Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
24 July 2010
Reading Response 1
Changing Communication: Any Answer You Want, It’s Just Not Organized
Why is grass green? Did Marie Antoinette really say, “Let them eat cake?” With the creation of the World Wide Web came that ability to find the answer to just about any question a person may have. In the first three chapters of “The Virtual Community” by Howard Rheingold, Rheingold talks about how a community of people has made it possible to find the answer to any question asked. The trick is, knowing who to ask and where to find the information.
I find myself quite often at the computer typing key words, phrases, and questions into a search engine. I then sift through dozens of pages looking for helpful information. I pick out what I can use and then go back to the search engine home page to try a new set of key words to find more information. I’ve never thought about this process before. But after reading Rheingold’s statement about the information on the web not being organized, I realized he was telling the truth. I can type in the question, ‘Why is grass green?’ and get back countless links. Some links will be for song lyrics, others for gardening. Some of those links will be scientific answers that I am looking for and others will be random people guessing. Sites like Bing.com have tried to make sense out of all of the information online, but are still having trouble organizing information.
Why is organizing the information online so difficult? I thought to myself that with modern technology it shouldn’t be so difficult to organize information. Then I continued to read Rheingold’s thoughts. Millions of people are online everyday contributing information to different topics. Everybody has something different to say. Information changes quickly and people are able to edit their information. With all of the edits and new information it is near impossible to organize and categorize the internet. While it can be frustrating sifting through all that information, there is an upside. There is a community of people online, ready to hand out their knowledge at the drop of a hat.
Rheingold mentions a time his daughter had a tick on her head. Before his wife received a call back from the doctor, Rheingold had typed in his question, received an answer, and removed the tick. Information is readily available from credible sources at all hours of the day and night. The internet has created a community in which people are able to communicate all over the world. The internet has allowed people to share information as well as form relationships. Most importantly, the internet has changed the way people communicate.
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