I continue to read, ponder, and research the role technology and society has played in the democratization of information. I am trying to understand if there is a difference between the democratization of knowledge and the democratization of information. What is certain is that communication technology has changed the communication and information models. What once was a many to one model has shifted to a one to many model.
I am also thinking about the success of YOUmedia. YOUmedia is about so much more than books, writing and print, but they are still a part. Other forms of information creation, beyond the printed word (and even including the printed word), were so complex that the layperson could not create or share them. If they could not create than they could not communication. Their voice was rendered mute. Technology has changed that. Just like everyone is note a gifted painter (me for example) the same would hold true for a reader or writer. Everyone does not have the gift of writing, or reading for that matter. But everyone does have a voice. They may share that voice through other means. And herein lies the power of social and communication technologies. The masses of silent citizens are suddenly given a voice. A voice to…
All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die. (Auden)
There is currently a campaign by Laurie Halse Anderson taking place on twitter #speakloudly about the attempted ban of her book Speak. What has happened as a result, is thousands of people rising up to let their voices be heard. They are rising up to share their story and how their story has been affected by Speak.
The Information Activist Librarian 