That being said, I still don't quite understand all the Internet or web jargon. Terms like servers, platforms, browsers are just a few I'm a little lost on. I tried to look them up and get more background information on them, but this proved to be just as difficult considering each term has several other unique terms of which I still don't understand. This may take awhile for me to understand completely. I'm sure class will help tomorrow, as always.
What I did get out of this set of readings was the difference between broadcasting and social media and how it may be affecting how we get information. In Danah Boyd's writing on streams of content and the flow of information, it is apparent that social media and media sharing has been becoming more and more popular over the past few decades. Because of this, broadcasting has been pushed out of the way.
It only makes sense, looking at everyone's Internet activity today. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogger and Tumblr are only a small sample of the social media sites that almost everyone seems to be on these days. Because of this, people are starting to get news and other information from status updates, tweets and pins, instead of from the TV news stations, newspapers or radio.
I can relate to this. The last time I looked at a website like NBCnews.com, or even my home state of Minnesota's primary newspaper, StarTribune.com, was...well...I honestly can't remember. In fact, I remember seeing a Facebook status on a recent fatal car accident right by my house in MN and from there, I went to StarTribune.com.
The way we get information and news is changing. Boyd also makes an interesting point about how "networks are homophilous."This also makes sense to me. I only search things on the Internet that pertain to me, whether on my own time, or on school projects. Boyd is wary about our culture becoming more prejudice and ignorant because of this idea. I'm only friends with people on Facebook who I actually know (and whose statuses I can somewhat tolerate...). I only follow people on Twitter who I like, or can relate to. I bookmark sites that I visit most, like Facebook, Skinnyski, Gmail and Blogger. I don't diversify my Internet use intentionally. And I know I'm probably not alone.
As a whole, it's obvious that our culture is changing due to social media sites, as Boyd points out. The way we get news is going from broadcasting to networking. In addition, our views and diversity may be altering for the worse, as we spread and receive information faster and more efficient than ever.
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