Benkler

1. On pg. 7, Benkler talks about how the social network sphere has taken some of the power away from the "owners of communication" and placed it into the hands of those with access to the sphere. He goes on to talk about how this gives people a "greater role in authoring their own lives" and allows them to "perceive a broader range of possibilities" when making choices.

I once heard a story about a man that was asking for a jar of jelly from someone who didn't speak his native language. The store clerk kept asking if he wanted jam, jelly, or preserves. He just kept saying he wanted jelly. It turned out, in his language, they didn't have words for jam and preserves; it was all called "jelly." He didn't have a framework to understand what was different about the three kinds because in his world, there was only one kind- and it was all jelly! I think this illustrates Benkler's point, when we can access so many opinions and ideas from other people and cultures, it broadens our worldview and understanding. We are provided with so many more possibilities than we could ever have been aware of in our own little corners of the world. The people that had the power in our corners of the world (aka the "owners of communication") are no longer the sole "constructors" of our world frameworks. We can see beyond what they tell us to see. Therefore, we can make choices during the course of our lives that they never even told us we could make.

2. I have a recent, real life example of social networking that really fits into Benkler's idea that this sphere allows people to become aware of possibilities you hadn't previously known. I have a friend that just took the DAT to get into dental school. He had studied a lot, and also took a Kaplan prep class. This was the most he thought he could prepare and he went into the test thinking he had done everything he could to be ready. After he took the test, he was doing some checking into how his score matched up to what his top dental school choices accepted, and he stumbled upon a message board of dental students. I can't remember what the website was called (sorry!), but it had messages and posts from dental students all over the world giving suggestions about how to prepare for dental school and the DAT. They had links to many websites that provided free practice tests, exercises, and flashcards that they found extremely helpful in preparing for the DAT. He wouldn't have known about these other possibilities for preparing without this message board. Where else could you find such a diverse collection of preparation suggestions from dental students all over the world, who all took the same exact test he took? He had asked all of his friends who had also taken the test, and he'd spoken with his advisors at the university he goes to. The possibilities they had suggested were certain study strategies and the Kaplan prep class. However, the ability to "plug into" this social networking sphere allowed him to "ask" thousands of other people he wouldn't otherwise be able to ask.

3. I had an internship this summer with a convention and visitors bureau. We helped with lots of the events that occurred in the Greater Des Moines area. After each event, our boss would email us a link to fill out an event evaluation. These evaluations gave feedback to the company about how the event went, what the general demographic was, if the event was worthwhile etc... They used Survey Gizmo, which I have also used for many of my classes. The surveys can be completely anonymous, which allows people to be more honest in their evaluations. She then uses our feedback to compile data and present to the company and event planners about who is at the events, what they are looking for and lots of other imperative information. I realize that this can all be done with the internet, but like Benkler says, "things that are easier to do are more likely to be done." SurveyGizmo makes it a lot easier for her to compile, organize and present the data. It is also more convenient for us to complete the surveys, and we feel more comfortable to be honest because of the anonymity the site offers. I've also used SurveyGizmo for a research project that I completed last year for a class. The project was focused on international students' perceptions. Using an online survey tool allowed us to access international students studying in universities all across the country. This way, we weren't limited to international students studying in our immediate vicinity. Using this site allowed us to broaden the perspectives we received in response.