Clay Shirky: End of audience

 1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson?

He realised that we had access to a way to talk to hundreds of thousands of other computer users around the world. That’s possible because the internet lets any two connected computers exchange data

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

It but is also makes it next to impossible to stop spam, abuse or the trading of images of child abuse.

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

Digital information is very hard to control in an open world, because it arrives in a form that allows it to be manipulated by its recipient. When you listen to the radio or record a TV programme, all you can easily do with the result is listen or watch again.

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

He says In some respects, today’s internet is a vast, unregulated, worldwide experiment in openness. It is already having significant impact because of the largely unanticipated consequences of the global adoption of a set of technologies that were built around an assumption of openness without any real concern for the broader implications.

5) Where do you stand on the use and regulation of the internet? Should there be more control or more openness? Why?

There should be more openness throughout the internet and media but it need to be regulated better by conglomerate companies in order to stop the current problems

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?

There was a kind of narcissistic bias in the profes-sion; the only threats they tended to take seriously were from other professional media outlets, whether newspapers, TV, or radio stations.

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

Television and radio obviously changed the landscape in which the newspaper operated, but even then printed news had a monopoly on the written word-until the Web came along. The Web didn't introduce a new competitor into the old ecosystem, as USA Today had done. The Web created a new ecosystem.

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

This isn't to say that they intentionally ignored it or even actively suppressed it; several reporters from national news media heard Lott speak, but his remark simply didn't fit the standard template of news.

4) What is ‘mass amateurisation’?

Mass amateurization takes place when entry barriers to a profession are removed or lowered.

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’?

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?

Clay Shirky highlighted how digital technologies have impacted traditional media and journalism, affecting the industry's business models and practises. 

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

He means that everyone who is subject to media should be able to have there own opinion on the media they consume it also means they can publish there own media and opinion at any given time.

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?

Shirky stated that over the last century, the press facilitated the widespread dissemination of information and ideas, resulting in enormous social and cultural transformations. 

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

Photography equipment is now widely available and reasonably priced because to the development of digital cameras and smartphones. Nowadays, almost everybody can own a device that can take high-quality pictures.

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? 

According to Shirky, the traditional concept of audiences, in which individuals consume media without actively engaging. Individuals now have the ability to actively connect with and even create their own content, thanks to the growth of the internet and social media.