Society, Culture and the Internet

Internet is the most potent medium for disseminating information across various audiences around the globe. However, people argue that internet is a source where people can “cherry-pick” facts thereby creating their own “mashed-up” reality. One such argument is made by Andrew Keen, which he refers to as “trivializing” culture.

He alleges that amateurs spread information through blogging, Youtube and Wikipedia which mostly is false and baseless. He loathes the Internet as a medium of free speech simply because it allows self-expression and freedom to convey one’s thoughts anonymously. Keen feels that people who indulge in such activity are irresponsible reporters who are not intellectually sound enough to distribute credible information.

I do not agree with Keen, simply because I feel that facts are often subjective. People, even professionally trained news reporters land up describing an incident based on their preconception, personal and professional bias. It is mostly the common people who interpret that piece of information – right or wrong, god only knows. ;-)

A simple example could be the traditional electronic media’s hype about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or politicians suppressing vital information.

Whenever there is a blast in India, number of dead people are always reported much lesser in number “supposedly” to prevent mass hysteria to settle in. In that regard, internet is neutral as it is equally powerful in displaying facts correctly as it is for disseminating the wrong information.

As far, creation of “ugly” content by non-artists, one is never forced to observe it or comment about it.

The example of user-generated content which is subject to people’s interpretation is the recent and sudden outburst of conspiracy theories and predictions about the future.

 

Predication about World War III:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BJwHJFp9g

Prediction about 2012:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlcPWa6SomE

wORLD wIDE wEB And Me

Hi guys, my name is Vedant and I am a graduate student in Information Science and Technology with concentration in Human-Computer Interaction. As far as I remember the AOL Instant Messenger was launched which got quite popular when I was in 7th grade. I used the web only for chatting with friends and making new friends. 10 years have passed since then and the web has come a long way. As of today, most of my daily activities are carried out on the computer. My work is virtually "paperless" and the web helps me coordinate all that.
Apart from that, I am also working as a Reseach Assistant. My research is about virtual worlds like Second Life and what leads people to personalize the appearence of their avatars.

How do I use internet?

I use the internet for the following:-
1. Keeping up-to-date with e-mails.
2. Doing literature search for my research.
3. Getting information about esoteric stuff, like ancient philosophies.
4. Learning guitar licks.
5. Keeping accounts and online banking statements.
6. Socializing (on the internet)...coz we r in rolla ;-)

Whether its good or not?

I think the web has more positive effects than negative effects.

Since web 2.0 has become a part of our society we don’t see ourselves knocking at our neighbor’s door to say hi the first time we move in, unlike early days when your neighbors also were your best friends. We can see that it is definitely affecting our sense community.
At the same time, we must keep in mind that none of the new technological innovation in the last century or two have arrived without any negative effects.
Web 2.0 has made the computer screen a window into a new dimension. It has changed the way we learn, indulge in entertainment and even the way we socialize.
To emphasize on my point, I can tell you a short story of mine and how web 2.0 helps us in making distant learning a better tool for acquiring knowledge. Recently I was fascinated with a Spanish Gypsy music called Flamenco. This sort of music has absolutely no notation and has been passed on from one generation to another verbally. Hence, in order to learn this form of music, one must travel all the way to Barcelona or Seville, Spain, stay there with flamenco artists and learn; which is not quite practical being a masters’ student in the US. So, one day I just log onto “www.youtube.com” and I find videos of flamenco artists give instructions to playing flamenco online. 2 months have passed and I can now play quite some Flamenco without having to travel half way across the world. Also, the process of learning was expedited because I could do it within my own time and space, no limitations at all.
In case you do not hold the same belief as me, you are welcome to post your argument and I will be more than willing to answer.