#netsmart

"I believe that learning to live mindfully in cyberculture is as important to us as a civilization as it is vital to you and me as individuals. The multifold extension of human minds by chips and nets in the first decade of the twenty-first century has granted power to billions, but in these still-early years of multimedia production studios in your pocket and global information networks in the air, it is clear to even technology enthusiasts like me that our enhanced abilities to create and consume digital media will certainly mislead those who haven’t learned how to exert mental control over our use of always-on communication channels" (1%).

Howard Rheingold reminds us that being able to be aware in our new "cyber culture" is key to surviving in the digital age. He also brings into the light the fact that when the internet was created, it wasn't intended to be a social network, so to speak, such as the printing press or the telephone. These were all intended to progress our society forward technologically, not socially. 

"Where is my body while my mind scurries through cyberspaces? It’s easy to ask oneself, What do I think I should be doing right now? Answering it usually takes work. The process of trying to address the question in your own context is the work of learning digital mindfulness" (3%).

Browsing through cyberspace has a lot of similarities to last week's theory of Digital Labor. Unfortunately, the physical body is ignored in both of these spaces because it only utilizes the creative mind and attention span. Attention is the most important aspect of online culture. By being able to retain and take advantage of our attention span, online forums can gather a following very quickly by being a distraction to the humdrum of our daily lives. 

User data input is also addressed in this reading. By aggregating all the of feedback that users give on products or sites, the "brain" of the web can produce more products that are wanted/needed by the community.

With people posting their thoughts and feelings online, they are forming networks in which they can find commonalities that also create network individualism which further form digital commons. People come together to discuss their likes and dislikes, to rise up against issues, or to just share information with each other (i.e. Facebook, Anonymous, Pintrest). 

Information is available at the snap of one's fingers, so being able to detect the "crap" from the actual information is a skill that is quickly developed. Because anyone can publish whatever they want to, it is easy for people to make up stories and information just to gain a following and/or recognition. Being mindful online is useful in this sense because being able to steer clear of this can help you go towards beneficial information and sources. 

Howard Rheingold offers the following in his book Net Smart: How to Thrive Online:

"Social capital is key to the power of online social relationships, where individuals and groups can cultivate, grow, and benefit from it."

"Social capital emerges from the interactions of groups and networks in relationship, nor from the insulated behavior of any individual."

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