In today’s society you can get online, search in Google, find numerous articles on what you’re looking for, and use the information at hand. There are certain questions a smart searcher should ask: Where is this information coming from? Is it credible? Is the author being bias? The digital world has changed the way we view piracy, credibility and originality. It blows mind to even think about how much information and articles are recycled and used in different ways. Good articles will have authors, citations, sources and background. What does this all mean though? How do you know that the sources they used are even credible? The subject at hand here is very hard to determine.
According to, the book of Nature and the Nature of the Book, piracy is something of concern even for non digitalized work. The manufacture has a big part in how a book will be processed, how many copies will be made, and how it will be distributed. There are manufactures out there that a fakes. Companies will produce unauthorized reprints of existing books and claim they are written by bestselling authors. (Johns) It may seem ridiculous that you could buy a “fake” book, but if you don’t know it’s out there they can get you. These companies can change what the author has written which interns changes the idea/perception of the book.
In the digital world you have to be careful what you read and how much you take away from it. It takes time for people to research what they are reading over the web. Nobody wants to click on every source the author has used and go through those sources in depth. This is why we have to know what websites are credible. It also helps if we know who the person is that is writing the article. People tend to follow authors that are well known, or seem to fit the reader’s personality. This aspect is also talked about in Manuscripts. Writers had to find patron (I would define patron as an entrepreneur in our times) who would distribute it. The more famous this patron (or entrepreneur/celebrity type) the more popular the piece.
The internet has changed the way we think about credibility and piracy. You have to careful what you read and what you take away from it. Digitalizing the written world has made it more accessible and easier to change. The internet is a place where anyone can post anything. We have to make sure that we don’t digest everything as truthfulness.
For some reason it posted all crazy! Sorry. Also i have been trying to email you the past couple weeks with no response. I need help on posting onto other peoples post. The problem only seems to be on blogger.com post. I have commented on numerous post but they dont seem to show up... HELP haha
ReplyDeleteIt's true that you do have to be careful with the information you find on the internet. Anyone can publish anything they want. You can choose to trust everything you read on the internet, but that would be stupid. So I agree with your statement "We have to make sure that we don’t digest everything as truthfulness".
ReplyDeleteEspecially in regards to wikis, where the information within the page can be so sporadic it does not even make sense. You need to be smart when searching on the web, and really be familiar with different sources available on the web so you can pinpoint which information is credible and which is not.
Good post!
I agree very much when you say, "You have to be carefull what you read and what you take away from it." I think about this all the time as I wonder "Are these my ideas?", "Should I be citing someone?" I feel with the current consequences surrounding plagarism and copyright laws, it is important to always cover your bases and for this reason I feel like I am always over citing.
ReplyDelete"We have to be careful on the internet" isn't really a compelling argument based on synthesis of the material at hand and the question asked.
ReplyDelete