Stray Thoughts from the “What is Web 2.0?” Panel Discussion
Published by Steve May 17th, 2006 Tags: facultyacademy2006, Web2.0.Cyprien: Could we ask our students: Go ahead and learn, but think about how you learned and what it means to you? Jon Udell: “Narrating your work.”
One principle of web 2.0 should be data portability.
Are we losing the self or our conception of the professional self, or is our professional identity merely changing?
Newspapers are a medium where the culture is to not cite primary sources.
Do we teach about economics or history or biology, or do we teach how to do economics or history or biology?
Transformation of our being consumers to producers of information.
In an increasingly transparent world, where are the boundaries?
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“Do we teach about economics or history or biology, or do we teach how to do economics or history or biology?”
At least in history, we do both. Content and skills are both integral to the process.
An interesting thread that was discussed during the Web 2.0 panel this afternoon was how the boundaries of communication have been re-aligned along the lines of tribal communities. During the same talk, another boundary alluded to was that of intellectual property - one question for me is how do we reconcile the figure of the 21st century networked-tribe with individualized ideas of ownership and copyright? Are these figures antithetical? Or are they already being integrated?
Response to Jeff: I’m not sure that what I mean by “about” vs “doing” maps perfectly onto content versus skills.
Speaking as an economic heretic, I like the idea of the “21st Century networked tribe” because it runs counter to the sad image of the wired but isolated nomad, the independent contractor envisioned by Jacques Attali. But as long as we allow corporate hegemony to define reality (i.e. like the concept of intellectual property) our technotribe will never coalesce and we’ll all be viciously competing for ever decreasing corporate crumbs. I’m all for a creator getting credit & reward for creation, but recently copyright law has become a bit dogmatic and fanatical. Even Shakespeare borrowed from others and all of us ’stand upon the shoulders of giants’ to whom we owe homage.
What I most enjoyed about this conference was the undertone/understanding that collaboration, open sources, etc. are the evolutionary direction to take these technologies - it seems to me that the old, unsustainable paradigms of reptilian competition & excessive acquisitiveness are no longer worthy of our devotion and that playful collaboration holds huge potential for a human future.
Stray thoughts:
1. I want to acknowledge my sources, because I want to thank them. Even if they’re not around to see it.
2. Part of my reputation is formed by the influences and sources I cite. Remember that scene from “The Commitments”? “Who are your influences?” It’s one way to find community, to demonstrate those trusted and inspiring experts that have helped you form your own cognition and its products.