As I stalk my own blog in vain procrastination (at least I’m honest), I have come to the realisation that I forgot to blog about last week’s readings! I somehow managed to motivate myself to read all three, but was drawn to Adrian’s piece on Network Literacy the most.
So… Network Literacy. Can I buy it? Not necessarily. Can I use it to brush my teeth? Don’t think so. Is it deadlier than the plague? I’d sure hope not. Network literacy is what you and I have (assuming you probably clicked on a link and knowingly scrolled down to read my latest blog posts) and what my grandma who comments on my all of my friends’ Facebook photos doesn’t have. It is
“…being able to participate as a peer within the emerging knowledge networks that are now the product of the Internet, and to have as ‘deep’ an understanding of the logics or protocols of these networks as we do of print.” (Miles, 2007)
It’s about having your own little subconscious library of web knowledge and presumptions, and being able to not only consume but also create and develop content across a collection of boundless platforms. It’s about being a “produser”, and revelling in the opportunity to freely create, consume and share. We live in a world of give and take and this is just an extension of that notion. And I thrive off it.
The most foreign concept of network literacy to me is the RSS feed. I’ve kinda known about it for a while, and I do love the idea of a good feed, but I have no freakin idea why I haven’t, per say, ‘invested’ myself into utilising one. It’s concentrated, direct and, well, satisfactorily lazy, and enables users to pool a range of web resources into one. Pretty nifty if I do say so myself….
So let’s practice this newfound literacy and share this blog post, shall we? Or, you could be totally wild and add my blog to your RSS feed…
