new public communication
I just got back online after not using the Internet for two days (for our writing assignment), and the first thing I did was check my e-mails and visit my favorite sites. As I was doing these online activities, it struck to me what Quentin Jones said about “online settlement.” To have online settlement, there must be a)a group involved, b)a common space, and c)a minimum level of sustained membership (Lister, et, al, 176). Websites like Best Week Ever and Oh No They Didn’t! have become online settlements or communities. For both sites, there is a group of people who are interested with what’s happening in pop culture – from celebrities to reality shows – and they comment on the posts posted on the Websites everyday. Each of these sites has become like a big community full of interaction where there’s an exchange of ideas and opinions. And it’s not just the groups of people who interact with one another, the moderators and editors of these Websites also take part. It is interesting how most of the members of these Websites do not know each other personally, but when they interact with one another, they are on first-name basis, and there is dialogue. Granted, the names may be their real names or not, but that then goes to another issue where people create a sort of identity online that is similar or very different from their real selves. Going back to my online activities, some of the messages that I got through e-mail were replies from my posts or comments in blogs, and it made me realize that one of the reasons why I check my e-mails is because I need to keep up with the interaction that I have with other people online. We do not always use phones to communicate anymore, especially when communicating in the online world.
The readings for this week also mentions “the development of interactive news services” where the public gets to communicate and interact, not just consume news (Lister, et, al, 177). Take for example the political blogs such as the Daily Kos. These blogs allow the public to post and also comment on other people’s posts. These political blogs are one of the places where the public go to get their news. Reasons for it include being convenient, fast, interactive. Sure there is a problem of authenticity and credibility, but I think that has actually helped the case where the public become their own journalists doing their own research and then deciding whether to believe such news or not. There is also the case of online bullying where comments from people can be hurtful and/or offensive to others. This makes me think whether we should have a code of ethics online or not. It may be hard considering that each Website may want to implement their own rules and whatnot. So what is the best solution?
Another thing is that the Internet as an online community has oftentimes become a unifier for people even when it is just online. But Lister reminds us that the Internet is still a “scarce resource,” so the idea of universality does not exist (Lister, et, al, 180). But could there be a chance in the future where the Internet/online community becomes universal?
