It’s Just Protocol.
Just tumbling and turning over this idea of a distributed network- a structural form without center that resembles a web or meshwork…
-you need links, ties, connections.
-some links are strong, which are the main ties.
-some links are weak, which form new stations of ideas
these stronger links were once the upper echelons of public discourse, with power controlling discourse, but new media has facilitated a shift in the source of power and the level of control in all of the online community with a small degree of network literacy.
‘the shift from disciplinary societies to control societies’;
Even though the monuments of power still stand, visibly present in stable locations, the agency that maintains power is neither visible nor stable. Power no longer permanently resides in these monuments, and command and control now move about as desired.’
I stammer over the idea of ‘desired’- when we post online, how much control do we encounter? How much do we expect? And to what degree does content shift from ‘disciplinary’ to ‘controlling’. It comes back to the idea of validity and is in line with PROTOCOL.
‘Prior to its usage in computing, protocol referred to any type of correct or proper behavior within a specific system of conventions. Now protocols refer specifically to standards governing the implementation of specific technologies’.
In terms of guiding and maintaining control, how do you adhere to protocol? There is no manual, there is a mere ‘lead-by-example mentality like when we are taught manners and common courtesy and chivalry. Should we add ‘online protocol’ to this list? It does go hand-in-hand with understanding network literacy- it’s about the culture, and understanding how control works is just as powerful as control itself..
