Why do people display their social connections online so ostensibly? Why function does such a display serve?
Why did the invention of computer technologies have such a drastic impact on writing and writers?
Donath and Boyd argue that the ostensible display of one’s social connections on social networking sites allows the users to better establish trust with new relationships online. I think this tie into the idea we can make a substantial amount of inferences from one’s social connections. For example, we can possibly ascertain how trustworthy a person is by how many close friends he or she has, or how successful a person is based on the number of prominent business contacts he or she is connected with. However, I find it difficult to understand the discussion on how we can apply signaling theory in verifying the reliability of social connections in the reading. Signaling theory seems to be focused on the idea that there are numerous different signals we can use to make deduction. But how can we ensure the accuracy of such deductions?
Baron suggests that the invention of computer and the internet played a pivotal role in the rise of authorship. The shift from pencils to pixels allowed a much simpler method of writing and the distribution of writings. As such, more people voluntarily began writing and publishing their work online. I think the main idea that Baron is pointing out is the fact that well typewriter was making writing easier in some ways, it did not contribute well for spreading the writings. Therefore, the barrier to become a writer that could publish his or her work remained high in the age of typewriters. Computer, on the other hand, demolished this barrier, and therefore, played a more prominent role in increasing authorship.
Wong Kin
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