Over at the Wall Street Journal, there’s been an ongoing debate between Nick Carr, author of “Does IT Matter?” and “Is Google Making Us Dumber”, and Clay Shirkey, professor of media at NYU, who takes the opposite view that changes in the limitations of media inevitably lead to an expansion of content, much of which is of low quality, but that society eventually works out the processes necessary for dealing with the sudden increases in freedom and expression.
From Clay Shirkey’s WSJ article published yesterday:
“Digital media have made creating and disseminating text, sound, and images cheap, easy and global. The bulk of publicly available media is now created by people who understand little of the professional standards and practices for media. … But of course, that’s what always happens. Every increase in freedom to create or consume media, from paperback books to YouTube, alarms people accustomed to the restrictions of the old system, convincing them that the new media will make young people stupid. This fear dates back to at least the invention of movable type. … As Gutenberg’s press spread through Europe, the Bible was translated into local languages .. leading to claims that the printing press, if not controlled, would lead to chaos and the dismemberment of European intellectual life. … These claims were, of course, correct.”
Read the whole article at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575284973472694334.html
Stephen G. Landry, Ph.D.
Chief information Officer
Seton Hall University
