Network Society

ARIN 6901 Digital Cultures ProgramSemester 2, 2010

The University of Sydney

Nicola Giusto

Monday, 4 October 2010

Generally speaking email, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Msn, Icq

are tools that have to do with...

• Connecting people

• Social relationship

• Common interest exchange

• Communication and community

• Telecommunication

Monday, 4 October 2010

A common idea is that since web 2.0 has been introduced people gain new possibilities to communicate each other

By definition, network society is made by a net of relationships increasing constantly

e.g. 2 young lovers can keep in touch better now than in the past while they are studying in different countries

Monday, 4 October 2010

Are we really more connected?

Monday, 4 October 2010

Two years ago, I went abroad for 6 months

I and my ex girlfriend were divided only by 1200 km

But... We had Skype!!

When I came back home, we suddenly broke up. Before do it, we wanted to realise a last farewell gift

A personal example:

Monday, 4 October 2010

Farewell gift instructions

• We collect 24 (12 + 12) claims from our chats or emails that we didn’t like

• We stamp them on pillars inside a dismissed factory near our city

• She finally presented this as an art academic assignment and I wrote introduction and article

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“I let you know: I won’t be at home this evening”

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“When I logged in, you have never been online”

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“Sorry if I do not spend enough time online”

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“Hi, I don’t know if I’ll be still online after”

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“I don’t know when we’ll be able to chat”

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“Are you working? Aren’t you? I hope to chat today or tomorrow”

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“Tonight I’m out while I might be online tomorrow”

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What do I mean?

• I don’t mean our relationship ends because of web 2.0

• I mean to point out it is not obvious - as we might all think - social networks improve human communication skills

• they increase “potentially” communication so we’re all closer in time and distance but they do not affect our “actual” or “real” way to communicate

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My idea is

we should pay more attention to:

• potential vs actual

• deep vs superficial

• virtual vs real

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ConclusionThink to communication as a mass of plastilina or play-doh. It becomes thin as more as you stress it

Network Society has stressed it more than any other previous society

So human being has now a disparate need to communicate because we are all living in a fake communicational world

Monday, 4 October 2010

Thank you

Monday, 4 October 2010