Blog #6: Henry Jenkins' Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

I have read the book entitled Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, by Henry Jenkins, multiple times throughout my college career. The interesting thing about his book overall, is how the patterns, insights, and predictions seem to arrise in almost every subject. Reading the introduction this time and considering what David Weinberger had said in his book, I decided to draw on some important "key points". 


To begin Jenkin's stated:


"Welcome to convergence culture, where old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways."


While Jenkins is simply trying to explain the key concept of his book overall, it is interesting that he brings up the fact that the media producer and consumer the interaction is unpredictable ways. This was also a key point that Weinberger brought up in his book. User content, (or user input, such as tagging or blogging) provides the web with the information and creates knowledge that is accessible for anyone, and can result in a plethora of outcomes. 




"Instead, convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encourages to seek out new information and make connections amount dispersed media content."


I thought this was another key idea, as it connects to Weinberger's point focusing around 'social knowing' and tagging. Since each person 'lumps and splits' differently, we draw connections in different ways. This quote shows how Jenkins' see both finding new information and how each person connects the information in new ways. 


"None of us know everything; each of us knows something; and we can put the pieces together if we pool our resources and combine our skills."


Again this ties in to Weinberger's book, especially when looking at how he describes metadata and data. Jenkins and Weinberger both see and mention the key shift in what is 'useful knowledge' and how all other knowledge, especially in the case of specialty topics, should be left the the consumer's interests. 


"You are now entering convergence culture. It is not a surprise that we are not yet ready to cope with its complexities and contradictions. We need to find ways to negotiate the changes taking place. No one group can set the terms. No one group can control access and participation."


This is closely tied into what Weinberger said about how the control of the information/ knowledge is no longer in the hands of a single authority, but rather the collective society that participates via the internet. No one can 'tag' something, that everyone else has to live with, since we can each add our own input. 




Below are some other key points that I drew from the chapter, and my reasoning for why I felt they are important, though they do not directly relate to Weinberger. 


"It also occurs when people take media in their own hands... When people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved."


I think Jenkins has an extremely important point, that Weinberger did not really talk about, (or at least not in such detail). When considering that users add content and interact with content in this new era of Internet technology, there is a massive potential for a negative outcome by irresponsible people. I believe a key point is that user's generate content, but are also responsible for that content, and on the Internet, this responsibility seems to be lessened, then through other mediums. 




Quoted Ithiel de Sola Pool, MIT political scientist, "... It operates as a constant force for unification but always in dynamic tension with change. . . . There is no immutable law of growing convergence; the process of change is more complicated than that."

What we are now seeing is the hardware diverging while the content converges.

This quote was especially intriguing because it draws on the point that the physical technology is irrelevant; what matters is that content that imerges from the use of the technology. Basically, wether I use my iPhone or a computer, or even a magazine, what is crucial is the way I interact with that content, not how I interact with the technological item. 

Blog #5 Explicit and Implicit

Weinberger, relying on German philosopher Heidegger, says that "the meaning of a particular thing is enabled by the web of implicit meanings we call the world" (170).

First, describe what he means by this. 

Weinberger makes it clear that the implicit meanings are dependent on certain details that are often not stated in the explicit meaning. Though these implicit meanings are not stated, they are just as crucial in the understanding of the explicit meaning. With tagging the implicit meanings can be understood through the ability to tag specific words, that hold the implicit meanings. 

Second, explain how this is relevant to the third order of order. 

This relates to the third order of order because the implicit information similarly depends on how each individual would tag it, or how they would choose to describe the information. 

Third, draw/sketch/photoshop the following: choose a song that is important to you in some way. Draw the implicit web of meanings that make this song important to you. That is, make the implicit explicit. Ask yourself: what would a computer need to know in order to understand the relevance of this song in my life? (yes, a computer)


This is a picture of how I would map out the meaning for the song "Cute without the E (acoustic)" by Taking Back Sunday. The colors I decided to use where intense colors to show a strong emotion that comes with the song.  The guitar is to show that this is the primary instrument that is used in the song, and paint splatters represent the message behind the song. 

