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In reading Clay Shirky's book, Here Comes Everybody (Penguin, 2008), I was struck by the concept of "publish, then filter" (chapter 4). Now that so many of us have access to sites like Blogger, we can all just throw our thoughts out there for anyone to read. And it creates new challenges, like shifting our concept of public vs. private.
As Shirky points out, "we're so unused to seeing written material in public that isn't intended for us" that we often fail to realize that much of what we might find online wasn't written with us in mind, and its author may not care that we don't understand it (85).
What's more, the blurring distinction between public and private that comes with online communication can be disconcerting:
"The real world affords us many ways of keeping public, private, and secret utterances separate from one another...things you say in the real world are heard only by the people you are talking to and only while you are talking to them. Online, by contrast, the default mode for many forms of communication is instant, global, and nearly permanent" (89).
It's a little intimidating for someone like me. I feel much more vulnerable publishing my thoughts and reflections and partially-developed ideas in a blog than I would in a conversation with friends or acquaintances or colleagues in person.
But there are also great rewards, like the discussion fostered when others respond with their own reflections and partially-developed ideas. Online (here, on Facebook, or elsewhere) I can hear from people I wouldn't encounter in person, so the spectrum of ideas I can encounter is much broader. And if we "publish, then filter," I guess that means I can always go back to revise, delete, or expand whatever I publish.
2 comments:
And to take the public-private thougth farther...why do some people write abotu things in public that maybe should remain private? I am reminded about how culture has defined what is "proper" is and refer to our class comments about sharing medical concerns. I'm not sure I really need to know what someone is doing every moment of every day, but then if that person writng a tweet happens to be one of my three adult chidlren, living elsewhere in the state, then I might just appreciate hearing more details about their day. I just don't think everyone else needs to know quite that much about a casual acquaintance. O well, where will those "proper"lines be drawn 10 years from now??
I really liked this post, go figure. I have the right to publish and filter later??? That should make you laugh. As I have roved around the blogging world this past month I have found many out there just like myself. Someone who should just keep their thoughts to themselves. In other words filter, filter, edit, and filter again prior to posting. But that is not what this blogging world is about. Or is it? It seems to be a place to put a thought out there and see what happens and then rethink and maybe post again. I kind of like this world, but is this world liking me? The meat of my reply is that so much is taken out of context that I am now rethinking the idea of the contextual church going to live streaming. Once I get the two services posted I am awaiting your thoughts on what I had to say, and yes I am working on it along with the others from church.
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