Information R/evolution
It is difficult to estimate the extent to which the invention of moveable type and Gutenberg’s printing press affected the spread of the Christian witness from Wittenberg we now refer to as the Reformation of Christendom. The preaching of the good news of Jesus Christ was revealed to an ardent German monk kicking against the goads of the Law and spread like fire across 16th century Europe and Scandinavia, and it did so in large part by means of a new technology which reshaped information and how it was communicated. The evolution of print media altered permanently the geography of information, how it was produced, stored, accessed, and spread.
We have closed out the 20th and entered into the 21st century in the middle of an equally significant context of change: the digital revolution. As was the case with the print based information revolution, the digital revolution includes transformations in how information is produced, how it is stored, how it is accessed and communicated, and how it is organized. And the pace of change, often accompanied by a fair amount of complexity, makes it challenging to grasp and keep up with. What exactly have the basic changes been, and where are they taking us?
Michael Wesch, a cultural anthropologist at Kansas State University, has created two very useful videos explaining the shift from linear text to digital media. The first, “Information R/evolution,” gives an analysis of some basic ways in which digital media has changed, and is changing our conceptualization and use of information. As Wesch introduces the video,
This video explores the changes in the way we find, store, create, critique, and share information. This video was created as a conversation starter, and works especially well when brainstorming with people about the near future and the skills needed in order to harness, evaluate, and create information effectively.
The second, “The Machine is Us/ing Us,” develops these themes and highlights the growing role of user generated content, a standard marker of what is referred to in the evolution of the world wide web as “Web 2.0.”
These are just some of the basic ways in which the dynamics of digital media are shaping the information age. In future articles we will continue to track and explore more deeply the trends and products shaping life in our day, and take a look at what they mean for us, and what might be the challenges and opportunities they present for our work in Christian ministry.
You can learn more about Wesch’s work at Digital Ethnography or his K-State Page
