in larger social relations was decreased.

Leading on from all of this, it can be suggested that through the creation of the printing press, the social structure of Europe was completely reorganised with a middle class being created. Garniss Curtis suggested that: “As books were published, people became more inspired to learn to read. Reading led to thinking about what had been read, to further publication, and to communication between people. The first ‘World Wide Web’ had arrived.” (Curtis, 2000) With this power that education brought, the new middle class now had the ability to win more rights for themselves, in turn, changing their social status. (Hertzberg,2000)

As mentioned before, the creation of the printing press allowed books to be more readily available. A factor that both aided and hindered social relationships. On the one hand, although books were now mass produced, the resource of paper was still expensive and thus not everyone was able to afford them. This lead to the increased popularity of coffee houses where people would gather to read and discuss books, newspapers and magazines. (Kirkpatrick, 2011) This allowed for both the chance for people to further their knowledge as they exchanged information socially, whilst also allowing social communication to flourish, as people began to discuss their ideas together.

However on the other hand, for the upper class, the ability to now buy their own books meant that the experience of reading, which was once based around sharing information in a social environment, was now an independent activity that could be done in the comfort of their own homes. This impacted on social relationships, as reading became a more isolated activity that required less social contact.

Whilst the impact the Printing Press had on social relationships is evidently quite straightforward and positive, the impact on social relationships due to social media is more complex and less concrete.

One of the most evident impacts of social media on social relationships is that it allows for its users to communicate globally on a level that was before impossible. Through services such as Skype, Facebook and Twitter, users are able to communicate with people great distances away by sending messages, talking through web cams and sharing photos and videos. Paddy Scannell describes this idea as the ‘doubling of place’ as it suggests that events can now occur simultaneously in two different places, the place of the event itself, and where it is being watched and heard. (Couldry and McCarthy, 2004) This aids in maintaining friendships over larges distances, as for example through the use of talking to each other through Skype, users are able to stay informed in their friends’ everyday lives with the speed and ease that makes them feel that they are not great distances apart.

Mirroring the advantage of the printing press, social networking sites continue to provide a platform on which disempowered people are able to voice their opinions, in turn allowing them to be more socially involved. Through the use of blogs, Twitter and Facebook, people regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and social economic status are able to voice their opinions through their own blogs or simply through a tweet. This can be seen through the example of the Dalai Lama using Twitter to circumvent the Chinese government’s censorship in order for him to talk to the masses. (Van Grove, 2010) What this means is that people who are either repressed and un able to express their views and opinions, or are too shy to voice their opinion usually in a social situation, are able to still have their voice be heard in social discussions and thus are still able to establish social relationships.

Furthermore, as people begin voicing their opinions online, they are able to contribute to a larger conversation concerning whatever topic they choose. This is achieved through the ability for people to comment on other people’s personal blogs, in turn creating online discussions. As mentioned before, in relation to the printing press, this ability to allow a community to share a resource equally, creates the concept of a ‘commons’,an idea that can also be seen through social media however on a much larger scale. Social media creates what can be seen as a ‘Global Commons’, which Stefan Baritz suggests is: “a new form of societal production.” (Bauwens, 2011) This ‘Global Commons’ allows for people to create their own works with the benefit of having social interaction as others contribute. This allows for social relationships to continue growing, as people are able to discuss and bond together about issues or works that they are concerned about.

Following on from this, as the communication platform has widened, anyone is now able to find a group that they can identify with regardless of the persons interest or hobby. This means that people with more niche interests will still be able to find people with similar likes and dislikes, further allowing social relationships to grow and form. An example of this can be seen through the extensive number of Facebook ‘groups’ that are available. These groups can range from hobbies that you enjoy, to simple statements that you feel are true, and join people together over their similar interests.

A small example of the variety of Facebook groups people are able to join.

Of course giving anyone a voice can also lead to problems. The ease to share information on social networking sites and ability to join groups together, has led to increased incidents of cyber-bullying. Cyber- bullying occurs when a minor is; “tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed, or otherwise targeted by another [minor] using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones.” (Manor, 2010) Often, bullies use social media websites as a platform for abuse as they remain an ‘invisible audience.’ (Boyd, 2009) What this term means is that, when presenting information about themselves online, users are unable to know who is exactly looking at their information at any given time. These ‘invisible audiences’ are thus able to view other people’s information without being identified and can often leave anonymous comments. This gives them the security to be able to make any comment they want, regardless of how malicious, without detection. This can result in the diminishing of social relationships as often after encountering cyber bullying, victims become socially withdrawn from their peers.

