Of all the topics discussed in Rheingold's essay, Smart Mob, the one particular thing that calls my interest the most is the ability of cyberspace to connect hundreds of individuals with one click of the mouse. The idea of having the ease of sending out messages to entire cities via text messages is still an astonishing thought. How simple a thing it is to type in such little words that in the end, have a major impact on a country and it's political/economic/social future.
With this one example, one can see the beginning shape of how the use of this technology is a very powerful thing.
But with one thing that might bring forward a positive response, there's also a chance of SMS being used in the negative. SMS is in the hands of the user. They have the power of what could be transmitted over thousands of miles. Anyone could end a relationship, dish out harsh words about a co-worker, use it to talk to friends who are pratically two seats away from you, but you rather text because it's quite rude to talk while the professor is teaching, or maybe the person will use their SMS to alert members of their group when to strike down upon sensitive buildings/bridges/tunnels, etc to bring fear to an entire nation.
SMS is a very useful tool. We could all get our point across in as little words as possible and get the message to as many people as we choose. SMS is taking our everyday 'normal' speech and converting it to little shortcuts that are sometimes undecipherable. With this technology, perhaps the future of writing will become symbols, acronyms, and shorthand. Gosh, this is the place where whatever takes us to point A to point B the quickest is the best route and makes the person the happiest. Will the further development of SMS make the formal languages we currently speak cease to exist?
posted by Nadia at 7:19 PM
3 Comments:
I liked the ur dumped article so much I followed the links to the NPR discussion (YFS. MYOB. ;-p… w2bai) about text messaging and relationships - and fear and strangers, which seem to be recurring elements in our discussions about the internet
At the same time -- the internet seems to be about being able to communicate with those strangers which we wouldn't otherwise communicate with
"Like, it’s so much easier to talk without embarrassing yourself cause it’s not face to face, it’s not even voice to voice, it’s text to text." (from the NPR inverview)
So it seems people do and don't want to have more contact with "strangers" -- and the internet is a vehicle for both.
So what does this have to do with Rheingold? The swarm effect? The crowd as medium? Text buddy networks which connect "strangers"? ???
This is not a finished thought here.
7:50 PM
And I think your paraphrased mission statement is brilliant. {:-D
7:51 PM
Thank you!!
So it seems people do and don't want to have more contact with "strangers" -- and the internet is a vehicle for both.
I like to have contact with strangers - but only to a certain extent. I wouldn't share indepth personal issues with someone online, but I'll go all gaga with them discussing how cute Orlando Bloom is.
So what does this have to do with Rheingold? The swarm effect? The crowd as medium? Text buddy networks which connect "strangers"? ????
I guess I was trying to connect it with the theory of the 'netwar'. How some could use the improving technology to their liking. And the swarming effect, that used technology to attract people to one specific spot like what happened in the Philippines.
3:00 PM
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