In this 12:24 vlog, I talk about the upcoming cultural shift started by v/blogs and how it applies to the Deaf. At 6:55, I have a special treat for you all to watch!
In my next blog post, I’ll talk briefly about the different symbols in the "passing the baton" scene.
Vlog Transcript as follows:
I got out of the box and looked at all the new Deaf people jumping into blogs and vlogs and expanding the blogosphere, especially with ASL vlogs. Many people really want to participate in some way in the new way of mass socialization.
I realized it’s not about blogs or vlogs. Blogs and vlogs are just tools that are being used by us. What is the real reason why people are using blogs and vlogs now? It’s the ability to connect to others.
The connections, learning and sharing information are now limitless.
If you look at history of information transmission back when there was no written languages, information was carried forward orally. Later when the alphabet and other written symbols developed, books were copied by hand so that the information could be passed on. Later the printing press was invented and enabled information sharing on a much more larger scale.
Each time the method of information transmission changed, there was a large cultural shift. Long time ago, it was the monks who copied books by hand. They decided which information was worth passing forward to future generations. This still continues today with publishing companies when they determine which articles or books they feel are worthwhile to print for their audience and profit. In other words, there has always been the few who had the "authority" and the control to determine the value of the knowledge to transmit.
Up to now, these systems of information transmission were always closed because of the dependency upon few people.
Now with blogs and vlogs, this system has been transcended. We are now shifting to a more open system where "wisdom of the crowd" determines the value. It’s like the traditional setting of a person lecturing on a stage to the audience, but now it’s the audience who is on the stage and connecting with each other and having conversations amongst ourselves.
It’s the bottoms-up structure that can only exist with a culture of openness, transparency, diversity.
"ubiquitous connectivity and pervasive proximity"- Two important concepts for the open system of v/blogs.
Ubiquitous connectivity – No matter where we are, home, work, or away, we can always be able to connect to the internet and find the information we want.
Pervasive proximity- The long distance physical presence of people doesn’t matter anymore. When we get on the internet, all of their thoughts, news, and discussion are right there for us to read.
Anyone would be fool to believe everything that one would read on blogs or see on vlogs. We have to develop the complex skill of trying to make sense of it all. It is a world which truth and authority is always changing . There is no one person with the authority that can tell us what is right and what is wrong.
My question: Does this shift from closed system to an open system will also change how we think about ourselves and others? The fact that we can always connect when we want, find and analyze the information when we want, from anywhere we are, and the ease of finding new people and information- does that change how we view ourselves?
We are the networked Deaf culture with bottom-up power and diverse group of people not physically close to each other but belong together in our desire to improve lives of all Deaf people. We are creating our own media for others to consume.
We have so many minds, plenty of available time, a lot of energy for the contributions from a great mass of Deaf People. This is something that no one organization can hope to match on its own.
If we all work together as a collective, we will enter the next Golden Age of the Deaf.