Collective Intelligence & The Global Village

As I peruse through the landscape of Second Life, trying to gain a grasp on this ethereal digital world, I turn my avatar to another strange looking avatar and ask where we are? Another new member to Second life walks over and explains we are at an information hub; I had obviously accidently teleported into Second Life main land. I make friends with this new avatar named Zerthas1 and decide it’s time to fly and explore the world Linden Lab have created part of, and even observe what others have built themselves into this world and now call their own. Through talking to other avatars I gain insight, a sort of intelligence into what to do, and where to go. Alone this wouldn’t be possible, but with the help of others knowledge I am able to progress faster and a lot easier. This ironically I realise is an example of collective intelligence at work. Welcome to the Second Life I guess..

Second life, like other Information and communication technology (ICT) sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Wikipedia, is an example of collective intelligence and the Global Village. Collective intelligence is a “term used by Levy (1997) and de Kerckhove (1998) to refer to the capacity of networked ICTs to exponentially enhance the collective pool of social knowledge by simultaneously expanding the extent of human interactions enabled by communications networks that can generate new knowledge, and the greatly enhanced capacity to codify, store, and retrieve such knowledge through collective access to network databases.” (Flew, T 2008).Alternatively a simple explanation given by Thomas W. Malone “Groups of individuals acting collectively in ways that seem intelligent”. These examples operate under the banner of collective intelligence which I understand as millions of individuals around the world, amateurs and professional contributing to the collected information within social networks and/or Wiki.
The concept of the Global village introduced by McLuhan (1964) which refers to a boundless electronic communication village, again supported by Boorstin(1978), stating nations will be bound into a new form of community can strongly be again supported in a modern context by social mediums such as Facebook or Second Life. Not only do these mediums of collective intelligence transcend country borders in allowing communication by individuals all around the world simultaneously but with the introduction of new convergent technologies such as the I Phone and its applications, these networks break the boundaries of when, where and how this collective intelligence can be shared.

There are a lot of positives to be gained from the presence of collective intelligence and the Global village. One of these ironically enough is the process called Blogging. Blogging, essentially is the impression of peoples thoughts online, adding their amateur or professional views to the collective intelligence of the network society. This form of collective intelligence within the music industry has often been a point of concern as users rip music and place it in blogs to be uploaded for free or place their music for free, cutting out big corporations. Whilst this is positive and negative for some there exists a notably negative relationship between the Global Village and Collective Intelligence.

The Global Village has been argued to represent a modernist western colonial conception which aims at erasing cultural differences and national boundaries. (Zembylas, M & Vrasidas C 2005) Embracing the Global village is for poorer nations essential otherwise they run they risk of isolation and exclusion from progress. Collective intelligence represents one aspect of the mass force of progress, which is arguably the power of the crowd creating progress internationally. In that sense there may lie a negative to some when regarding the global village and collective intelligence. Whilst these negatives possibilities may exist and it is inevitable that social networks and collective intelligence channels exist, there must be vigilance in allowing difference among the conglomeration of knowledge.

Social networking not only transcends geographical boundaries but those of industries. The music industry is one such industry which is heavily entrenched in the Global Village. Social Networking sites are not only platforms for music e.g. MySpace, But they are also marketing tools to reach the audience of musicians. Amateurs and professionals operate technologically on an even scale, being able to use mediums such as You Tube to broadcast themselves and add to the collective intelligence musically. One example of this recently is the story of Susan Boyle, a 47 year old woman who auditioned on “Britans Got Talent” and within days became an internet sensation through the sharing of her performance over You Tube.



Like most music artists Susan will now have a Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, All social networking sites which span the Global Village and are constant sources of collective intelligence. Although these are the major social networking sites, the world of Second life also allows for individuals to add their knowledge to a social networking medium. In Second Life participants can take up any profession, even be a Deejay in a club where they can use their knowledge of music and play music for other avatars. This is an example of individuals using their information or skills which they possess which then becomes the raw material of economic activity within a social network. (Flew, T 2008).

