>>> martedì, gennaio 28, 2003
>>> Elitismo tecnocratico nella blogosfera??? Anne Galloway e Fabio di Freegorifero pensano esista un elitismo tecnocratico nella blogosfera. Esiste un gruppo di bloggatori di serie A che impone strutture e funzionalità dei blog, ad esempio gli RSS, PHP, e i Comments, in virtù del numero di accessi al loro blog, della loro celebrità e soprattutto della loro "anzianità di servizio"; poi il resto dei blogger si deve adeguare, pena l'essere considerato uno scribacchino da 10 visitatori al giorno. La blogosfera italiana ha la sua elite, ma non tecnocratica (Wittgenstein ha forse i comments?
)
Riporto la discussione:
But all of these blogs are located within a larger and longer tradition of blogging - a tradition that is being increasingly dissected both from with-in and from with-out. I won't rattle off a list of links that refer to these debates around the nature and purpose of blogging - suffice to say that issues like what is worth blogging and what isn't (not to mention how items should be blogged) are up for debate.
What immediately strikes me in these discussions is the struggle between culture and sub-culture(s). Let's just say that the infamous "A-List" of bloggers represents blogging culture, and the rest of bloggers constitute the sub-cultures. Now, some sub-cultures will want to ally themselves with the dominant culture - even if that doesn't result in their integration into the dominant culture, it will bring them closer and afford them the power of association. For other reasons, some blogging sub-cultures will try to distinguish themselves in opposition to, and distanced from, the dominant blog culture.
How does this play out? Simple answer: rule-making strategies. Conformity and resistance.
Dominant blogs propose the formal rules, and have the (relative) ability to exclude those that cannot, or do not, follow the rules. Subordinate blogs either conform to the rules (partial inclusion) or try to resist and rearticulate them (from a place of exclusion). In any case, these are struggles between homogeneity (one culture) and heterogeneity (multiple cultures).
After ten years of cyberculture studies we're finally beginning to look at the dystopian qualities of online "community." Few researchers maintain the early utopian visions of online equality - that virtual world which transcends the vulgarities of real life. It has become (somewhat painfully) obvious that the same inequalities that we struggle with in the everyday are equally present in cyberspace - they just take on context-specific qualities.
anne galloway
Always had trouble deciding when one is "stating the obvious" or pointing to "the emperor's new clothes". ;)
Thinking about "rules" what strikes me is how "velvet-rope-creating", conformity-driving consensus also has very strong technological implications when considering Cyberspace.
Think for example about the way most so-called A-list blogs have very rapidly adopted a very similar feature-set, strongly positioned in the high-end of the spectrum.PHP, RSS, Comments etc.
How long before these features become a de-facto barrier to access A-list status?
Or have they already?
I have received emails from people who visit my site and who have made it clear that no RSS feed means less frequent visits, or no visits at all.
Are these signs of (dare I say it) technocratism? I can't help but think (again) that this has also to do with technology silently driving its own values... Fabio Riflettete gente, riflettete. >>> Sarà la tecnologia/tecnocrazia a compiere le grandi scelte dell'umanità? Giorni fa così mi pronunciavo sui rischi per la privacy dell'evoluzione delle tecnologie GPS: "Insomma è chiaro che ogni tecnologia abbia spesso pro e contro, ma un efficace legislatura al riguardo non potrebbe risolvere molti problemi?"
Oggi nientepopodimeno che l'Economist, in un articolo sui cambiamenti sociali e politici che la rete nel suo espandersi porterà, dice: Where social norms fail, clashes over privacy and access to information will end up in the law courts, and new laws will be needed Ma va oltre ed evidenzia l'opinione di coloro, come Mr Lessig, che temono che la tecnocrazia, in combutta con i faccendieri delle grandi imprese della rete, possa rubare all'umanità la propria sovranità sulle grandi scelte future: Some observers think that the future of the internet society will be shaped not by governments but by technological decisions and the companies that take them. Mr Lessig has written two books arguing that “code”, the technical communication protocols of the internet and the structure of the web, is as effective as law in dictating what is possible and what is not. He is especially concerned that large companies which make these decisions to suit their own interests are pre-empting democratic debate. He is also worried about the lobbying power of the large software and entertainment companies when relevant laws are under discussion. Infine riporta una prospettiva più ottimistica dove struttura e sovrastruttura non sono più in un rapporto deterministico unidirezionale: the application of these new technologies will come to reflect the balances which society strikes between freedom and stability, accessibility and privacy, private ownership and public goods, democracy and authority, global and local control. Far from dictating such choices, future versions of the internet will make them more urgent and inescapable. >>> La convergenza mediatica parte da casa. Un'indagine della Parks Associates ci mostra come sia l'utente casalingo per primo a dare l'imprimitur alla svolta della "convergenza mediatica". Si denota come sia esso stesso a connettere i vari stereo, lettore DVD, televisione al PC per godersi nella maniera migliore il flusso di prodotti mediatici, maniera al tempo stesso potenziata e differenziata. E le grandi compagnie non possono che adeguarsi: "We're interested in observing the emergence of entertainment networking, as opposed to a PC-centric network," said Greeson. "Increasingly we're seeing the PC market explore the possibility of combining PC technology with consumer electronics," said Charles Smulders, a PC analyst for Gartner. "These are referred to as hybrid, or crossover products, and their success depends on targeting particular types of users." "We identified these opportunities years ago," said Greeson. "Instead of trying to replace all of these home entertainment pieces, the early market is about bridging these two worlds. How do we combine the PC that I already have in my home and my consumer electronics equipment without having to spend a fortune." >>> I media l'anello debole dell'infrastruttura? Questa è il punto di vista di Randy Atkins; analizzando l'organizzazione odierna dei media, la loro preparazione, la loro capacità di affrontare in tempi brevi situazioni limite, Atkins reputa che gli Stati Uniti d'America debbano avere di che preoccuparsi nel caso di un attacco terroristico di grandi dimensioni. Fra i punti deboli vi è il distacco dei media dalla comunità tecnologica e scientifica l'incompetenza di molti giornalisti. When we think of infrastructure, we usually think of tangible things that bind us together: our water supply, transportation networks, energy pipelines . The media, too, belong in this category. They are the main communication conduit to the public, carrying valuable information from one place to another. The interconnectedness of these modern infrastructure systems allows greater efficiency, but it also creates new vulnerabilities. And the news media may be the weakest link in this system. We need to protect the media as zealously as we protect the electric power grid and nuclear reactors, and not just their printing plants and broadcast towers. Their journalists also need to be armed to work effectively as part of the nation's response to terrorism. And to do that, they need the help of the engineering and science community. The challenge -- for both scientists and journalists -- is to make science, technology and engineering more intriguing; to make it, whether in wartime or not, more a part of popular culture. The media don't take their role -- their responsibility -- seriously enough. They aren't just a business. They are part of this country's infrastructure and times have changed. >>> Etica del link a pagamento Nella prospettiva che in futuro possano crescere numericamente le risorse on-line a pagamento, Steve Outing si chiede se il blogger avrà "licenza di linkaggio" anche verso tali fonti o dovrà limitarsi alle risorse free, senza presupporre alcun privilegio per i suoi lettori. Lo spunto è su E-media Tidbits
