Confronting Participation

Jenkins book is just as described in the introduction, it is a fun read. The convergence of the world's culture is now inevitable, with social media as prevalent as it is and drawing the interest of so many. I was surprised to find out that 60% of the American population actually actively participates in the social media networks. I suppose that because most of my immediate friends are as ancient as I am, and they don't trust social networks, that I would be the same as they are if not for the fact that I work at this university and am around much younger people all the time. There in lays the fundamental of why the convergence of culture is inevitable. Older people who have lived through things like the cold war and institutionalised racism are still very nervous about releasing information about themselves to too many people. They fear how that information might be used. Younger people just don't have those fears, but possibly to their own detriment? We have seen how Internet "sexting" has caused such an uproar in society among those who have teen children. We have seen politicians careers totally ruined by Internet photos, and athletes character and reason brought into question because of random tweets. The convergence of culture has outdistanced the necessary social education that should teach proper social etiquette and personal security. Again here I go being old, but I have to say that I don't like to read some blogs or comments when, say, profanity is included. Not that I am too terribly against profanity, but I tend to dismiss comments as coming from an unintelligent source when the point can't be made without using foul words. Yeah, to most people that's just a small thing, but it is one of the things that I have difficulty with in dealing with too much participation in every conversation. There is an old saying the "opinions are like a**holes; every body's got one". Now just because everybody has an opinion does not mean that everyone's opinion is relevant. Maybe that is why I consider things like tweeting unnecessary. I am an expert at what I do, and I don't need a lot of opinions from people who are not experts. That is not to say that i don't learn something new every day, and from people who are not experts at what I do, but nine times out of ten these opinions are irrelevant. The idea of collective intelligence is still a very good idea. Wikipedia is becoming more trustworthy as the old standards of fact checks and balances are becoming more refined. Again, the convergence of old and new culture. Over the course of this class, I have heard some very interesting things about how the world is dealing with the new new media. I have learned that it takes skill and perseverance to make it in the world of Anderson's "The Long Tail". I have learned that many people waste a lot of time on very shallow projects like "spoiling" reality shows. I cannot imagine that mentality of that sort of behavior. I guess I don't consider things that have no hand in my survival worth that much of my time. Now for those true fans who can make a living off such endeavours, I say good for you. Everybody else that does it without financial purpose is just a sucker. I have also learned that it takes more than a notion to be really good at using the social media. It is not for the weak or stupid. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning these new ways.