How do online communities evaluate quality?

There is no denying advances in technology have provided ways for almost anyone, proving they have the tools, to publish documents on the web. This issues us with a number of questions as to the quality and accuracy of information available. Evaluation of this information is essential in todays world to ensure that the information you are accessing is accurate.

Common sense is probably the most powerful tool that can be used in evaluating the quality of online content. If it so happens you stumble across information online which seems shockingly unbelieveable, you are probably right -it is likely to be false. Sites such as The Onion, describing itself as America's finest news source, appears at first glance to be a credible news site. Closer inspection revealse otherwise. The May 7, 2008 healine, Pope Returns To Vatican With Comprehensive Plan To Blow Up United States provides a prime example. Online content requires common sense to filter through the vast array of information available.

If we were sourcing a book for an assignment, along with our common sense we more often than not we evaluate it against a set of critera- we question the accuracy, authority, currency and scope of the book. The same goes for online content. Ratings and comments are often good determiners of how viable the information at hand actually is. To evaluate its quality it is helpful to apply the content to the CARS (Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness and Support) criteria.

Credibility:
- Does the author have any credentials?

Accuracy:
- Is the document presenting error free information?

Reasonableness:
- Does the article document present a fair statement?
- Does it provide a balanced article?

Support:
- Does the document provide any backup to its argument or opinion?
- Is other information available to support the ideas presented?
- Is the article supported by outside references?

Web two point Oh?

How is web 2.0 different from web 1.0??

In attempt to answer this question, perhaps it is best to break down web1.0 and web2.0 in order to portray exactly how these mediums differ from each other.

Web 1.0 is described as a medium we passively consume- meaning it doesn’t allow us to interact with it. It provides a standard search, view, read relationship with the internet. On the other hand web 2.0 is more a medium we actively consume. Not only do we interect with it, it interacts back with us. Flickr, Wikipedia, Facebook, Youtube, myspace and blogging are examples of web 2.0 in full flight. Each letter I type is encompassing what web 2.0 is. It is me interacting with the internet. Web 2.0 as the decimal suggests, is the next step from web 1.0.

The youtube video below, Web 2.0…The machine is Us/ing us details this change from web 1.0 to 2.0 and the possibilities which are now available to us now through web 2.0.



Web 1.0 acted as a resource merely providing information. Corporations published and individuals consumed. The shift from web 1.0 to 2.0 shows a change that has occurred in the virtual world from a static one to a more malleable and unpredictable realm. Web 2.0 is the evolution of the web creating a more “reciprocal affair between user and content provider.” (Razer, 2007)

Reference:
Razer, H. 2007. Who's afraid of the world wide web? Australian. September 5.

Keeping up with the Joneses? We are the Joneses.

“The ideal was not merely to keep up with the Joneses, But to be the Joneses.” (Trendwatching, 2005)

It is in the new niche driven market that we realize we no longer merely want to keep up with the joneses, have the same technology, gadgets and luxuries as them. We live in a world which more than ever before caters to us. We are driven by individuality and customization which is why in saying this; we don’t want to copy anyone not even the Joneses.

Our emergence into an individualised society has erupted through developments in the technological world. The internet now allows, as Chris Anderson points out in The Long Tail, people to now “wander further from the beaten path, [where] they discover their taste is not as mainstream as they thought (or as they had been led to believe by marketing, a lack of alternatives, and a hit-driven culture.)”(Anderson, 2006) People are finding now mores than ever, that perhaps they don’t like what they thought they did as much. For years we were force fed mainstream, yet as people, through the exploration of the world wide web, wonder further down the path less taken they are discovering ‘niche markets’ which exists and which are oh so much so better and more appealing to them than what they have ever had access to/seen before.

“Most of us want more than just hits. Everyone’s taste departs from the mainstream somewhere, and the more we explore alternatives, the more we’re drawn to them. Unfortunately, in recent decades such alternatives have been pushed to the fringes by pumped-up marketing vehicles built to order by industries that desperately need them.” (Anderson, 2005)

What it boils down to as Anderson enforces, is that our corny love story blockbuster and feigned pop are results of supply and demand. “Many of out assumptions about popular taste are actually artifacts of poor supply and demand matching- a market response to inefficient distribution.” (Anderson, 2005) When something sells well, it does not necessarily mean it’s a great product. The case most often is its abundance in supply and easy accessibility. The internet means we are no longer confined by the barriers of scarcity. We have access to abundance. Virtual shelf space has no limitations. Once bound by the space we had available, we today stand in an unfamiliar place where we are virtually, excuse the pun, limitless to what we have access to.

This shift to ‘niche’ does not mean mass will be eliminated in its entirely, there is still a need which requires mass such as low cost factors. The article Nouveau niche does make a great point however, in that “it will be mass by choice, not mass by scarcity.” (Trendwatching, 2005)

So it is through this technological rise that we now have access to a smorgasbord of products throughout the world. But it doesn’t end here. They also cater to ever every want and need. As I scour the web, checking my Myspace I realize I am surrounded by this notion of ‘niche’, >> click here to customize<< ‘pimp my profile’, flashes in the banner above my profile. We can now tailor just about anything to suit. Society now expect this individualization, with “every good, service and experience to address their unique and oh so important self.” (Trendwatching, 2005) Even products catered to the mass such as the Ipod, provide individualized components. You choose your color, style of Ipod and songs on it to suite you. Mass corporations are clicking onto this concept and now realize people don’t want to be like sheep. They want originality. They want things to suit them, things which are best for them. They don’t want to be products of the mainstream. They don’t want to copy the Joneses; no we want to be Joneses. Each one of us.

References:

Anderson, C. 2004. The Long Tail. Wired. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html?pg=5&topic=tail&topic_set= (Accessed April 2, 2008)

Trendwatching. 2005. Nouveau Niche. http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/NOUVEAU_NICHE.htm (Accessed April 2, 2008)

How do online communities organise themselves?

How do online communities organise themselves??

The internet has been a facilitator of Virtual communities, providing the building blocks necessary to create social networks, allowing for a conversion of knowledge and information. These 'virtual communities' enable -' new modes of democratic participation in public life '(Flew, 2004, p. 3) Traditional communities generally are distinguished via geographical and physical barriers. Virtual communities takes away geographical barriers and time constrains that may have otherwise limited peoples involvement. Virtual communities base themselves around a common interest/cause and in many cases are surrounded by a set of social norms. The amalgamation of various individuals sharing common interests, those not always readily available in physical realms, provides a point of collective intelligence. This provides a space for people to let ideas and conversation flourish.

The First time

(The first time)

... i have ever made a blog. Good times...