Alright internet you win, I give up. I’ve tried playing devil’s advocate. I put up a good fight against Malcolm Gladwell with Jaron Lanier on my side. I tried to take on Markos Zungia’s system. But maybe after all my heckling and skepticism there is something to this whole new media thing.
I first exposed my reluctance to accept online journalism while discussing Dan Gillmor’s “We the Media.” I am first and foremost an English major, before I knew how to craft a news story using an inverted pyramid structure, I knew how to analyze a poem or strip a novel down to its underlying themes. The first few semesters as a double major were rough, my brain was confused. It didn’t like having to compartmentalize writing styles and switch from one to the other daily. English was flowy and prosaic, while journalism was sharp and concise. But I forced myself to adapt, simultaneously learn different techniques and apply them during the appropriate circumstances. I become content in my world of books and newspapers. Then the print industry died.
Sure this death began well before my college career. Print journalism has been critically ill for years, but it wasn’t until recently that I came to terms with my future not involving paper. A lot of that was thanks to this class. It force fed me the truth I had been avoiding by sticking to what I knew. I was able to avoid writing online by making myself an asset to the print version of The Brown and White and getting an internship at a struggling publication known as The Morning Call. I thought Twitter was only for egotistical celebrities and blogs might as well be personal diaries thrown into the cyber black hole. I don’t say this much, but I will say it now: I was wrong.
The internet is an incredibly powerful tool that anyone can put to good use with the right techniques, and according to Clay Shirky author of “Cognitive Surplus,” with means, motive and opportunity.
The tools a.k.a. means are infinite today. If someone wants to spread the word about endangered purple tree worms, they can do it dozens of different way: A Facebook page supporting the worms, a twitter feed distributing information about the worms, a blog sharing stories about the worms, and the list goes on. Decades ago the endangered worm enthusiast would be limited to word of mouth and print to spread information, which worked, and was more effective than centuries ago when even print was a luxury. The internet revolutionized communication. The world is at our fingertip, and even better: It’s free!
Next is motive, for Mr. Purple Worm Man the endangered species is his call to action. He recognizes the plight of the worms and wants to help. If his efforts are successful and the worms go on to live another purple day, he will have a sense of fulfillment for doing a good deed.
Opportunity is the tricky part. The lone activist cannot save the worms by himself. He can shot his heartfelt pleas as loud as he wants into cyberspace, but they won’t do any good unless someone is listening. He needs support from fellow worm lovers. This is where some of the other lessons from this class come into play. A stick message would help his cause: a personal anecdote about the worms, a dire need they need to be saved, or a catchy tidbit that makes the purple tree worms stand out in a crowd of regular-colored worms. Once the activist’s message is sticky others will gravitate to it and spread it, join the purple tree worm bandwagon. This collective force has exponentially more influence than the lone activist did. Combined their connections can reach around the globe, and that is how change happens.
The internet is powerful, but it is nothing without the people using it. The cognitive surplus exists in all of us. We watch TV instead of reading a book, scan social media sites to put of work, and take a morning nap even though we woke up three hours ago. There is so much wasted brain power out there and so many opportunities on the web to put it to good use. A slight change, and a bit more focus from each of us would have a whirlwind effect that not only could save the endangered purple worm population, but do something even more significant.
Now excuse me while I go refresh my Twitter.
