Module 5 - Information Ecologies

This module served as both a revision and also a conglomeration of the aspects of 'Internet Communications' that have been discovered throughout the course.

Firstly, the notes encouraged us to revisit the concepts but this time, in relation to 'information ecology'.
Secondly, the case study of peer-to-peer file sharing was explored to encourage an understanding of the implications and consequences that can arise when using the internet in this manner.
Lastly, as the internet is an area that has developed rapidly in the last few years, literature was provided to promote an understanding of how the definition of an 'advanced internet user' may be changing now, and will possibly change in the future.

How Might the metaphor of an 'ecology' impact on the way you think about, understand, and use the internet?

My own personal thoughts kept reverting to how much I have learnt with NET11 in a very short space of time.
Three months ago I had never heard of FTP, blinkenlights, ICQ, Twitter, ping rates, Kindle, HTML, XHTML, CSS, Blogs, Mozilla Firefox - the list is ominously long but brilliantly inspiring!
In a way, the set-up of NET11 fostered a sort of Information Ecology in a gradual way.
To start with we all posted introductions then began working on the tasks.
Many students, already familiar with content in the set tasks due to previous experience, were able to assist the tutors by guiding the more naive members like me, to make sense of what was required.
Our posts on the Discussion Boards, as well as links to helpful sites and other snippets of information, helped us to write up reflections about our progress in our online blogs - all these factors contributed information into an ecological system, which we then reused, expanded on, discarded, filed away for fulture use et cetera.
Our very own Information Ecology.
I know that we have definitely added to online information, because I set-up a Google name search for myself.
This has reported back references of my name that were actually me (!) and were found mostly on social networking sites like facebook, Twitter, blogs - as well as through other areas not related to the NET11 course.

After reading the articles however, I realised that Information Ecology is also about being aware of the Concept of 'Invisibility of Difference', and in some ways is closely related to W3C.
I have come across a few articles that explore accessibility issues between information rich societies and information poor societies, which Capurro (2002) claims is continuing to increase.
More about Capurro (2002) in a moment.

'Information Ecology' appears to be a recent term that encompasses the transfer and sharing of information across the Web, and is driven and created by people.

No proper dictionary or encyclopaedic definition could be accessed apart from a Wikepedia definition, so a quote from an article accessed through 'Google Scholar' will be referred to initially,
Information Ecology and Knowledge Management by Yogyesh Malhotra PhD (2002)
as it extends the definition to go "...beyond the emphasis on information, to account for action, performance and adaptation of self-regulatory systems." (2002:2)
Although Malhotra's article focusses on Information Ecology within business organisations, the main premises follow the same pathways and encompass the myriad of interacting and interdependent streams that shape the creation, flow and use of information within that environment (2002:2). Without the people that send out the information, retrieve it, reuse it, adapt it etc, there would be no information ecology. In fact, an information ecology emphasises the people rather than the technology.
Malhotra acknowledges that the area of Information Ecology is dynamic and changing rapidly in the current climate and therefore needs to be continually adapted.

How are the concepts of 'information' and 'communication' understood within the framework of an 'information ecology'?

Towards an Information Ecology by Rafael Capurro (1989)
This was, personally, a particularly thought provoking article, and I appreciate that Capurro mentioned that his ideas were in no way exhaustive - the subject of Information Ecology is possibly only at the precipice of the threshold - *a* threshold - in terms of our understanding of the topic.

In his paper Capurro compares the publishing and sharing of information on the Internet with world environment issues.
He claims that natural resources like water and fossil fuels have and continue to be taken for granted, misused and not managed properly.
The main fear here, is that information that is published may also end up being misused, mismanaged and exploited due to irrational thinking and a disregard for the consequences of proposed actions.
As the whole area of information sharing using the internet is relatively new (compared with the advent, for example, of printing ie books, newspapers), Capurro recommends that internet users need to reassess their contributions and the way that they contribute.
The Institute for Information and Communication Ecology was set-up in 2002 to focus on scientific research areas and the responsible protection and contribution to the sociosphere (Capurro, 2002:3).

Quite frankly, the topics Capurro broached are similar in a lot of respects to the concepts (Allen, n.d.)
He mentions that any information needs some form of pre-understanding (of any content), a responsibility toward different cultures, customs, points of view, social rights, levels of technological advancement, the richness of the past and the constraints of the present (Capurro, 2002:2).

Why don't we talk of a 'communication ecology'?

