Where We’re Headed
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The above is (obviously) an in joke, and probably a misuse of the SC meme, but you shouldn’t assume that that makes it less useful. Strange times are ahead, and the main danger is that we too rapidly assume common knowledge and culture. Life can be thought of as a series of introductions; some of you know me and for some of you this text is your first encounter. However, since I don’t have a terribly good handle on who I am, I don’t expect that your previous experience, or lack thereof, is going to be a major factor in our relationship; in either case we are about to embark together on a difficult, challenging, and I hope rewarded journey. Our mission is to introduce transformative technology into the University. It would be nice if I had a handle on what that meant, but unfortunately it’s about as mysterious as identity and motivation. Our CIO recently accused me of having the standard technologists answer “we should use technology because technology is good, and we know that technology is good because it’s technology.” Danah Boyd who is going to keep coming up in these posts has some thoughts on technophilia and you are highly encouraged to follow the links and read the entire article rather than just the excerpt below:
I want to push back against our utopian habits because I think that they’re doing us a disservice. Technology does not determine practice. How people embrace technology has less to do with the technology itself than with the social setting in which they are embedded. Those who are immersed in a techno-savvy, technophilic community are far more likely to embrace technology than those whose social world is shaped by other patterns of consumption and communication. People’s practices are also shaped by those around them. There are cluster effects to socio-technical engagement. In other words, people do what their friends do.
In my terms this translates to, “it’s a mammal thing,” We like to smell each other and technology allows us, and perhaps encourages us, to do that, smell each other, a remarkably great distances. This is important and the mysterious, but it’s not hard to understand or to make use of. Technology can help us form communities, communities of practice or of common interest; here again is Danah Boyd on Teens Don’t Tweet… Or Do They?
The most salient visceral reaction that I got when looking at the teens’ Twitter streams was that teens on Twitter seemed to fit into three categories: 1) geeky teens, tech teens, fandom teens, machinema teens; 2) teens who are in love with the Jonas Brothers/Miley Cyrus, musicians, or another category of celebs; 3) multi-lingual foreign teens with friends/followers around the world who seemed to participate in lots of online communities.
Meta Don: Hold on DD, I thought this was supposed to be a an introduction to the folks that work for you, you were going to tell them about your vision, and direction, and how you were all going to create a bright new day and save the University and just generally make things better; and now you’re talking about multilingual foreign teens who tweet, and nobody’s going to make a connection.
Daily Don: I wasn’t talking about MFTWT, Dana Boyd was, and I’m pretty sure everybody is following right along, and besides MD you’re supposed to be helping me get across the message and not just telling me that I’m being confusing, after all criticism comes easy and we all know that.
MD: True, but growth starts with a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
DD: Oh Lord, are you going to start with the whole 12 step thing again; I thought we had agreed that we were going to avoid patriarchy and stick to the Goddess approach this time, you know, less obedience more weirdness.
MD: A higher power is a higher power, and I wouldn’t be Meta if I always colored inside the lines all the time, so stop complaining and and figure out what you’re trying to say.
DD: Yeah, but it feels like we got our HP off an Oprah rerun.
MD: You stole that line; I sense a certain level of avoidance.
DD: Appropriated, channeling PM Don, and you’re the one who started the BHJ thread.
MD: Post-Modernity’s a bit past the sell-by date; focus, what’s your message?
DD: Well, I guess what I’m trying to say is sort of, like, if we’re going to succeed we need to build a community, and in order to build a community need to have things in common, tools, goals, and maybe you know a…a…
MD: A philosophy?
DD: A philosophy, right, and they’ll all understand that, won’t they?
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