Networked People

Networked people- Week fives lecture on Network People got me wondering... What is a networked person? Am I a networked person?

Castells argues that "Networks constitute the new social morphology of our societies, and the diffusion of networking logic substantially modifies the operation and outcomes in processes of production, experience, power and culture." Castells in Flew also comments on the rise of a network society, since the 1980s a new technological and economic framework has emerged that is global, informational, and networked. This therefore can be seen to mark a transition towards an informational mode of development, and the rise of the network society, whose origins lie in the mass diffusion of ICTs, and whose consequences affect everything from “the development of cities and regions, the conduct of everyday life, workforce trends, contemporary politics, and the development of new forms of social identity”(2005: p27). It is because of this networked society that networked people are formed.

Networked people to me are people who are exposed to an abundance of information, and that information becomes greater and greater as we are exposed to more and more information, from which we learn. According to Axel Bruns a network of people can be defined as a network through which communication flows occur, that are open, flexible, and adaptable forms able to expand without limits. The concept of networking is based upon the Internet and has been the centre of claims that the current phase marks the emergence of a ‘new economy’, or a ‘network society’. Bruns also makes mentiont that the significance of a network is that it draws attention to the ongoing relations between people which are embedded in cultures, rules and norms. In a networked society we are surrounded and engage each day in continuous content of information, knowledge and meaning.

After reading various sources and thinking about what it means to be a networked person, I consider myself to be a networked person. I am a part of a networked society which surrounds me with information, knowledge and meaning on a day to day basis. I have also come to the conclusion that we are all networked people in different ways, with our society becoming more and more of a ‘new economy’ with new and improved technological advances helping us to become a networked person. Since the beginning of time, man has migrated together sharing ideas and arriving at new ideas as a result of communicating with others, networked people are an example of this people who have shared ideas and have arrived at new ideas as the result of communication between others.