Information Ecologies
By Felix Stalder (1997)
In this article, Stalder defines the processes of intangible information that flow across the media built environment, to be the primary setting within which humans interact.
His paper on 'information technology' utilises this process in an effort to understand how to avoid its dangers and instead, promote positive development and further harness its potential.

The environment is constructed of flows of information which people use to communicate with.
Just like a biologically-based ecosystem, an information ecology is a group of interacting parts that together, produce a stable system through the cyclic exchange of materials (Webster's Online Dictionary).

A 'communication ecology' is therefore not spoken about because it is information, not communication, that is being transferred and cyclically exchanged.
Instead, it is the process of sharing information that is classed as communication.

Peer to Peer
It was interesting to read two of the articles - I'll admit that my brain couldn't handle any more, and that I actually fell asleep while reading both of them.

Nevertheless, they didn't actually say much that I didn't already know.
I have never used any music-sharing sites before.
Perhaps this is due to a lack of prior technological know-how, but I'd like to think that it is because of my diligence in sustaining equality and a sense of moral conduct while perusing the internet.
I remember that there was a site in the 1990s that suddenly couldn't be found - that might be Kazaa that was mentioned (in "Copying is Theft..." by Mark Rasch), but I'm sure there was another one...I think it was called Napster.

Being a recording musician, I am keenly aware of the current issues surrounding piracy, and know that it is still alive in terms of not just illegally downloaded music, but also movies.
That this deprives a host of people (composer, performer/s, recording engineer, artwork designer etc) of their well-earned income is obvious, yet people still do it.

I remember bumping into a friend at a shopping centre on Christmas Eve in 2007 on the threshold of JB Hi-Fi (isn't Hi-Fi a redundant term now?).
Anyway, we were just entering and he was leaving and very excited about his purchase:
"A $0.99 Black & White B-Grade Horror Movie".
All he could keep saying was "Sorry - I got the last copy!".
Secretly, I couldn't have cared less (obviously, JB Hi-Fi thought they'd see how many people they could dupe for $1 instead of throwing the DVDs in the trash) but I kept up the charade as we spoke about holidays etc.
After we parted, he came running back and told us that he could burn a copy of the movie for us, as he was still so sorry he had bought the last copy.
I was stunned into silence (that's rare!) but my partner politely joked that it would probably cost him more to burn the movie than he had paid for the original!
So he invited us to watch it over the holidays instead....obviously I'll never think secretly unkind thoughts again. Punishment. However, his BBQ was fantastic :)

My point is, though, that there are people who are so entrenched in their ways, that they're not even thinking of the real cost - and that can include a fine of $150,000 for illegally downloading music, along with an array of other penalties.

Preparing for Future Shock
Internet2: although I was not aware of its name, I've known that Government Schools (possibly every Government school) is going to have a large interactive screen installed for the pruposes of interactive learning with, for example: NASA, undersea exploration, Universities, schools, etc from around the world.
At one of the schools I teach at, I was in a room that was being measured up for a large screen that would enable the students to interact with other students and places of interest around the globe.

The Australian Advanced Research Network or AARNET, is a group that worked from 1996 to a few years ago to enable Australia's Research and Education sectors to network around the world more efficiently. It was headed by George McLaughlin, who was given an Australia Day Award for his efforts on January 26, 2009.

As technology continues to improve, the people of the world will become increasingly more connected not just for business or educational purposes, but also socially.
Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube already have phenomenally large numbers of users, and there are many more sites that are in existence.
The short messaging service Twitter is, I believe, already a forerunner of instant news and knowledge before it is widely known.
Not only will the speed of access and information transfer improve, but cultures will hopefully also begin to understand each other in positive ways - cultural boundaries are already disappearing.

When I was younger, cousins from the USA, and the Philippines would send me new clothes for my birthdays.
I remember being asked which shop I had bought the clothes from because they were unusual, like floral sneakers in the 1970s (my friends usually had plain white and later on 'joggers' in blue, brown or grey).
These days, fashion follows the UK, Europe and the USA by the next season or instantly (as in, for example, outfits worn at the Oscars can be found in some stores (mostly online) the very next day.

The article on Dr Vint Cerf (who helped engineer the first internet) was quite thought provoking.
Mobile phones have been able to access the internet for a few years now.
The fact that a nine-year-old boy in Singapore is writing applications for the iPhone is, I believe, a portent of what is still to come.

The last paragraph of the article on Dr Cerf is the most thought-provoking though:
"The internet is a reflection of our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see," he said. "If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror, we have to fix society."
Again, it is another reference to the Concepts (Allen, M. n.d.)studied in the NET11 course.