Module 6 lecture comments

1. Watch the PowerPoint lecture “Mass Media and Technology” and post your thoughts to your blog. The files are available below, on the Lectures page, and on Blackboard.

I think it would be interesting to do (or learn about) some research about which changes humanity has found more significant. I was fortunate to have more time with my grandparents than most people and I always enjoyed hearing their recollections about the first car they saw or the first TV program they watched.

Our lecture mentioned Photography 1.0 and Photography 2.0. I’m curious which is more significant, the change from Photography 0.0 to 1.0 or from Photography 1.0 to 2.0?

I assume that the change from 0.0 to 1.0 would be most significant because it is a change where creation of something completely new was accomplished. Surely the change from 1.0 to 2.0 is *less* of a change than the creation of photography. However, I regularly interact with people in person and via the internet for whom the shift of various technologies (not just photography) from 1.0 to 2.0 has caused a great deal of stress and confusion. My impression of the move from photography 0.0 to 1.0 is that the camera and taking pictures was widely accepted as a benefit to humanity. Is my impression accurate or have I not been exposed to those who pressed back against the advent of the camera? Photography 2.0 and other similar shifts can cause many people to question fundamental things about humanity. Perhaps the changes from 1.0 to 2.0 are more significant than I originally thought.

Certainly, the actual hardware isn’t much different between 1.0 and 2.0. With old and new devices a photographer still has only 3 basic steps:

1. compose the shot
2. press button
3. process the image

I suspect that it is the 3rd step that introduces barriers for people. For many digital natives, the use of photo management software such as Picasa in order to tag photos and add photos to albums is a common and well-understood task. For digital immigrants however – in my experience – this kind of software causes some dissonance. For many, the notion that a single image file can exist in multiple albums is a difficult one to understand. The fact that a single image file can be tagged in infinite ways is actually a great benefit to the end user, but not if it causes confusion.

Certainly, the difficulty transitioning to Anything 2.0 or 3.0 is not a matter of raw intelligence because those with difficulty may be quite intelligent. I was fascinated to hear that some government officials spoke of the Abu Grahib photos as if there were “originals” and “negatives”. I had never heard that part of the story before. The fundamental concept of digital files and tags/metadata is still difficult for some people.

What can we do? Here’s one idea. Many people come to a premature conclusion that some skill is impossible for them and they would rather give up than continue to try something if it makes them feel stupid. I believe that patience and understanding are still very important to help such people. It is a privilege to be present when someone has an “a-ha” moment and as information professionals, we have more opportunities than most to enjoy such moments.