Week 2 Reading

The CBS reality show Survivor, while relatively trivial by itself gave rise to a new form of communication in which fans of the show could come together on the internet and talk/discuss about the show in great detail. Through their collaboration they were even able to figure out what was going to happen in the show before the episode premiered with the creation of online posts known as spoilers. This is due to the fact the online Survivor community became what is known as a collective intelligence. This means that the online community was able to pool their knowledge and skills in order to produce intellectual theories about the show. Each person is able to contribute a piece of information.  They were able to obtain this information in two ways, either because a person contained a certain skill set that allowed them to gain a certain amount of information or they simply were in some way shape or form connected to the show and knew something about it. This highlights the two strengths that an online intellectual community possesses, certain skills some of which are considered professional skills and information. With these two tools in hand the community is able to work together via the internet to uncover and make discoveries about Survivor before the show airs.

This is another example of the Cultural/Informational revolution that is the internet. There is now a community that did not exist before the internet. Through the internet people with the same interests are able to meet within the comforts of their own homes and discuss topics that are important to them, no matter how trivial they may seem to the rest of us.

The creation and development of computers and forms of media have greatly paralleled each other, but only in recent times have they finally intersected. New inventions such as the still camera, live action camera, printing press, radio, and telegraph were all new forms of media that greatly increased the range of words and ideas. The invention of the computer allowed for the compiling of many calculations and pieces of data. With basic graphic programming computers were then able to create visual representations of their calculations. The first example of that was the loom and how the daguerreotype was able of make patterns and shapes effectively and quickly. Soon after computers media and computers merged into one with the incorporation of Daguerre’s daguerreotype, Babbage’s analytical engine, the Lumiere cinematographie and Hollerith’s tabulator. After this sound bites, visuals, and texts where able to be condensed into mathematical formulas that could then be stored and read on the new computing device.

This is the beginning of the transition from media to new media, that is, media that is stored and used on the computer. Because new media is stored on computers it is also much easier to edit and change. Sounds can now be mixed with great accuracy, as well as pictures and visuals photo shopped and changed to give the user  exactly what they want it. After the cultural/informational revolution of the internet new media is now accessible to anyone with a computer. Because of how new media now works, distribution and production is much easier and simpler. New media is essential to the revolution of the internet. Without it there would be no movies to watch, music to download, or pictures to email to your friends. Only time will tell how else it will shape our lives.