Bridging the Great (Digital) Divide

This week in class, we had the interesting discussion on the digital divide.  Many of the articles discussed brought up many different methods to "digital divide." However, all of these articles seemed to define the divide differently.  I think that until we truly understand the entirety of this divide, the problem can not be solved in its entirety.

The Divide Exists on Many Levels

According to the video clip, Rheingold states that the divide is becoming less and less a hardware issue, but an issue of use of that hardware.  While I do think this is a valid point, I also believe that the hardware part of the issue still exists... and its a larger problem than many make it out to be.

I believe that to tackle this problem in it's entirety, high-speed internet access must be made completely available to anyone who desires it.  It can't be forced upon anyone.  However, as seen in the rural and urban divide videos, not everyone who currently desires high speed internet access currently has access to it.

Once this is accomplished, then the issue becomes similar to what Rheingold describes in his video.  I don't know of a perfect solution to this yet, other than time, experience, and training.  The coming years will show if this divide closes or not.

Credibility vs Advertising

Sadly, many celebrities are giving into the financial pressure of accepting payments for plugging products through social media devices. Companies have recently been seeking out celebrities with large followings online to advertise their products. I find this particularly annoying and it ruins celebrity's credibility.

I feel that the plugging of products in social media is extremely contrived. I have a difficult time believing that the online followers of the celebrities truly believe that they are promoting these items as a result of personal satisfaction with them. I have to remind my self that I may not be the target audience.

Zhuo's article brought up many arguments showing the problems with abusing one's "anonymous" status on the internet.  He showed how the phenomenon of the "internet troll" has become a problem in certain online communities and claims that were the internet less anonymous, these problems would not exist.  Zhuo is also a product design manager for Facebook.  His connection with Facebook proves that there may be a slight bias to the article.

In my opinion, removing the anonymous factor from the internet would cause exponentially more issues than in it's current anonymous state.  Right now, people who are unable to always voice their opinion in real life can voice it online.  They can also connect with others who share similar thoughts and values. Forcing identity online would decrease the it's use and usability.  We must continue to search for other methods of dealing with the "anonymous" problems, rather than getting rid of it all-together,

A Revolution of Change

During the first portion of this past week's readings, the Gladwell article on social revolution and social media was brought into light.  Gladwell use the 1960's era civil rights revolution as a lens to compare all current and future revolutions.  He clearly believes that a "true social revolution" can not occur via social netoworking, as some described with the Iran political uprisings.

However, I think Gladwell, and his critics, fail to recognize that social revolution and the way people participate in them has changed.

The use of twitter, facebook, and other social media devices has greatly increased the number of participants in these movements.  However, it has also created a larger variance in the degree of one's participation.  One no longer has to plan a "sit-in" or other form of peaceful protest in order to accomplish significant tasks on the social and political battlefield.  These social media devices are merely tools that help the cause.  This benefits of these tools will be seen today and into the future.