Hacking into the truth

The New Yorker’s article ‘No Secrets’ really opened my eyes to the extent Julian Assange has shaped our society. After reading the article I came to the conclusion that Assange is the creator of the e-democracy.  A bold statement I know, but a simple scan through the archives of Wikileaks will uncover an abundance of political and government processes that he has unveiled to the public, that were conveniently ‘hidden’ from the public’s eyes.

Plan B, or ‘collateral murder’ as it is now known is discussed throughout the article. If you haven’t seen it, take a look...

Without sites like Wikileaks, there would be miniscule pressures upon the government to tell us facts from fiction. And more incidents, like the above video, will occur without the public’s knowledge. The age of the e-democracy has increased tensions between government, the military and journalism as the fourth estate.

Without the hacking skills of Assange highlighting the issues that our fourth estate is failing to report, individuals would carry on their daily lives oblivious to the wrong doings of those in power. The extract, ‘Conscience of a Hacker’ used by ted throughout the lecture, for me was a perfect piece of irony for those wanting to eradicate Wkileaks.

The decline of truth and accuracy in journalism today, I believe make it almost ethical for hackers such as Assange to be releasing such important information and knowledge into the public realm.

From a former Twitter sceptic

I too was once a Twitter sceptic, much like Johnson in his article ‘How Twitter Will Change The Way We Live’. When I found out that we had to create a Twitter account for DIGC202 I resentfully created a username and stared blankly at the empty Twitter feed on my computer screen. What could anyone really have to say in 140 characters that would be interesting enough for me to want to follow them and then be inundated with updates from them on a daily basis.

Now, while I’m still not a fanatic Twitter lover, I have seen its benefits and the way it creates and shapes a conversation and creates taste communities where opinions are free to be shared, agreed upon and challenged. And to be perfectly honest, I still get a little bit excited when I get retweeted or replied too. The power of the hash tag on Twitter has shaped the way people communicate and gives users the ability to filter through information that interests them.

I still really don’t care about what the people I’m following had for breakfast; but I have found that #digc202 has given me a new perspective of how I view global networks. It doesn’t take a global meeting to get the world talking about important issues; all it takes is a 140 character post. This post has the ability to enlighten others on a new way of thinking, ignite debate and personally I think makes us all feel like our opinions are valued in such a fast moving world.

Convergence, it’s a pleasure to meet you!

Some may see convergence as the curse of innovation, slowly grappling away at real-life social situations as the person to your right laughs at the IM received through their iphone, and the person to your left states a ‘did-you-know’ fact to the group fresh from their latest Google search conveniently from the palm of their hand. And furthermore, it might seem a little strange that this scene can be taken from your last outing with your friends. Yep, that’s right YOUR last outing with YOUR friends!

Let’s give a big warm welcome to convergence!

My advice is to befriend convergence asap as it isn’t going anywhere and will/has/is currently making itself extremely welcome in your life. Now, it’s not all bad. Let’s continue with this concept of interaction. While convergence may be the cause for distractions from some social situations it also allows us to communicate with a plethora of people all at the click of a button.

It allows for greater platforms of communication with many thanks needing to be given to Web 2.0. Everyday activities such as reading the paper, which could be seen as an activity of solitude in the past, now offers an abundance of interactivity as readers are able to find more information on articles through the internet, and interact with others through leaving public feedback and participating in forums. Readily available content at the click of button has unlocked new levels of learning and knowledge for anybody and everybody.

So before convergence cops a beating ask yourself this, has it helped you? If convergence still has no friends, I’ll be sure to volunteer.