Communicative Capitalism

In response to Jodi Dean's chapter Communicative Capitalism, I agree and understand several points that she addresses. As she discusses the convenience of the web, people have the opportunity "to register their points of view, to agree or disagree, to vote, and to send messages" (Dean 107). This is true in the sense that it is very easy for one to express their opinion over the internet. However does that mean it is coming from a credible source. In many cases there is no way to prove the validity of the author or who he/she may be. One must always be skeptical and maintain a level of scrutiny when evaluating sources.

When specifically addressing communicative capitalism, I now have a much better understanding of Dean's argument after her lecture. I agree with her in that it is written to appeal to an academic audience and not necessarily students. With that in mind it is always good to try and read above the levels you are so used to. Her argument revolves around the connection between capitalism and new media. I find myself very much engaged into the points she brings up as I am well versed on the topic of new media being a MDSC major. Most of the readings I have done on new media address its potential and where it will be going in the future. This particular chapter opens up a different path of discussion.

I cannot say I agree totally that technology weakens and hurts democracy. I do however see that it does not necessarily benefit it. What exactly are the affects of new media upon democracy? Does advancing technology tarnish the fundamental frame work of democracy? The constitution and bill of rights were written to stand without much revision and technology changes by the minute. Democracy cannot keep up with the advancement of technology and new media.

Digital media has the ability to exploit democracy. For example the war in Iraq was spread throughout the TV networks and hyped up before the invasion. Afghanistan for the reason as well. American soldiers had not even stepped foot onto foreign soil, yet the media had already made a decision. Is that fair for the media to be dictating the lives of Americans? Yes Congress approved of the war, but how much of an influence did the media have. We talked about the "shock and awe" campaign in class. The explosions and sky line lighting up in Baghdad almost appeared like a reality television series as major outlets aired it. How does that affect the average viewer?

In Clay Shirky's "Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality," the world of weblogging is addressed. Is there a sense of fairness and equality within this world? Absolutely not, but that comes with the territory. When you know who is on the receiving end then it may be different, but it is difficult to establish all sources as credible on the internet. Clay asks, "is the inequality fair?" It most certainly is because starting a blog is no different than hopping on the internet. In most cases it takes less than a blink of the eye to connect and with that comes all the user guidelines that you should be aware of. There will always be a level of inequality and the internet would not be able to function the way it does without that. As Shirky says, "it is a reliable property that emerges from the normal functioning of the system."