What does it mean to be ‘network literate’? Well apparently practically all of us born in the digital age are what you can call ‘network literate’. Much like being fluent in another language, being network literate means to have a profound understanding of the infinite compilation of knowledge that is known as ‘the internet’.

One point that Adrian makes in his discussion of network literacy which is particularly noteworthy is that there is a difference between being network literate and being good at network literacy. Outside of the (comforting) confines of the World Wide Web, our society thrives upon mindless consumerism; what does mindless consumerism inevitably lead to? A whole lot of waste… Being good at network literacy means that you put in what you get out, you contribute as much as you consume, so that none of this virtual consumerism of information leads to ‘disparate’ bits and pieces getting lost or buried with new information. Everything is recycled, classified and shared, so that new information can be born and grow organically through the intricacies of the Web. A post should not simply be read, understood, then forgotten about; it should be tagged based on your understanding of it, so people will find it more easily and shared through RSS to as many services as you want, as long as it’s out there, so the rest of the world can also benefit from the knowledge you have earned. That is my understanding of what it means to be network literate.

Is the net really ‘greener’ (conceptually at least) than the actual world? Wow!