Clay Shirky: End of audience

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?

• The network connects us to other people
• provides a great source of information
• it can be used for campaigning and political action
• to draw attention to abuses and fight for human rights
• great place for gaming and education, which can also be used to make a lot of money (for a few people) 
• a place where you can meet your friends.

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

• A lot of bullying and abuse takes place there.
• There’s pornography that you don’t want to see, and illegal images of child abuse that you might come across.
• Extremists and radicals can use the network to try to influence people  to join their cause, and fraud, scams, rip-offs and malicious software are everywhere. 
• Then there’s the dark web, made up of websites and online services accessed via specialised browsers and tools that make it very hard to identify who is using them, which is used
• to sell drugs and for other illegal activity.

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

If we want an open society based around principles of equality of opportunity, social justice and free

expression, we need to build it on technologies which are themselves ‘open’, and that this is the only way to encourage a diverse online culture that allows all voices to be heard.

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

So here’s the challenge I want to leave you with:

• What could the internet do for you and your friends, and what could you make it do? We journalists describe the world, but you have the opportunity to shape it; and a connected world that runs on the internet is a great tool if you know how to use it.
• 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?
In my opinion, the internet has many benefits, however it has a lot of negative impact on the younger generation; has become highly addicting. The internet has no regulation and should be more controlled. 

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?

A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that re-quires some sort of specialization. Most professions exist because there is a scarce resource that requires ongoing management: librarians are responsible for organizing books on the shelves, newspaper executives are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page.

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

The Web didn't introduce a new competitor into the old ecosystem, as USA Today had done. The Web created a new ecosystem. The future presented by the internet is the mass amateurization of publishing and a switch from "Why publish this ?" to "Why not?".

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

Shortly after his re-election in 2002 Trent Lott, the senior senator from Mississippi and then majority leader, gave a speech at Strom Thurmond's hundredth birthday party. At Thurmond's hundredth birthday party Lott remembered and praised Thurmond's presidential campaign of fifty years earlier and recalled Mississippi's support for it: "I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

Lots of consumers have sophisticated cameras built into their smartphones and cheap apps which enable you to filter and crop their pictures. Social media channels provide a platform for you distribute your content. We have the technology to compete with the professional media producers.

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’?

Being able to see this one idea in multiple places and used by thousands of peoples compared to a few professional verdicts is more reliable for consumers as there is more proof of the internet and many comments under it to support it.

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?

The advanced technology helps us to connect with other people bringing more access to information, productivity and is very time saving. It is seen as a revolution through the new updates on how we comment, share or even like a strangers post from across the world, he also mentions the dangers of this from simple things to frauds to getting detached from reality as we are constantly checking devices.

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

The consumers becoming publishers or even journalists points to the revolution of technology letting people to converse with others and share their thoughts many-to-many whilst being globally accessible. This is seen as important as anyone can write online instead of getting a job as a publisher through the hard way.

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?

There would be a loss of professional control when it comes to print as the internet taking over has taken the job. Evidence for the 'intellectual and political chaos' is shown by the video blogger Josh Wolf who refused to hand over video of a 2005 demonstration he observed in San Francisco causing him to go to jail.

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

Its a type of ability given to amateurs who now are able to use it in there daily lives.

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?

In my opinion, I agree to Clay Shirky's ideas on the ‘End of audience’ as people are no longer simply passive consumers. They are both consumers and producers of information. This is the era of mass amateurisation as nowadays, audiences can play the role of producers and create their own content, the same way as popular social media influencers (user generated content). This is positive as people can now make their own content from their smart devices instead of buying cameras etc. This can be negative as many people could start buying their followers?