References
1. Flew, Terry. 2008. New Media an introduction; pg 80-105
2. MICHALINOS ZEMBYLAS & CHARALAMBOS VRASIDAS. 2005. “Globalization, information and communication technologies, and the prospect of a ‘global village’: promises of inclusion or electronic colonization?” VOL. 37, NO. 1, 65–83
3. Susan Boyle Audition, www.youtube.com. (accessed 28.10.2009 4:38pm)
4. Collaboration & Collective Intelligence, http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/467
(Accessed 28.10.2009 2pm).

Let Music Tell Your Story

He was born on August 29 1958 in Chicago Indiana, this blog will be one of hundreds of thousands of attempts by end users to gracefully tribute his glistening glove and iconic moonwalk. His story has been echoed, copy pasted, forwarded and e-mailed across all media around the world. The titanic Google perceived a system failure, such was the brutal bombardment of information hungry mourners hoping Michael Jackson was not dead.
The question remains however for many musicians like Michael, Elvis, or more applicably Tupac Shakur, how can they be dead when their story still continues? Their music is still released and their memory still very much alive in the world. Like many artists before them and still to come, their story will be told and retold through digital media, across many mediums and their franchise legacy will continue to procure revenue. There are very simple and rational reasons for this, which stems from the creative minds of our world. One way to explain this may be transmedia story telling.

Traditionally transmedia story telling encompassed the reincarnation of marvel super hero’s or the flicks of sci-fi thrillers such as star wars, another take is to look at the lives of the creative’s among us, the transmedia stories of some of our great creative musical roots. This view must also be valid because the creative industries encompass far more than that. The creative industries encompass;

“Those activities which have their origins in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have the potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property”

It must then be clear that the music industry is of that calibre, evidence of this exists in;
”The Copyright industries accounted for 7.75% of US GDP” (2002)

Music is a part of this percentage. Its importance lies in its creation of jobs and creators and observers in the music industry which builds upon the transmedia story telling of artists and their worlds. Michael Jackson being the most current example of this phenomenon.

Michael Jackson’s death began what can only be foretold as the further continuation of one artist’s transmedia story. From the constant observations of the world via music, video, documentary and “Jackson wiki’s” , to the memorabilia in blogs and release of a new song mentioned in recent articles in Sydney Morning Herald and other publications globally. Additionally Michaels story continues now in a movie screening around the world showing his last dream, the trailer appearing on you tube and other mediums such his Michael Jackson website. What the camera misses others will add, building the story allowing the public an insight into the life and story of a legend.

Like other greats such as Elvis, there will be more media created about the life and times of Michael, allowing for further generated content, borrowing information from other authors, family and friends. Constantly there are examples of the knowledge community adding their own interpretations of Michaels story, his dance moves or just what they think of him, all part of the user generated media content. Other music artists still living also embrace the techno culture to build their empires and tell their stories. Musicians like Miley Cyrus or as younger generations would call her ”Hannah Montana” . Her interactive transmedia story is one where you can watch her cartoons, movies and television shows, you can play her games and be Hannah herself or dance to her DVD’s. This cross transmedia story adding to the convoluted double life of a young musician, comedian and actress, whose appeal has become increasingly intergenerational and whose story’s are retold across mediums through user generated content.

Another sector of the music industry closely related to that of music artists is the story of the events themselves. The shows and performances, what was once just pure marketing has now become a story for the consumer to observe and immerse themselves in. One example of this is the event Sensation White. Sensation not only releases information about the musical world that will be experienced by those who attend, but it does so with a story, that is told through advertisement, then retold through DVD, twitter, you tube, magazines and documentaries. Below is the most recent story of the Wicked Wonderland that enthralled the entertained in 2009.

This video is a great example of transmedia story telling as it shows the nature of the event through a story similar to what can be seen in movie trailers. The future can only hold exciting things for the growth of transmedia story telling!

References
1. Flew, Terry (2009) New Media an Introduction – 3rd Edition
2. Jenkins (2007) Transmedia Storytelling. Retrieved From:
http://www.henryjenkins.org/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html (20/10/2009)
3. Wikipedia. Retrieved From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson
(22/10/2009)
4. Sydney Morning Herald, Retrieved from: www.smh.com.au (21/10/2009)