For this week we began to look at the network society and the importance that networked media plays in our society. I began to understand how the internet can transform our everyday lives in terms of our social, economic and cultural experiences.

I understand that the networked society relates to global and the idea of “globe-spanning digital media networks link up entire human activity across the planet”. I also looked at the networked society in terms of time. I explored whether or not someone can ever truly be ‘offline’ and that online connectivity recognizes time and space. People are always talking and interacting across the global, regardless of time zone. Having a online network that never sleeps and is consistently sharing data creates a massive community that is forever growing and changing.

“The Network Society is not produced by information technology. But without the Information Technology Revolution it could not be such a comprehensive, persuasive social form, able to link up, or de-link, the entire realm of human activity.” (Castells, 2004: p148). This quote stood out to me as it covers the importance of the information technology revolution and the capacity at which it affected the networked society. Before the lecture and the readings, I wasn’t aware of the Information Technology Revolution and how it relates to the network society but since this week it was brought my attention to more factors that have come into play in terms of the network society.

bibliography:

Castells, M (2004) ‘An introduction to the information age’ pp.138-149 in Webster, F. et al. (eds) The Information Society Reader. London: Routledge

For the second week of the Media in the Networked Society, we looked at digital convergence, interactivity, network-ability and the digital human. We look at the different media forms and how they were recorded, stored and transmitted in multiple different networks and infrastructure.

We looked into analogue and its limitations from when it first began and when it consisted of telephone, radio and television. Progressing from that, we moved onto how the development of digitisation has helped with the limitations of analogue. From something that had capacity limitations, passives audiences and its mass media content produced only by professionals to having an increase in functionality, high speeds and encouraged people access more materials.

When referring to our first key reading ‘Social transformation in an Information Society Rethinking Access to You and the World’, Dutton states that ‘rapid innovation in ICTs has offered ever faster and more versatile access to ever more information…’. Relating back to the development of digitisation, information has become easier to transfer and share throughout multiple platforms across multiple mediums. The audience tends to be a active member in this transaction of information as they now can seek out and obtain information specific to them.

To relate back to our seminar, we then looked at whether, in this day and age, someone could ever be offline; which after a quick discussion, was hard to come to one conclusion. Although you may not be ‘actively’ online at specific time, your online profile may be active, and sharing information. This showed how the progression in digitisation may have opened up many possibilities, it has also created a lack of privacy.

Bibliography

Dutton W. (2004). Social Transformation in an Information Society Rethinking Access to You and the World. UNESCO..pdf . UNESCO. URL(pp. 29)