Convergence Culture

Jenkins discusses the convergence of media and the culture that is affected by it. He talks about the black box theory and how everyone owns all of these devices. Also how all of these black box devices are being converged in to one "larger" device. One such technology which he discusses at the beginning of the Introduction chapter is the cell phone, how you cannot just buy a single function phone. This reminds me of when I was shopping for phones about a year ago. I did not want a phone with so many functions because I felt like they did not work as well as the single function phone I had when I was sixteen ( six years ago). I was disappointed to find that there were no such thing as I wanted. The phone companies have converged several devices into one in order to match the needs of our the new multitasking society. Culture is moving at a faster pace, so must our technology. Weinberger and Jenkins touch on some of the same things. I think that Weinberger talks a lot about how users of Web 2.0 are creators. I think the same is true for convergence; the consumer is in charge of what devices need to converge in order to function better for their everyday needs.

"Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed."

"Producers who fail to make their peace with this new participatory culture will face declining goodwill and diminished revenues."

"Define media...on the first, a medium is a technology that enables communication; on the second, a medium is a set of associated "protocols" or social and cultural practices that have grown up around that technology."

Final thoughts on Everything is Miscellaneous

In chapter 10 Weinberger is addressing the issue of enriching the third order world. He uses examples of Wikipedia and other such websites that allow users to add information. By adding additional information users are making the internet more tangled and more miscellaneous, but enriching information available by spreading knowledge for everyone to use and see. Weinberger says that "miscellanized information is information without borders." and that. "our knowledge of the world is an understanding that simultaneously assesses the quality and reliability of our understanding." Having the capability to add to and change information is valuable in others acquiring information. We "tease out the implications of what has already been understood" as a group by sharing and creating knowledge on an interface that allows for users to participate. Weinberger's discussion made me think about how important it is for me to spread the knowledge that I know, and how I use information from others on the Web. As a DTC major I think that being conscientious about these topics is important for everyone because knowledge is power, and people today should know the power they have to impact the Web positively.

Coda: Misc.
This portion of the book wraps up the ideas that all the chapters were about...ordering the miscellaneous. Though something may looked completely disorganized, the person behind the scenes probably has a way of doing things and organizing. The web may seem like a complete disastrous mess, but it truly does carry some sort of order.

Blog 3

Chapter 8: What Nothing Says

Metadata metadata metadata....Chapter eight is basically just about metadata, both implicit and explicit and further organizing information. Implicit data helps us to shuffle through information, and life, easier, as a street sign can be seen as a form of implicit data. I like how Weinberger refers to Friendster when talking about metadata in particular I like this quote, "Making explicit is not like moving something from the dark into the light." I think that the analog works well in his explanation.

so what....
What Weinberger discusses in this chapter is very pertinent to what we as DTC majors are learning and doing. Being able to use metadata properly so that it makes sense and others can understand is highly important in our future. We do not want to make some of the dumb mistakes that the Sears hairdryer made, "do not use while sleeping."

Chapter 9: Messiness as a Virtue

This chapter acknowledges the organization as well as the disorganization of information in the digital realm. Because everyone organizes things differently there are a multitude of ways to search for information...leaving somethings hidden and unused. The internet is constantly changing and growing, making the mess bigger and the web more tangled.

so what....
Understanding information and the organization of information is of great importance. I think that in the future I will need to know how to properly comb through the mess of the web as well as add to it in a positive and organized way.