The Amorality of the Web
Nicholas Carr in the article “The Amorality of Web 2.0, explores how the idealistic view of the internet that people have, has led to the gradual decline or societal standards, as captured when in regard to wikipedia he says “But at a factual level it’s unreliable, and the writing is often appalling” (98). In fact, he argues that the internet is having a negative impact on institutions that are very important for the wellbeing of society. Personally, I do agree to some extent with the claims made in the article. Although initially intended for excellence, the World Wide Web has fallen short of initial expectations, as well as dealt a serious blow on the health of the writing industry. The quality of work as highlighted by Carr when he cites a few excerpts from wikipedia is indeed appalling, with claims regarding blogs as subjective journalism, accurate in my opinion. Indeed the lack of quality is widespread across the internet and the web, although it does have its advantages, which Carr seems to overlook. The key advantage is the degree of reach and the potential for dissemination. The main reason why quality is no longer a serious consideration when it comes to the internet is the proliferation of open source and free content, otherwise quality does exist, it is just not as widespread. There is no doubt that if the extent of free content is reigned in, and professionals adopt the internet more, the internet could become quite beneficial.
Snider’s article “The Intimacy of Blogs,” serves to reaffirm some of the views expressed by Carr regarding the web. The subjective nature of blogs may in fact encroach on the concept of quality, and professional reporting, but the intimacy it provides, is an aspect worth further exploration. The intimacy and two way nature of communication over the internet can indeed only be beneficial if applied to professional reporting, as it would ensure that reporting remains relevant and sensitive to the needs of its audience. Blogging and by extension the web does indeed provide an avenue for improvements in reporting, as well as enhance the wellbeing of the entities engaged in the two way communication, as captured when Snider claims “..she uses her blog as an outlet, a place to dump her anxiety and frustration in a search for identity and understanding,” in reference to Plain Layne (132). The internet, judging from Snider’s article is therefore not that bad, and in fact offers opportunities previously non existent if used well.
The article “The Amorality of Web 2.0” by Nicholas Carr discusses the impact of the internet to our culture. The main elements of the internet: World Wide Web and Wikipedia which have greatly changed the economics of culture. Carr focuses more on the negative impact of the internet on its ability to undermine important institutions which have previously performed very well. According to the article “Online culture is the culture” (101) and this proves people are addicted to the internet and researchers are currently escaping quality challenges for online world and this can be classified as addiction. From a personal point of view, Carr escapes some important benefits of the internet and concentrates on the excessive usage which he terms to be addiction. Though it is true that internet addition has resulted to acceptance of low quality information, there are still major advantages which Carr should not over look. Internet quality may be low but this is brought about by its wide usage by different people and therefore it is essential to pay attention to credibility of specific information material and not just disregarding the entire internet usage.
The intimacy of Blogs by Michael Snider
Snider’s article “the Intimacy of Blogs” takes a different perspective from that of Carr “The Amorality of Web 2.0”. This is because Snider appreciates the main function of the internet and understands the major benefits that come with it. Internet main function is to provide and pass information; it does this through blogging, online chat, email and search engineers. the article places more emphasizes on the benefits of blogging and how they have assisted in passing concrete discussions through their intimate nature. I do support Snider’s idea that blogs provide an excellent avenue for people to share their inner most ideas, thus creating accurate, realistic and informed debates. Though the author tends to overlook the limitation that blogs are hardly factual, he honors the fact that internet with the help of its blogging option provides an opportunity for people meet, keep in touch and above all participate in some common real life issues.