Convergence Culture-Intro

Convergence Culture, Henry Jenkins, starts about by talking about what convergence culture is. Jenkins sums it up to mostly mean the joining of new and old forms of media on all levels. It bears down to participation of user and its final product of content generation. "New media technologies enabled the same content to flow through many different channels and assume many different forms at the point of reception." p. 11

"...we are in an age of media transition, one marked by tactical decisions and unintended consequences, mixed signals and competing interests, and most of all, unclear directions and unpredictable outcomes." Pool 11

"Our lives, relationships, memories, fantasies, desires also flow across media channels." p. 17

As a DTC student and an avid technological participant, I have found this short intro very interesting and particularly well connected. I think that being well connected is the key to understanding technological impact. In the intro by Jenkins, I get the feeling that he is focussing on that without actually just saying that. Being connected to the physical world through technology can often be very difficult. This convergence of new and old is the issue at hand, and I think Jenkins is diving right in to that.

I honestly see very little connection to Weinberger, mostly because I feel like Weinbergers material was outdated and slightly irrelevant due to its simplicity and obviousness. I think Jenkins may touch on similar issues in web organization and digital organization, but I think he will take us down a far more relevant path.

Post 4 for Weinberger

Weinbergers Everything is Miscellaneous is mostly about digital organization for today. It really is dedicated to understanding the different ways in which things can be organized or categorized, whether it be digital or otherwise. For the most part, we learn that organization is far more particular than we may have noticed. It follows a set trend and is actually logical in almost all methods (to a certain point).

This is important because as a DTC major it is important to understand the ways in which the web is being organized and effected by these ideas. While some may think that the web is this relatively unorganized base of knowledge, part of our job as DTC majors is to make this more clear and make it so that people are able to access and understand the ways in which the web works.

Weinberger Final Chapters

Chapter 8

Summary

Chapter 8 Focusses on metadata. It really starts discussing the different meanings associated with being explicit and implicit and how that relates to a new level of organization through technology. The shortening of information to concise metadata forces us to decide what we think is most important and what else can be excluded from out summary.

So What?

The information that Weinberger is talking about is important to us because it shapes the way we develop our skills, both as students and as young professionals. As a new DTC student I am still learning the uses of our studies and find that the understanding of technologies place in our world is what is so very valuable to employers. Being able to translate the ideas that Weinberger is talking about with metadata to a company can be a highly valued trait.

Chapter 9

Summary

What chapter 9 is mostly talking about is new organization across platforms and they way in which they are governed. Weinberger is talking about the levels in which organization exists among the completely open network of the web. I think that he is simply pointing out the idea of group thinking and knowledge among web users.

So what?

The reason I think this is important is because it is shaping not only our generation but the ones to follow us. It is leading to a new wave of thinking. It seems like we are in a transition period right now between new ideas and old foundations that will eventually die and be taken over by what our generation develops as web standards. These standards may or may not be the best but they are important to relate to our work relations and personal relations. So I think it will be extremely important to take the idea of the non governed body of internet work and find a way to make it more powerful and useful than ever.