INFORMATION ECOLOGIES
The combination of going through this module, and eventually what my assignment turned out to be, has been quite an eye opener. I have now completed my assignment, and am now re-reading the notes of Module 5 for my log and it makes much more sense this time around. That is, I initially went through all the readings etc. for module 5 and at the end thought – hmmmm. Almost like ‘so what’! So then I turned my attention to assessment 3. As it turned out, (more to do with what came across my path in research, and my analysis of how it all bonded together than a firm idea from the outset), the main argument of my assignment was that internet skills and knowledge is as much about communication as it is performing (technical) tasks. How well that idea now fits into module 5’s topic of information ecologies! ….I’ve finally learnt the art of subliminal learning there somewhere! :) (perhaps not)
Nonetheless, having completed my assignment on similar ideas, instead of being some ‘boring theory’ I can now instead more fully appreciate the readings of this topic. In fact my thinking now has completely ‘turned on its head’. Consider my comment posted under Weblog as my 'Learning Log', in which I recorded:
One of the reasons I was interested in NET11 is that it would expose me to
elements of the web that I'd not looked into before...
Obviously at that time I was considering only practical skills of using the Web, and how I might increase my efficiency of using the Internet, and the tools (pc, software etc) that make it work. Now though, whilst I have learnt some practical skills throughout the unit, I’ve learnt more about communication concepts. So much so in fact, I wonder why NET11 is not listed amongst ‘communication studies’.
(Well I guess it is considered a ‘social’ science which is almost one and the same.)
Indeed, as we are all social and communicative beings, having increased my communication competence, has also increased the knowledge of myself. To communicate better requires one to reflect upon themselves (like Concept 4 ‘Reflective Communicative Practice’) suggests (1). And as my assessment three detailed, a conceptual approach acts as the catalyst to developing such a path of learning.
This topic introduces the concept of the Internet as an information ecology. And the module 5 notes present Nardi & O’day’s definition that information ecologies are more about human activities than they are technology (2).
How might the metaphor of an ‘ecology’ impact on the way you think about, understand or use the internet?
To answer this question it is useful to consider the iLecture for this module. A metaphor is simply a symbol used to describe something. An ecology invokes an idea of where something originated from, and how it grows and develops etc (3). Needless to say, an ecology gives a perception of the existence of a system (of growth and development). For example, the commonly used phrase, the eco –system. Hence, the Internet as an ecology suggests that one’s participation/learning/use of (and even the Internet itself), is a system. Therefore it must be more than just technical in nature.
How are the concepts ‘information’ and ‘communication’ understood within the framework of an ‘information ecology’?
An information ecology, in a nut-shell, is where people, help others use technology (3). Concept 3 ‘Effective Internet communication combines technical and communicative competence’ (1). Merging these two ideas; information could be considered to be the practical knowledge that operates within the ecology. However, for it to be a true ecology – a system which continually evolves, communicative competence is also required to keep the system going effectively. Like random selection in nature, communication allows for the selection of information that continually moves the ecology forward.
Why don’t we talk of a ‘communication ecology’?
I think the above question has answered this. Just as technology is never just technical in nature – it has a social component (3). In the same light, an (information) ecology is never only one dimensional; it has elements of both communication and information. In other words, community (from communication) is perceived as limited when considering attributes of diversity and evolution (3). To an ecology, these attributes are paramount, and therefore there is a conflict in understanding to combine ecology (as a metaphor) with communication.
Consider also Concept 15 ‘Metaphors of use and communication differentiation’. Advanced users, in using metaphors to describe online dynamics, must be careful to remember that the Internet is unique, and so metaphors really only help in suggesting how the development of the internet is similar, not actually how it is (1).
PEER-TO-PEER
Apart from a vague recollection of the Napster ‘debacle’, I’ve never really looked into or fully understood P2P. Now that I have completed these readings I have a better understanding of the idea. Furthermore, I fully appreciate the ‘new’ developing technologies. This is interesting to compare with Concept 25 ‘Identity and Location’ (1). This new technology obviously recognises the existence of the technical systems that make up the Internet, but they also recognise the persistent creation of new identities online which when brought together with P2P create exciting possibilities.
PREPARING FOR 'FUTURE SHOCK'
You may be happy to know that, albeit reluctantly, I do take this onboard. That is, ‘off-the-cuff’ I have no interest in predicting how the internet might develop in the future. The idea seems a little ‘fantastical’ – one could make up all sorts of ideas just like the suggested just-for-fun-link does. Nonetheless, I now also appreciate the ‘other side of the coin’ and acknowledge that now, considering myself on the journey of being an advanced internet user (as I suspect one never is, or ‘arrives’ to be such), then I need to consider its likely direction and consequent impacts. I guess here Concept 33 ‘Information and attention’ resounds itself (1). I’ll need to make sure my time is not wasted on the attention grabbing ‘fanciful’ ideologies that may be released, but instead develop an instinctive judgement of actual useful information to keep me up to date.
(#) = See appropriate reference number in Reference List / Bibliography
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