I learned a lot of new ways to view media and it's effect on our society this semester. The three that stuck out were collective intelligence, the long tail of niche cultures, and the increasing possibility of the the average consumer becoming a producer.
I never really thought of Wikipedia in the exact terms of collective intelligence. After completing the Wikipedia project however, I find a new appreciation for these works of collaboration. I also loved how we delved into the world of niche cultures. I realized that this new media age allows for these niches to thrive and grow in ways that weren't possible just a few years ago. The last point is evidenced for all to see on YouTube and countless Blogs. Anyone can be a producer now, creating what they have wanted to see or hear all along.
This class leaves me wondering what will happen to traditional media. Now that we have endless choice, instead of just taking whats spoon fed to us, there's no telling.
MAKE WAY FOR 2.0!!!!
You’re right. I never thought before that Wikipedia is “the” example of collective intelligence, although I’ve used it so many times. All in all, Wikipedia includes really every topic and through the project and the theoretic stuff in the class, we’re now very well educated to write and participate in Wikipedia.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the traditional media as well, but it is interesting that we keep evolving. IT just makes me wonder, what will be next?
ReplyDeleteLearning of the long tail was really interesting to me because I didnt know there was a name for it. I knew things were out there, but I didnt realize how complex our webbed wide world is... :) I am glad we were able to get so much from this class.