Blog #4 Connecting Weinberber, Web 2.0, and Web Squared

Describe the connections you see between Weinberger's ideas thus far and the "What is Web 2.0" and "Web Squared" articles from weeks1&2. Make sure to make specific references to the texts (either by quoting or clearly summarizing key points)

“Control has already changed hands. The new rules of the information jungle are in effect, transforming the landscape in which we work, buy learn, vote, and play” (106). After reading chapter five in Weinberger’s book there is a clear connection between the points the author is making and those of Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle, in What is Web 2.0, and Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On. Some examples I decided were important to bring up that was mentioned in these reading are the following:

Weinberger: “This goes far beyond simply organizing your information so you can find it again. It can change how business works” (96).  

Web 2.0: While a Barnesandnoble.com search is likely to lead with the company's own products, or sponsored results, Amazon always leads with "most popular", a real-time computation based not only on sales but other factors that Amazon insiders call the "flow" around products.

Web Squared: “Data analysis, visualization, and other techniques for seeing patterns in data are going to be an increasingly valuable skillset. Employers take notice.”

It is clear that the key point made in all three publications is that the web is changing the business world in dramatic forms. As more people begin to create, use and manipulate the data that is being stored, the business model is being forced to adapt to the market. Understanding that this is now how the web works can help me become more successful in the business world. 

Weinberger: “Standardization makes it easier to retrieve information: If you know the vocabulary you don’t have to guess…” (90). 

“Tagging grew out of a very personal need” (92).

“This goes far beyond simply organizing your information so you can find it again. It can change how business works” (96).  

I decided these quotes made the point very clear, information is both about how businesses need to change, but it is also about the people that use the web. Regardless of how each individual wants to tag an item, it is important to make sure that information is available at all times. Web 2.0 and Web Squared help build on this point with the following quotes: 

Web 2.0: leverage customer-self service and algorithmic data management to reach out to the entire web, to the edges and not just the center, to the long tail and not just the head.

Web Squared: “It’s also possible to give structure to what appears to be unstructured data by teaching an application how to recognize the connection between the two”

Again, the idea that data management is the key to success in the new realm of Web 2.0, is probably the overall driving point. However, it is interesting that all three publications choose to make the point that the information needs to managed by the masses and not just an individual or a company. From this standpoint, the web is personified and becomes a learning being. Each piece of data helps the web grow, helps link information, and simply connects everything on some level. 

Web 2.0: Hyperlinking is the foundation of the web. As users add new content, and new sites, it is bound in to the structure of the web by other users discovering the content and linking to it.

Weinberger: “The gap between how we access information and how the computer accesses it is at the heart of the revolution in knowledge” (99). 

I felt these last two quotes were crucial to put in my blog entry because they address important points. First, web 2.0 shows that how all information is bound together, which is in accordance to Weinberger’s stance that all information is linked in one way or another, depending on the user of the data. Second, the Weinberger quote, shows that the way we access the information is the key to understanding the change that is taking place in how we organize our knowledge. While Weinberger is referring to Wikipedia, how we can arrange the information in the way we need it to be assembled. I believe it raises a good point in which computers are more capable then humans in allowing for cross connections of large amounts of data. This allows us to simply lump information together, without worrying about the slices, since the computers will learn from a magnitude of input in how it thinks it should be sliced, and even if it guess wrong, computers allow us to add our own entry.  

Blog #3 Organization and Weinberger

Weinberger says, "Reality is multifaceted. There are a lot of ways to slice it. How we choose to slice it up depends on why we're slicing it up." Go back to the thing you described organizing on Tuedsay's blog. How might someone else organize this item? What does how YOU organize it say about what you value and who you are?

As Weinberger explains it: making the decision on how to categorize things, gives the decision maker a great deal of power and authority. When applying this to the different areas of society, it is clear that certain people get this power and authority, and for the most part are in their position because they are skilled at making these choices. However, these decisions could never be the right decision for everyone involved. 

Using my example (see blog #2), it is clear that there is a certain power and authority that I have in deciding how to organize my computer. Someone else wouldn’t be able to make all the choices necessary to organize the files in the best way for me. According to Weinberger, the reason that someone else might organize the file on my computer differently is because each individual views the files differently. While I may put certain files together, other people might want to place those same files in completely different folders. Basically, I have the authority to pick how each file relates to each other, and from this clustering; I have picked a category that I feel represents the two files.

