Khan is expressing that our technolculture has shifted its focus from merely “web-browsing” to active web browsing. You can see a ton of examples when sites are used to help with natural disasters. When an earthquake in Haiti on September 30th,2009 killed thousands and left hundreds trapped under rubble, companies and others began making blogs/websites to help the situation. Because the technologies we have promoted self-journalism, it gives us the chance to better record ourselves and impact others. We cant go to Haiti or have any real effect on what the government was doing about it but through the use of the internet we had an outlet for the “Peoples” ideas. Kahn states, “The Internet thus a contested terrain, used by left, right and center both dominate cultures and subcultures to promote their agendas and interests” (633). We can say what ever we want and on the web, in some ways, we are self-governed. Theirs obviously places we can’t go inside of the Internet but we generally get to do what we want. One self-governed example would be the online community 4-chan. Mostly known for there programming tricks and moding interests, they set out on a quest to filter youtube with embedded porn (which they dubbed, “pornday), after they herd youtube was shutting down one of the most subscribed to, “youtubers” channel. This happens all the time on the web. With internet savy any body can promote or de-promote what ever they want in internet cultural –politics. (http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/4chan-members-declare-porn-day-attack-youtube) Full story
It really shows as a culture that, when given the opportunity to have some power, we usually focus it. Political activism through the use of digital technology has become huge and has filtered into the realm of the mainstream media. It’s pretty easy to spot when Good Morning America and CNN sign off with something like, “ and check are twitter feed and facebook for more information” and even in the tri-cities when see the local Benton county candidates with social networking emblems on their posters. The Internet is kind of like the Guttenberg press, its revolutionizing the way people can conceive and distribute information across the planet.
I feel that our culture is profoundly changing for the better through the use of internet activism. Gotta love digital marching! Great blog!
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog it is always kind of shocking to me how sites like twitter and facebook go from being virtually unknown to literally a part of everday life over the course of a few years.
ReplyDeleteFully agree with the above statement about political activism through digital technology is changing the mainstream media. For one, yes, social networking is definitely having an impact, whether it be from following "Good Morning . . ." on Twitter, or just the fact that mainstream news sources now rely on "microblogging" and such for late-breaking news. Yesterday there was an earthquake in SoCal. Where did I hear about it first? Not the news, but from Lavar Burton's Twitter feed. That's right, I follow the "Reading Rainbow" guy.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think that at the relative ease in which "news" and opinions can be reported and published on the Web is and has changed what gets reported on by the mainstream media. I don't rely on TV or Newspapers at all for my news. A lot of what can be found on the Internet is better reporting, that is less sensationalistic (in some cases) than that being reported on for ratings on national television, and most of these "Internet" reporters aren't even considered professional "journalists," though I would argue that most of the mainstream media aren't really journalists either.
Enough of my rant. Good blog Jimmy D.!