Week One in NCT

In the first week of New Communication Technologies, students were reminded the way in which human beings gather information and socialise is constantly evolving with new developments in communications technology.  It is hard to imagine a time pre-internet when 21^st century global citizens are now so pervasively interconnected in online networks. Yet it was as recent as the 1980’s that computers were misunderstood. The usefulness of the early microcomputer was once questioned by critics due to the high cost; however with time the users of the early computers developed a better understanding of their potential and created software that rendered the technology beneficial to the masses (Swalwell, 2012).

Conversely, whether or not new communication technologies are benefiting democracy is a thought which I have pondered for much of the week. New communication technologies such as the internet allow for the transfer of new information and ideas across networks which are essential in a democracy in order to hold the state and corporations accountable for their decisions. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange likened a subculture emerging through a radicalisation of internet educated youth to the 1960 liberation movement in Greece. “People are receiving their values from the internet...and then as they find them to be compatible echoing them back. The echo back is now so strong that it drowns the original statements” (Wikileaks, 2013, para, 197). Assange appears to be warning of a political revolution growing from internet networks as new versions of the truth are exchanged. The allegations in recent months by Edward Snowden of the NSA spying on internet activities of US citizens and its allies  implies Washington is concerned about the consequence of exchanges of sensitive information and prioritises national security over a persons right to privacy. I can’t wait to dive into this topic in more depth in Cyber Politics and eDemocracy in week 6.

Ms. Virtue

Reference list

Swalwell M, 2012, ‘Questions about the usefulness of microcomputers in 1980’s Australia’ Media International Australia no. 143, pp. 63-77.

Transcript of secret meeting between Julian Assange and Google CEO Eric Schmidt 2013, viewed 26/07/2013 <http://wikileaks.org/Transcript-Meeting-Assange-Schmidt.html>