Assigned Readings for July 15, 2008

Metaforas; Circuit

This article was fairly interesting in its analysis of the growth of human networking, although I did find the beginning fairly confusing and aimless in just defining circuits without forming the central focus. It feels strange to take a step back and realize that all of these advents in communications technology are extremely recent in human history – we are among the first generations who truly live in an interconnected world, not purely by commerce or politics but now in all forms of interaction. As the article points out, we once had a relatively minuscule number of photographers creating ‘professional’ content with the entire rest of human civilization; with the rise of the internet and the creation of easy to use plug-and-play cameras with accompanying easy to use hosting sites, even a fledgling child photographer can share what he or she sees with the rest of the world.

I also found it interesting that the article established that economic development does not always mirror technological development – even with the creation of all of this spectacular technology, many do not have access to clean water, education, shelter or aid.

Questions:

1. Do you feel that technological development should have been placed on a back burner until greater global socioeconomic concerns are addressed?

2. Do you feel that the advances in communications technology could aid underdeveloped and struggling countries find the aid they desperately need?

Metaforas; World Brain

This article details the growing development of a collective repository of knowledge, compiled from the endless and ever changing supply and demand of information on the internet. Special attention is given to the subject of collections, which is especially interesting given that, as the article states, human beings are strange in their desire to collect things for social reasons.

Questions:
1. Is the idea of a growing collective consciousness innately good? Are there potential downsides to this open and free exchange of information?

2. If human beings truly are attaching the same meaning to online collections and entities that they do to those in the physical world, what changes would you expect to see in, say, online human interaction and in intellectual property laws? Will online relationships ever become as important as ‘real’ relationships? Are they already?

Here I Am Taking My Own Picture

This New York Times article by Alex Williams discusses the rise in popularity of self-taken photographs, especially on social networking sites. With cameras cheaper than ever before, new hardware and software that remove the need of the dark room, and the overwhelming success of cellphones it is amazingly easy to take photos of everything you see. Rather than using existing photographs, users are instead generating their own content specifically for personal use in forming an online identity.

Questions:

1. Do you agree that this self-taken picture phenomenon is a positive expression of self-esteem or ego? Do you find it more likely that teens are taking photographs of themselves because ‘each person takes better pictures of themselves than anyone else can because they know their own bodies, they know their own minds’ or do you think the refusal to use an already taken photo is an expression of self-doubt and a desire to mediate exactly what flaws are present and what features are seen?

2. Is this the result in a change in ideology and perspective among teens? Or merely the natural consequence of the rising availability of cameras, which are now cheaper than ever, extremely easy to process due to computer software, and packaged with cellphones?

3. The article touches on, but does not stress, the difference between using photography as art and using photography as purely a means of communication. Do you think that the ‘professional’ techniques and attention to mood and tone mean that the youth today are more in touch with artistic expression? Do users take photographs as a cry for attention, a form of self-expression, neither or both?