In the end, the way I decided to organize my computer shows which files and categories I think are most important, as evident by the hierarchical set up the folders, the categories I used to compare the files, and how I access these files. Relating back to Weinberger, I have began to question my own order, realizing that simple files, can fit into many categories, regardless of how many times I try to reorganize them. 

Blog #2 Beginning of Weinberger's Book

First, summarize what you see as the key points from the chapters. Second, describe one thing in your life you spend time keeping organized. Describe why the order you choose works for you.

In the first few chapters of David Weinberger’s book, Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, we are introduced to the idea digital order, or the realization that everything is not orderly but rather “miscellaneous”. The prologue displayed a relatively simple example of how shopping at a store is limited to the physical abilities of both the shopper and the actual store. In contrast, the digital age seems to not be limited by any of these physical attributes, and therefore raises a question of how information should be organized, if it needs to be organized at all. 

In the first chapter Weinberger uses the example of iTunes, as it revolutionized the way that music was sold. He suggested that the key factor in Apple’s success was that it organized things, but allowed the user freedom to reorganize, based on their own preferences. However, I believe the most important point that Weinberger raises throughout the beginning of the book, is perfectly summarized when he said: “In the new digital order, all shelving’s are provisional” (31). As he moves forward throughout the second chapter, he begins to raise points about how all organizing, from the alphabet to religion to science, has been a constant attempt to organize large pieces of information into smaller bits or data. 

I believe that the new digital order, will not only allow us to organize everything, but we will be able to organize everything about everything. The metadata is now just as important as the main sign it hangs below. Overall, I interpreted Weinberger’s point, thus far, as being that since we are no longer limited by physical space, the organization of everything will become so linked and categorized that the result will inevitably be disorder.

While this idea seems abstract, it makes me think about some of the things in my life that I keep organized, and one of these things is my computer. I do a large majority of my work on my computer and therefore need it to be organized. This includes my pictures, videos, projects, notes, homework assignments, and applications. If I didn’t keep everything in a correct folder and give each file an accurate name, then the chances of me finding it when I need it get significantly lower. Furthermore, if I didn’t keep my computer organized, I run the risk of deleting something that was very important. The extra time I spend maintaining an organized computer, allows me to be efficient, and successful. 

Blog #1 Web Squared

Describe what you see as the most important idea from this article given your own future professional goals--what can/should you take with you? 

Within the article, Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On, by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle, there are many important ideas that relate directly to my future professional goals. Specifically, my goals include the ability to convey a message, both accurately and efficiently, through the use digital media technology. While the direct relation to a specific career remains unclear, a crucial point that I intend to implement in my professional future is the idea that "data is being collected, presented, and acted upon in real time"(1). Therefore, in order to accurately communicate a message in a professional setting, I need to understand the importance of time as it pertains to data collection. 

As the article stated, "data analysis, visualization, and other techniques for seeing patterns in data are going to be an increasingly valuable skillset"(8). The main idea that data is collected, presented, and acted upon in real time is again demonstrated in the article when the authors stated; "WalMart may not be a Web 2.0 company, but they are without doubt a Web Squared company: one whose operations are so infused with IT, so innately driven by data from their customers, that it provides them immense competitive advantage"(9). This is the most important idea from the article, given my future professional goals.

What is the most exciting web application you've seen in the past year? What is exciting about it?

Netflix.com is the most exciting web application that I have seen in the past year because it has revolutionized how people watch movies. This application enables viewers to stream movies and television shows on your computer, mobile device, and television, without leaving your house. Considering the different mediums through which people can access this web application, I was impressed to find that after testing it on four different devices, the only change was the application’s appearance, not its capabilities. Another convenient feature of this application is its ability to suggest movies that you might like based on a rating system. Just recently the application has even begun to show suggestions based on the genre of movies you’ve previously selected. While this has always been a feature of Netflix, the ability to get instant suggestions based on specific movie suggestions makes this web application unique. These suggestions are based on your personal movie preferences, as well as other people’s choices that appear to have similar movie ratings. This allows the individual to not only find a specific movie, but to discover a wide variety of other movies and television shows.