I like Jesse Schell. He’s smart, he’s nuts and he’s a little abrasive. These are all good qualities of a person who desires to change the way we think.
Lupton’s short explanation of why she blogs is worth a read. Not only is blogging immediate and personal, but it breaks down academic walls which act to keep society and academia apart. I like the notion that academic though need not always be so formal, which is an attitude many academics (but few academic institutions) are embracing.
Mostly I agree with her assertion that it’s important to keep our writing away from academic paywalls. This is very high on the list of my pet-peeves – paying for scholarly works. While google scholar, academia.edu and other sites are helping to remove paywalls, too many sites are still profiteering from paid access to academic writing.
I own my writing. It’s mine. As I progress through my studies towards completing my doctorate, I intend to make all my work free for anyone to read and share. This is the way the internet works and academia needs to get with the program
Do you want Google to be your cybernetic friend?
Google’s vision of the future is a search engine that is your cybernetic friend. World renowned AI guru Ray Kurzweil is in charge of a project that, if it comes to fruition, will answer your questions without you even needing to ask. The idea is that combining keywords from your emails, search habits, surfing habits, and the kinds of things you have in common with friends on social networks, Google can predict what you want to know about and deliver it for you before you’ve asked. Ostensibly, this has the ability to save a lot of time and energy, however it could also be a way to drive targeted manipulation of your shopping habits.
There’s also the concern that Google is making us stupid by doing so much of the hard work for us and reducing people to passive knowledge consumers.
Morozov (been reading a bit by him lately) warns of the impending consumerism that will be the main focus of the internet in the future. He believes that Google’s ultimate goal is to provide opportunities to sell you junk through targeted shopping.
Find out more about Morozov on twitter.