Reading #2

Network literacy was admittedly not a term I had heard of before. Adrian Miles’ article helped me to understand that to be network literate is to consume and contribute on equal parts.

This makes sense – however, as a new blogger I was still a little confused as to what this exactly meant. Miles’ breaks it down as:

• Acknowledging that the content you share is accessible to others, as is their content to you. The basis of network literacy comes from the ‘sharing’ aspect of the online community.
• Different services and websites can be managed by XML or RSS. XML standardises publication of information so it can be shared whereas RSS is a system based on XML that allows for exchange of information between services. (These terms are completely new to me, I feel I will need to read up a lot more as it seems very confusing and complex right now)
• Using ‘tags’ in social software systems makes its easier to categorise and find relevant content. The categories formed and their relations are called ‘tag clouds’.
• An RSS feed is ‘syndicated, time sensitive information that can be automatically published to you – if you have chosen to subscribe to it’. (Miles 2007) Miles gives the example of CiteuLike’s RSS subscription. If you subscribe to their RSS feed for a specific tag; each time a reference is uploaded with that tag you are notified. If you as a user upload a reference with a tag someone else has subscribed to; it will go to their RSS feed.
• Being network literate requires practice. You need to know a little about web coding and possessing the skills to find your required information and sort through what is relevant.

This is all new to me, and whilst I find it a little confusing and overwhelming – I’m sure as the course progresses I will gain a broader understanding. It’s the XML & RSS that is really confusing me at the moment as I literally have never heard of them before. It’s easy to see that predominantly being network literate is about participation in these networks; contributing & sharing others content.

Miles, Adrian. Network Literacy: The New Path to Knowledge [online]. Screen Education, No. 45, 2007: 24-30. Availability: <http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=805521387210748;res=IELAPA&gt; ISSN: 1449-857X. [cited 22 Mar 16].