An example of cyber bullying.

Furthermore, increased use of social media is changing the amount of attention we give to our social relationships. Linda Stone coined the term ‘Continuous partial attention’ to express this change. She suggests that people are now ‘hyper alert’ (Jenkins, 2010) and are often at one time partaking in numerous online activities for example participating in instant messaging conversations, checking a Twitter news feed, typing in a word document and sending comments on their Facebook. Although this can suggest that users are becoming more sophisticated in their media uses, it can also suggest that people are increasingly investing less and less in to their social relationships as they try and focus on more than one thing at once, ultimately impacting on how they socially interact. The work of Herbet Simon can be applied to this suggestion. Simon suggests that in an information age the more information there is, the less attention is given and there becomes “the need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” (Erard, 2009) What this suggests is that if people are un able to allocate their attention efficiently, social relationships can suffer, as limited attention is spent maintaining them.

In conclusion, the printing press and social media have both been monumental publishing mediums in their own era, which have each impacted greatly on social relationships. Whilst the impacts of the printing press have been relatively straightforward to identify and measure, with impacts such as an increased literacy rate, a new platform to communicate on and a medium that allows the working class to be both empowered and informed. The impact that social media has on social relationships is more complex. Whilst it is clear that this publishing medium has similar positive impacts to the printing press, just on a much larger scale, for example the ability to give minorities a voice in order to communicate with their peers on whatever level, social networking sites can also be seen to have negative impacts on social relationships. This can be seen, for example, through the suggestion that it has resulted in increased numbers of cyber bullying and a decreasing amount of attention set aside solely for social relationships.

References
Bauwens, M, January 2011, Ten Theses About Global Commons Movement, WordPress, accessed 20 May 2011, http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/ten-theses-about-global-commons-movement/2011/01/05

Bollier, M, 2002, Reclaiming the commons, Boston Review, accessed 7 June 2011, http://bostonreview.net/BR27.3/bollier.html

Boyd, D, 2009, “Social media is here to stay… now what”, accessed 5 June 2011, http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/MSRTechFest2009.html

Butler, C, 2007, The invention of the printing press and its effects, flowofhistory.com, accessed 6 June 2011, http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west/11/FC74

Couldry and McCarthy, ‘ The Doubling of place: Electronic media, time-space arrangements and social relationships’ in Media Space: Place, Scale and Culture in a media age, Rutledge, 2004, p. 21-34

Curtis, G in Brockman, J (ed), 2000, The greatest inventions of the past 2,000 years, Simon & Schuster, New York.

Doyle, A, 2011, Social Media- Social Media Definition, About.com, accessed 30 May 2011,http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/g/socialmedia.htm

Erard, M, 2009, A short manifesto of the future of Attention, Design Observer, accessed 7 June 2011,http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=10297

Hertzberg, H in Brockman, J (ed), 2000, The greatest inventions of the past 2,000 years, Simon & Schuster, New York.

Jenkins, H, November 2010, Confessions of an aca-fan, the official weblog of Henry Jenkins, accessed 15 May 2011, http://henryjenkins.org/2010/11/multitasking_and_continuous_pa.html

Kirkpatrick, D, April 2011, blogspot, accessed 20 May 2011,http://newmedianarrativesonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/publishing-and-social-relationships.html

Manor, D, 2010, Can social media be held accountable for cyber- bullying?, Social Times, accessed 30 May 2011, http://socialtimes.com/social-media-cyberbullying_b9615

Van Grove, J, 2010, Dalai Lama used Twitter to circumvent Chinese Government, Mashable Inc, accessed 7 June 2011, http://mashable.com/2010/05/21/dalai-lama-twitter-chat/

Wikepedia, 2011, Printing press, Wikepedia Inc,accessed 20 May 2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press

Image references
Gutenbergs printing press: http://romantree.blogspot.com/2011/05/gutenberg.html
Gutenberg bible:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gutenberg_Bible,_Lenox_Copy,_New_York_Public_Library,_2009._Pic_01.jpg
Social media landscape:http://www.fredcavazza.net/2008/06/09/social-media-landscape/
Facebook groups: ( Own image)
Cyber bullying:http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/cyber-bullying-goes-unchecked/story-fn6t2xlc-1225969438923