Networked Media // Week Two Reading

It’s happened. Us humans can now be literate in more than one form of communication and expression of knowledge. I’ll explain (note: as Adrian Miles explained to me via this weeks reading).

You might not know it, but people of the world were once print literate.

source: gifrific

It’s okay though, most of us still are. But print literacy doesn’t just equate to being able to write and read, but rather the whole systematic process of say, being able to borrow a book from a library, or involve oneself in the expression and distribution of knowledge from written texts (ie. books, essays, journals, etc). However, with the overwhelming power of ya’ know ~the internet~ it has become apparent that information and knowledge is now being expressed and distributed in new online domains, and that participation within these new forms brings us into the realm of network literacy.

Don’t be fooled, network literacy is not the same as knowing how to use a computer. It is being able to functionally participate as a peer within the emerging knowledge networks “that are now the product of the internet and to have as deep an understanding of the logics and protocols of these networks” (p.27). A basic quality of network literacy is just being able to recognise that content and its containers (media types) are distributed across this network, and that by contributing your own content to these online services, others have access to said materials and vice versa. Further, being a top network literary would involve contributing as much information (posts, comments, social sites, etc) as you consume; as well as knowing the changing principles of distributed content production and sharing, and having the skills to collate and build with these ever-changing varieties of content knowledge. It’s also helpful

Up until the time of reading this weeks given paper, I totally thought I’d be considered network literate. I use the internet, and often enough too. However contributing to my social/online networks doesn’t include a reblog on Tumblr or tagging a friend in the comments section on a Facebook meme. So here I am now, blogging away, and contributing to my online network, and will continue to do so using this space, and also by becoming accustom to using categories, tags, and maybe even as RSS feed to collate certain information. I’ll also probably give twitter another go.