l2 : the digital revolution, global village and virtual community

Question 1

what is the digital revolution?

Answer 1

massive and rapid advances in technology which have transformed peoples lives over the past few decades. changed how information is stored and communicated.
tech has intensified the speed and scope of interactions between people

Question 2

what four technological trends have led to the digital revolution?

Answer 2

• constant improvement in capabilities of computers and decline of costs
• analogue data moved to digital data
• satellite communication
• fibre optics

Question 3

what are the two categories of “new media”?

Answer 3

1. extension and development of existing media eg. newspapers online, TV on demand
2. new forms of platforms eg. mobile phone, laptops, tablets, apps

Question 4

what is the computer / information age?

Answer 4

development of world wide web and the internet which has revolutionised the use of computers

Question 5

what has the computer age created?

Answer 5

• global system of interconnected super computers
• high capacity broadband wireless networks creating high speed connections to information
• easier methods of communication than previously

Question 6

what is the global village (mcluhan)?

Answer 6

used to describe how electronic mass media collapses space and time barriers in human communication. led to increased volume of communication which is not face to face. electronic mass media allows people to interact on a global scale, making the world like one village.

Question 7

what are virtual communities?

Answer 7

social network of individuals who create an online community which may or may not reflect their offline lives. community crosses geographical, political and social lines. increasingly complex and allow people to share interest and transform identities.

Question 8

give examples of virtual communities.

Answer 8

• online chat rooms
• virtual worlds - cybercity, secondlife, world of warcraft
• social networks - facebook, linkedin, twitter
• specific service communities - 11+ forums, TED talks

Question 9

what did rheingold define a virtual community as?

Answer 9

social aggregations that emerge from the net when enough people carry on…public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to [form webs of personal relationships in cyber-space]

Question 10

what is a positive point rheingold stated about virtual communities?

Answer 10

allows engagement in public discussions. members help each other to solve problems, exchange information and sometimes disagree

Question 11

what is a negative point rheingold stated about virtual communities?

Answer 11

can be dominated by business corporations who see members of VC as commodities. VC provide opportunity for intensified surveillance and monitoring of the population

Question 12

what did castells argue about the internet?

Answer 12

internet enables new combinations of work and self employment, individual expression, collaboration and sociability. believed “network is the message”