Overview
First, choose an important historical public figure, event or movement of interest to you (if you are having trouble coming up with one on your own, choose one of the 4 given example options, linked with background info below). Then consider how things might have been different if the Internet had existed at the time. (Do Woodstock, example below)
Come up with at least five ways in which interactive media might have been used in this example. Think about sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, MeetUp, Flickr, Blogs, etc. (If you need some help getting your creative juices flowing, take a look at this page - WARNING – it contains humorous but potentially offensive content: http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses/).
Conclude with a summary paragraph, making 2-3 connections to the Week 8 (or previous weeks') readings and concepts and explaining how they applied to the experience of re-imagining history. Describe any other thoughts you had about this assignment, including any struggles you might have had with this activity or making connections to class readings. Heres some connextions from week 8
To demonstrate the concept of shared awareness, let's imagine that a new episode of your favorite TV show is airing tonight, and you watch it with two friends who are also fans. As you're watching the show, you notice that it is not capturing your attention as it usually does. The dialogue is poorly written, the editing is jarring, there are pointless plot points that make no sense, and you find yourself feeling...bored. What you don't realize at this point is that your friends, and most people watching right now, are thinking the exact same thing as you, but no one has said it yet. This is the first level of Shirky's concept of shared awareness: "when everybody knows" the episode is bad. You think maybe its just you, and decide to test that notion. "Does anyone else think this episode is pretty bad tonight?" Your friends express their agreement. You begin to discuss the ways in which the show is not up to par tonight. All across the nation, people are having similar discussions about this television show in their living rooms. This is the second level of shared awareness: "when everybody knows that everybody knows" the episode is bad. After the episode airs, you look online to see if other people agree. Everyone is talking about it, and they continue to talk about it. Now it is even reaching people who aren't fans of the show, and by the next day, the critiques are so prevalent that it seems no one, including the producers of the show, could be ignorant of it. This is the third level of shared awareness: "when everybody knows that everybody knows that everybody knows" the episode was bad (p. 163). This third level is key. It is the point at which it is so obvious that even those in charge must be aware of it. In this case, it is the producers of the TV show. But in more serious cases, it might be that the leaders in a government are aware of its people's oppression, or a local politician is aware that his constituents are accusing him of corruption. The point is, when the third level is reached, the "authorities" in charge cannot pretend they are unaware of the problem, and they are thus forced to respond. The producers of the TV show have to put out a statement or do an interview to save face and appease their fans; government leaders might be forced to take action to fix the system or help a community; politicians will be forced to defend themselves, or resign if there is proof of corruption This third level, however, is not always achieved. And it was far less likely to be achieved before the Internet. Now, however, as citizens go public with their concerns online, the third level is more easily achieved. And not only that, the tools of Interactive Media make it easier for people to organize themselves into a movement, to gain followers, and to share information in real-time - a "perfect storm" of characteristics that changes the balance of power in favor of the people, according to Shirky.