One of the first things that caught my attention when reading Weinberger was the quote "every time you organize matters in one way, you are disordering them in others" (88). From past chapters and the What Is Web 2.0 and Web Squared articles we've read it was understood that going beyond first and second order of order allows a digital organization that places items into multiple places, "hang information from as many branches as possible" (Weinberger, 103).
An aspect of the digital world I'm very interested in is the idea of users working together to create a workable place for each and every single person. The use of tags is a life-saver in many situations when searching for a specific website, picture, or book title. In What Is Web 2.0 O'Reilly discusses Wikipedia and Flickr where each user brings in his knowledge and experience so others can reach specific information. Wikipedia and Flickr are discussed in Everything is Miscellaneous as well, all editors in Wikipedia create hyperlinks to other pages creating a web (or tree) within the website. The use of tags in Flickr (and a majority of other sites) allows for individual labeling of information; as a user you look for specific things that will lead you down a path no other user would have followed.
The section "The Rise of Real Time: A Collective Mind" discusses the use of hash tags in Twitter allowing users to follow a specific channel without the distraction of "useless" information. Weinberger talked about hash tags as well when describing the lists that can be created in Delicious. Using hashtags facilitates the finding of information but once again it allows easier sharing between users of the Internet. I suppose O'Reilly and Batelle summarize it quite well in Web Squared when they write "many people now understand this idea in the sense of 'crowdsourcing,' meaning that a large group of people can create a collective work whose value far exceeds that provided by any of the individual participants" (2).
An aspect of the digital world I'm very interested in is the idea of users working together to create a workable place for each and every single person. The use of tags is a life-saver in many situations when searching for a specific website, picture, or book title. In What Is Web 2.0 O'Reilly discusses Wikipedia and Flickr where each user brings in his knowledge and experience so others can reach specific information. Wikipedia and Flickr are discussed in Everything is Miscellaneous as well, all editors in Wikipedia create hyperlinks to other pages creating a web (or tree) within the website. The use of tags in Flickr (and a majority of other sites) allows for individual labeling of information; as a user you look for specific things that will lead you down a path no other user would have followed.
The section "The Rise of Real Time: A Collective Mind" discusses the use of hash tags in Twitter allowing users to follow a specific channel without the distraction of "useless" information. Weinberger talked about hash tags as well when describing the lists that can be created in Delicious. Using hashtags facilitates the finding of information but once again it allows easier sharing between users of the Internet. I suppose O'Reilly and Batelle summarize it quite well in Web Squared when they write "many people now understand this idea in the sense of 'crowdsourcing,' meaning that a large group of people can create a collective work whose value far exceeds that provided by any of the individual participants" (2).
It is interesting to notice how the collectivity of the web is driving both articles. I have recently come across a image site that does not use multiple tags very well, and searching for a specific image is very frustrating. When you have something like Flickr that users post several tags per picture, it makes it so much easier to find what you are looking for since other people with similar ways of thinking are labeling.
ReplyDeleteI have found... as a new user of twitter, that hash tags can be very helpful, or very very very distracting. Unless you are looking for specific information twitter is just a jumble of text and links. The majority of posts (especially because they are limited to a certain number of characters) are so bland, and the addition of hash tags makes my eyes to confused to care. However hash tags can also make it very quick and easy to find a specific thing... they cn get you straight to the data
ReplyDeleteI agree with the hash tag's balance between useful and confusing characteristics. It took me a while to start liking the very bland look of twitter, I'm not a fan of having to click on a link without quite knowing where it will take me.
ReplyDeleteThe idea about crowdsourcing always reminds me of the saying "the sum is greater than its parts." All the effort different people put into, say, Wikipedia, is only worthwhile because it only takes one person to be correct about something. Everyone here could be completely clueless about Gel Electrophoresis, but as soon as one person says 'I know that' then everyone can say that.
ReplyDeleteI only wonder about how, when it comes to things that are not distinctly falsifiable, we deal with different opinions. Fortunately, Wikipedia deals with facts and does a good job ignoring those things without a basis in reality.
I really like the way you made connections between readings here. You used quotes and summary to support your points, and you used real-life examples to further illustrate your claims. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI too think of tagging and utilizing the collective in a different way after reading Weinberger, Batelle, and O'Reilly. It's just really hard to share the same sentiments with the three though. They see it as this massively revolutionary thing that is changing information forever and permanently. Has there really been such a big change? Is everything really a lot different since the induction of the third order of order? I have a hard time realizing the "So What" of the three authors, I guess.
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