2. INFORMATION: BITS &
BYTES
Global info consumption
exceeds
9,570,000,000,000,000,000,000
bytes/year
As a stack of books, it would
stretch from Earth to Neptune 20
times over
Server loads DOUBLE every 2
years
exponential growth
3
3. EVOLUTION? DEVOLUTION?
We create as much information in two days as
we did from the dawn of humans to 2003
Much of the growth is user-generated
content.
How much of this info do we actually see?
4
4. We see very little
5
• Most information is transient
• Created, used, discarded in
seconds
• Never seen by a person
“It’s the underwater base of the
iceberg that runs the world we see.”
5. ARE WE READY FOR
THIS?
“I spend most of my time assuming
the world is not ready for the
technology revolution that will be
happening to them soon.”
- Google Executive Chairman Eric
Schmidt
6
6. MEDIA LITERACY
How you find your information matters
Online Search Engines: Filter Bubbles
What consequences do filter bubbles
have for us as individuals and collectives?
Sources and platforms blur
Convergence: Did You Know?
Why does convergence matter?
8
7. WHAT IS “MEDIA LITERACY?”
A set of perspectives we actively use
to interpret the meaning of messages
we encounter (Potter book)
But “media literacy” is more than just
skills . . .
9
8. MEDIA LITERACY IS… (POTTER BOOK)
A continuum
not an “on/off” switch
We each have a typical “place”
But our place on the continuum can
shift
Multidimensional: involves 4
dimensions
cognitive, emotional, artistic, moral
10
9. BUILDING BLOCKS:
1. PERSONAL LOCUS
About control over effects. We slide between:
media control
personal control
personal locus (Potter): our control
goals determine what gets filtered in and out
stronger drives mean we put in more effort
if we don’t know our goal or our drive is low,
we let media control the process 11
10. BUILDING BLOCKS:
2. KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES
sets of organized information
help us understand new ideas & experiences
connect very different ideas, objects, people,
situations
meanings get more complex with more
experience (direct or vicarious)
For example:
What’s a “chair”?
Media Coverage: Occupy Wall Street
12
11. BUILDING BLOCKS:
3. SKILLS
Tools we develop through practice
For example, the 5-stage critical
process
Description
Analysis
Interpretation
Evaluation
Engagement
13
12. MEDIA LITERACY HELPS YOU:
pay closer attention to
message content and form
“autoprocessing” (see Potter book)
make more deliberate choices
choose attention and effect triggers instead
of letting media choose
empowers you to advocate for change
shield against “info fatigue” (see Potter
book) 14
