In Digital Disconnect, Robert McChesney presents the regard of the press by the founders of the United States of America as the system that is meant to inform the public and expose officials of any crimes against humanity (2003). He gives rise to the notion of the public moving away from gathering such knowledge from traditional sources, like the press system, to the Internet (McChesney 2013). How are we, the actual public sphere, to fare in this time of Critical Juncture? Don’t log off just yet; keep that browser window open and library card. Follow closely on your path to do-it-yourself-consumption of knowledge.
Do Think Before You Consume
Marija Dalbello warns that collecting and publicly exposing information, especially cultural heritage, will result in appropriation and in the transformation of those traditions (Dalbello 2009). Not everything or everyone is willing to be discovered. Or is it?
Do Cite Your Sources
According to CIS experts, it’s impossible to work around copyright and distribution systems (Vaidhyanthan 2006). So don’t double-think it. Just cite it.
Do Share
Retaining rights for your research should result in equal and opposite reactions. Copyright laws protect your work. Sharing the license means that you can change the way commercial industry controls creativity. You can help to shape culture and the essence of copyright (Vaidhyanathan 2006). While we may not know the exact measure of impact, Benkler will argue that sharing and keeping content open is also an opportunity for freedom from borders (Benkler 2006).
Don’t Over/Under Estimate Value
Well you have to, but leave that up to the experts. This group of experts “increasingly discover focus upon context” (Schwartz and Cook 2002). Context is where the true value lies.
Do Question Everything
As Queer Theory proposes, we have to remove evidence of bias from institutions. This is the only way you are going to gain power on how to consume in a just manner. Use evidence as backing (Drabinski 2013).
Don’t Think You Can Apologize Later
No one is listening to you at this point.
Sources
Benkler, Yochai. “The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom.” Yale University Press. 2006. Accessed September 3, 2017.
Dalbello, Marija. (2009). “Digital Cultural Heritage: Concepts, Projects, and Emerging Constructions of Heritage.” Proceedings of the Libraries in the Digital Age (LIDA) conference, 25-30 May, 2009. Accessed September 18, 2017.
Drabinski, Emily. “Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction.” The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, Vol. 83, No. 2 (April 2013), pp. 94-111. Accessed September 6, 2017.
McChesney, Robert W. “Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy.” 2013. Accessed September 3, 2017.
Schwartz, Joan M. and Cook, Terry. “Archives, Records, and Power: The Making of Modern Memory.” Archival Science 2 (2002), pp 1–19. Accessed September 6, 2017.
Vaidhyanathan, Siva. “Afterword: Critical Information Studies.” Cultural Studies Vol. 20, Nos 2 /3 March/May 2006, pp. 292 /315. Accessed September 3, 2017.