Small Discussions

Jens Winther expands on an unexpressed argument in my over-titled “Web as Utopia.” I wrote: “I can’t defend the following so I’ll just state it: we humans are at our best when we are involved with others.” Jens writes:

I agree. And I also believe that it is possible to defend this statement: Communication is the very core of what being social is all about. Take away communication in all conceivable variants and it becomes impossible to talk of sociality. The Web is built on the notion of connectivity and communication, and we mainly experience this as different bits, pieces and other shapes of hyperlinked text.

He continues by asking what’s special and formative about this special place, and concludes by raising the question of reliability, which I think is actually a variation on the question of authenticity that has launched a whole bunch o’ blogthreads.

The previous day’s blog reflects on Michael O’Connor Clark‘s. Jens writes that he likes the pursuit of new Web metaphors:

I believe that there’s room (!) enough on the Web for all sorts of efforts to conceptualise what’s going on however confusing they might turn out to be. The more the merrier I’d say.

Me, too. And I’m merry to have run into Jens’ blog.

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Jacob Shwirz sent me an email to see if I was bothered by his comments on my book. He integrates some of the book’s ideas into his own way of thinking. Bothered?? How could I be anything but delighted?

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Just got a pretty good review in Wired, and a wonderful mention by James Fallows in The Atlantic online.

Daily Hebrew

Jacob Shwirz over at FuzzyBlogic is looking for someone to commit to translating his father’s blog from Hebrew to English. His father is the main NY correspondent for Ha’Aretz, the Israeli newspaper. Sounds like it’d be a voice worth hearing. (Unfortunately, my Hebrew is limited to “Hag shameach” and “Lo ani.”)

Categories: Uncategorized dw