“Good evening, I am Caitlin Bishop reporting for DMS news; tonight’s top story is the uprising of the student movement in Athens and I am writing this story, having never been to Athens, from the comfort of my bedroom in Palm Beach, Australia.”
Although I am not actually reporting on any movement in Athens (I have a blog to write!) the above scenario could be possible. With the extensive social networks that exists over the Internet, the information network that is the Internet and the collective intelligence that these networks create, information and knowledge is accessible and applicable to any budding journalist/writer such as myself.
Collective intelligence is defined as “the results gained from collaboration and the sharing of information, as well as through competition, between many individuals; it is the primary objective of knowledge management.” (http://www.quantum3.co.za/CI%20Glossary.htm)
As new media emerges, partnered with the Web 2.0, an exorbitant amount of information can be shared and consumed through the Internet, thus forming an information network. This technology also allows content consumers to become content creators, and interact with the media in ways never seen before. An inevitable byproduct of these factors is networking; relationships and connections formed between people, or organizations, existing in a digital world.
A network is defined as ‘any interconnected set of points, which could be persons, places, organisations, machines and so on. In communication, interest focuses on the flow of information through the ‘lines’ of a network’ (McQuail, 2010 pp. 564).
For the eager and studious characters studying Digital Media and Society at Bond University the notion of collective intelligence and networking should not be taken lightly. The implications and consequences of these concepts relate heavily to the field of media and communication, while at the same time increasing the importance of these fields in today’s society (Flew, 2008). Yet it is not just the communication/media students that should be pondering, when one considers the extent of Internet penetration, 80% penetration in Australia, and how quickly online-use is growing, soon, those not affected will be few and far between.
Flew (2008) outlines the benefits to organisations of networking, they include (Flew, 2008 pp 81);
- ‘The capacity for collective learning among agents across the network
- Accrual of legitimacy or status for individual agents from being part of a larger network
- Greater ‘adaptiveness’ to unanticipated changes in the wider socio-economic environment
- Minimising forms of vulnerability arising from resource dependency upon others’
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Possibly, Flew (2008) could have elaborated upon these benefits to encompass the individual. For example, as an aspiring journalist who would prefer to make a living freelancing as opposed to working ‘for the man’ the dream is no longer residing on some far away cloud. Instead, through networks such as ‘The Cloud’, as an individual I have greater agency, greater access to learning and information and less need to depend on others, than ever before.
‘Take my autograph now ladies and gentlemen’, through networking and the deployment of collective intelligence aspiring media professionals, in fact all those connected to a network, are faced with endless opportunities to be heard, recognized and possibly make profit from their contributions.
Flew (2008) could have also considered how networking eliminates the tyranny of the individual through interaction and participation. Allowing the knowledge possessed by individuals to be extended into the digital world. This allowance is slowly moving society from an individual to collectivist culture.
Manuel Castells (2005) elaborates on this concept; he argues the industrial revolution was based upon vertically arranged organisations such as churches, armies and hierarchical businesses. During this time networks were more private, local relationships built around a common goal. Extended or obscure networks were unsustainable in the public sphere because there was no way to form and maintain widespread contacts. Because of this a ‘collective intelligence’ could not exist, the intelligence was supplied through the establishments and ‘the masses’ could not contribute to this body of information.
The emergence of digital technology and new media has given networking a ‘backbone’ (Castells, 2005 pp. 4) to retain the flexible, adaptive and decentralized nature of the network while providing the means to establish and develop connections. Such diverse connections will, in turn, further enhance the network. This cycle is leading to a ‘network society’ where the amount of people connected directly relates to the value of the network; as more people contribute the collective intelligence increases.
The origins of the network society include ‘information becoming the raw material of economic activity’ and ‘the pervasive effects of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) through all realms of human social activity,’ (Manuel in Flew, 2008 pp 88).
As is obvious, the vertical and individualist nature of the industrial economy is slowly becoming redundant; an economy built through networking demands a a flatter power structure and a collective resource of intelligence.
Furthermore, because there are no pre-determined rules or regulations involved, a network revolves around a set of behaviours or values. (Flew, 2008). This means the rigidness of hierarchical organizations has to be eliminated or they simply will not survive in today’s economy (Flew, 2008).
Consequently and thankfully, I do not have to suffer being called into the boss’s office on the first day of a journalism cadetship to be told to collect coffees or cover the small-time-celebrity watch before I develop the ‘legitimacy’ to be published, or gain access to report the important stories. Instead, because of the flexibility of networking and opportunities supplied by new technology, I can easily access information privately and my work can be recognized or published digitally without me having set foot in the boss’s office.
Furthermore I can use networks to connect with people across the world. If I want to interview a student in Athens, I will be able to do so through a social network, if I wish to view an ‘everyday perspective’ as opposed to one condoned through governments or institutions I can do so through blogs and finally I can contribute to, and interact with, this ocean of information using my own ICT devices that converge between each other. National borders and time, space or physical limitations no longer apply and the worlds ‘collective intelligence’ continues to be reinforced.
What is startling is that I can do all this and I have not yet graduated. The power has shifted, from media establishments controlling the information available to the public, to consumers not only accessing but producing this information. This phenomenon will further increase as the network society takes over; the increasing number of people connected will increase the value of collective intelligence.
The potential power this holds is unbelievable; an example can be seen in the uprising in Libya. An entire regime was overthrown using social media and networking. Everyday people from around the world connected through the Internet supporting each other and informing each other to make a change to society and the world.
And now, at the completion of my blog, I could write a news story, or feature, regarding events occurring on the other side of the world. Using networks offered over the Internet while dipping into the ‘collective intelligence bucket’ of information and knowledge I have the means to inform my own eventual and inevitable contribution to the same bucket.
Resources:
Flew, T. (2008). New Media, An Introduction. (3rd ed.). Victoria: Oxford University Press.
McQuail, D. (2010). Mass Communication Theory. (6th ed.). London: Sage Publications.
Castells, M. (2005). The Network Society, From Knowledge to Policy. Washington: Centre for Transatlantic Relations.
Minwatts Marketing Group. (2011). Internet World Stats. Retrieved October, 26, from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
Libyanym (Producer). (2011, October 21). ITV: Role of Social Media in the Libyan Revolution-London Celebrates Capture and Death of Gaddafi. [Youtube Video]. Accessed via: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW1RPNjeKZY
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