<div dir="ltr">Media Ecology is a 30-40+ year old concept/discipline. High-profile researchers are <div><ul><li>Neil Postman: <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=neil+postman+media+ecology&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart">https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=neil+postman+media+ecology&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart</a> <br clear="all"></li><li>Walter Ong:
<a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.5142">http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.5142</a></li><li>James Cary:
<a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.5142">http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.625.5142</a></li><li>Of course, to a slightly different vector and early to the game, Marshall McLuhan:
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=marshall+mcluhan&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS807US807&oq=marshal+mc&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5518j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">https://www.google.com/search?=marshall+mcluhan&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS807US807&oq=marshal+mc&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.5518j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8</a> </li></ul><div>Tom</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div>============================================<br>Tom Johnson - <a href="mailto:tom@jtjohnson.com" target="_blank">tom@jtjohnson.com</a><br>Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA<br>505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h)<br><a href="http://nmfog.org" target="_blank"><b><font color="#0b5394">NM Foundation for Open Government</font></b></a><br><b><font color="#0000ff">Check out <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Its-The-Peoples-Data/1599854626919671" target="_blank">It's The People's Data</a></font></b> </div><div>============================================</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Nov 19, 2019 at 2:02 PM Steven A Smith <<a href="mailto:sasmyth@swcp.com">sasmyth@swcp.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Glen -<br>
<br>
I chose not to respond specifically to the link/point you offered in my<br>
last response because I felt this was a (useful) tangent and wanted to<br>
address it more directly. <br>
<br>
I do appreciate the analogy drawn between our physical ecosystem and<br>
what the author calls the Information ecosystem and that this threat may<br>
well be existential. I also believe that such a collapse as is<br>
suggested might be much more imminent than *other* existential threats. <br>
I'm tempted to distinguish this "information ecosystem" from de<br>
Chardin/Vernadsky's "Noosphere".<br>
<br>
It feels to be, by analogy, somewhat like the difference between talking<br>
about the collapse of the biosphere *strictly* in terms of the<br>
geochemical basis of it... while CO2 Absorption/acidity of the ocean is<br>
the *basis* for the collapse of pterapod/shellfish/coral/etc.<br>
populations/health and average temperatures, humidity levels and weather<br>
patterns are the direct result of our heightened greenhouse gas<br>
emissions, it may well be the collapse of the flora and fauna that<br>
collapse in response which defines the sharpest end of the consequences<br>
(to humans?). <br>
<br>
I wonder if perhaps the real crisis of our unhealthy/collapsing<br>
information ecology is not *just* in the way information is generated,<br>
flows, etc. but more acutely what might be doing to the individual and<br>
collective "spirits" of humanity and a subsequent "collapse of<br>
culture". It feels as if some involved in what has been referred to as<br>
"the culture wars" may well be trying to engineer (or trigger tipping<br>
points) such a collapse. <br>
<br>
If we contemplate the<br>
noosphere/anfosphere/anthrosphere/biosphere/geosphere as a complex<br>
adaptive system, then it is not surprising that there have been (and<br>
will continue to be) patterns of "punctuated equilibrium". The<br>
(imminent?) information ecosystem collapse described in this article may<br>
well be in some sense inevitable but my own illusions around individual<br>
(and by extension, collective) free will suggests that such a thing<br>
might be avoidable.<br>
<br>
This Guardian Article reads *almost* like an infomercial for their own<br>
product, however. My week in Austin included a visit with Mary's son<br>
and D-in-Law. He works for the Texas State legislature editing bills<br>
but has degrees in journalism and education, both fields he seems to<br>
believe he came to too late to be able to participate in righteously. <br>
His wife is an archivist for the Presbyterian University there (she is<br>
not Presbyterian) and so has her *own* take on meaning, reality, and the<br>
value of recording and archiving words both written and oral, formal and<br>
informal for future reference. She is less pessimistic, but both<br>
(early 40s) share a strong cynicism about the state of<br>
information/truth/coherent-culture.<br>
<br>
- Steve<br>
<br>
On 11/19/19 9:24 AM, glen\u2208\u2102 wrote:<br>
> To contribute to my spam score, I'll try again to suss out what is<br>
> meant by owning the means of production. Here it is again:<br>
><br>
> The collapse of the information ecosystem poses profound risks for<br>
> humanity<br>
> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/19/the-collapse-of-the-information-ecosystem-poses-profound-risks-for-humanity" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/19/the-collapse-of-the-information-ecosystem-poses-profound-risks-for-humanity</a><br>
><br>
><br>
>> William Randolph Hearst owned the means of production and was free to<br>
>> publish made up stories to sell papers and stoke the Spanish-American<br>
>> war. Today, everyone is free to be their own propagandist.<br>
><br>
> Is this a proper use of the concept of "ownership of the means of<br>
> production"? I know I'm simple-minded. But while it's clear to me what<br>
> it means to own, say, a screwdriver, it's not at all clear to me what<br>
> it means to *own* the process/tools by which one produces propaganda.<br>
> It reminds me of being "owned" (or "pwned") in some trashtalk context<br>
> like before a boxing match or an argument on 4chan. It's a stretched,<br>
> poetically licensed, sense of ownership and actually means domination<br>
> or humiliation, not at all like owning a hammer or printing press.<br>
><br>
> But this concept of pwning does seem closer to the sense I was getting<br>
> from both Marcus' and Steve's explanations, that seemed to target<br>
> exploitation, asymmetric power, or some sort of inappropriate hoarding<br>
> or market monopoly. If so, I would maintain my skepticism that using<br>
> the words "ownership" and "production" is *conflating* things that<br>
> could be better analyzed in another way. I just don't know what way<br>
> that is.<br>
><br>
> But thanks to y'all for changing my mind. The phrase no longer<br>
> irritates me now that I have a sense that those using it are simply<br>
> trying to describe something they are ill-equipped to describe.<br>
><br>
><br>
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</blockquote></div>