MC 7019: A Semester in Perspective

Well, as the term closes, we are asked to look back on the term and reflect on the lessons learned, did not learn, and what we would have liked to learn. This blog entry will address what I took from the course, the elements I perhaps did not take away from the course, and the elements I would have liked to take from the course. If anything, I hope the entry serves as a form of feedback for our professor and will help him in planning future courses.

Lessons Learned:

The most important element I am taking away from MC 7019 is an understanding of the social, economic, and political motives for the proliferation of new media technologies in our society. From a social perspective, particularly in the view of Howard and Jones (2004), the Internet is helping society to develop and effective channel for people to share their interests, problems, and ideas globally. The readings provide a variety of examples for us of effective forms of community deriving from the Internet that may seem both very connected and divided at the same time.

Our readings in Convergence Culture explain that movie franchises like The Matrix, Star Wars, and television shows like American Idol all utilize a multimedia approach to presenting content in order to tell a story. Jenkins (2006) tells us about how communities of people work together through new media channels to understand meaning, utilize, or even contribute creatively to each of the franchises. He suggests that this provides an interesting potential model for political participation that is driven more by consumer culture than a civic mindset. The real motive behind these approaches, however, is to boost sales and drive profit margins in each case by the respective production companies.

In both of the Howard books, we looked at how political campaigns utilize technology to push their campaigns. Specifically, we gained an understanding that campaigns lack political specialists who can utilize the technology effectively. To counteract this deficiency, we see campaigns hire specialists from various technical backgrounds that can apply their talents to campaign Web sites and create the sort of strategic connections that candidates are looking for. In the campaign process, however, we see potential areas of conflict between the technical advisers and the campaign organizers. In this way, their is the potential for conflict between the old way of running campaigns, whether social or political, and the innovative approach that campaigns have to engage in today to be effective.

We also get the sense from Montgomery's (2006) book that the up and coming generation of technology users will be the most savvy with emerging technologies. Their technical aptitude will allow them to use the technology to form social communities, for entertainment sources, and to create political advocacy channels. What the reading also illustrated is that while our kids may be the most savvy, they may also be the most at risk. Hardly a new debate, children's safety is argued with the emergence of every new form of entertainment media since the emergence of film as a mainstream form of entertainment in the 1920's.

The course has been a great resource for me to think about the primary social, political, and economic motives behind advancing the use of new media in society. Along with getting into the habit of keeping a weekly blog, this is probably the most prominent set of lessons I have taken from the course this year.

What I Did Not Learn (Or Un-Learned):

I would make the argument that this course was particularly useful in providing us with a means to overcome some faulty preconceived notions we may have had going into the course. In particular, I think we spent a great deal of time breaking down our sense of the obvious nature of the "digital divide" and on eliminating the commonly Utopian view of the Internet.

Personally, I came into this course with a simple sense that the Internet had the potential to help us accomplish things we never though possible. As I read further and we discussed issues, I came away with the sense that its entirely feasible that the Internet can open some doors for us to express views, present material, or to change mindsets. That said, I also came to realize how important all of the contributing factors like access, exposure, and technological capability were in allowing a person to get a desired message out to the public. In addition to these factors, I learned to balance a sense of the educational benefits for children that the Internet provides with the potential dangers of online predators and false information.

In the process of discussing the "digital divide," I think the class as a group came to see the issue as a much broader concept that cuts across racial, socioeconomic, and psychological factors and cannot be summed into anyone element that creates a divide. In fact, I would suspect that we as a group are far less receptive to the term divide as its a much broader problem in many different areas.

What I would have liked to learn:

I guess the one element I wanted to hear more about was how technology really drives policy in a U.S. and global perspective. I had a sense it might come in more throughout the course than it did, and now that we are wrapping up, I feel as though we are missing a week devoted to discussing how technology fundamentally drives policy.

If there is one other element I might like to change, it would be to find a way to reduce the two weeks of exposure we got to the "digital divide." The conversation in that time seemed to get more stagnant as we worked our way through the readings and it made for a very cyclical set of arguments.

Looking back on this course, I think the fondest element I have coming away is that I can pick up on the elements we talked about each week in what I see on the Internet or when I speak with family or friends. Perhaps the strongest example for me that we are in a very "tech savvy" period was the recent phone call I received from my mother in which she proudly proclaimed, "I wanted you to be the first person I called on my iPhone!"

Will wonders never cease? I do not know, but my sense is if my mother at 57 years can learn to adapt, then perhaps other cynics like Lyle will in time, too. So, with that in mind, perhaps there is a touch of Utopia in all of this for us. In the end, though, you have to keep it in perspective.