OLJ TASK : SHIFTS& TRENDS

The opening statement in the Youtube video _"Did You Know 4.0" that convergence is everywhere and that it is easy to connect to a large audience but really difficult to really connect with that audience really struck a chord for me. I am still left wondering about the reason behind why so many people are engaging with such a wide spectrum of the population, while at the same time still not really connecting. My perspective on this at the moment is that people are feeling more isolated and so use social networking to engage and feel part of the group. However, perhaps if what is happening on the inside for an individual is not positive, then even online engagement cannot fill that void. Just a thought.

So, with so many people all busily publishing information from just a few words to academic articles, plus the permanency of this shift in how information is conveyed, society needs to consider what is acceptable online behaviour, plan how further developments with technology may impact on digital use and consider how to support the need for information dissemination via these social networking modes.
Five ‘shifts’ which I have chosen are :-
1. 95 % of downloaded songs are not paid for – information policy in this context needs to observe and plan for copyright and to acknowledge intellectual property. In planning the implementation of the theory, effective government policy needs to safeguard the rights of the artist to their income. Policy needs to highlight the need for users to pay rather than just to take.
2. 1,00 pages of information can be digitized to the web every hour, - with this huge proliferation of information, policy makers need to educate users in learning how to locate, use and acknowledge sources of information. How this education happens could be in person – for example in libraries, or online information guidelines.
3. Portability of information access – in developing policy, there needs to be planning and application of suitable accessibility in the way that information is presented so that the information can be accessed on a variety of mobile media.
4. Politicians using social networking to build their profile and funds – this one is interesting because although politicians using technology can appear to send the message that the politician is up to the minute and part of the community by using popular social networks to engage with the electorate, it also means that some of the electorate who do not have access to the social network is at disadvantage because those people miss out on this aspect of inclusion. Policy makers need to be aware of the right to information when planning to use social media so that there is equitable access to information to all constituents.
5. Wide use of Facebook – policy needs to protect the privacy and online safety of individuals but users also need to take responsibility for what they publish on the Web. Policy needs to stipulate guidelines for acceptable use of this platform so that the message that individuals and organisations convey is accurate and reflects the message that an organization wants to convey.