Generative Systems = Evolution

                         Ok, so I read chapters four & six in Zittrain and this is discussing generative systems and the rise of "Wikipedia". The two chapters prove to be quite interesting, and chapter four's 5 principles of a generative system can be applied to most forms of social media on the internet. In other words, Zittrain explains that are always pros or cons from the use of certain programs, hardware, or any sites on the internet. This is not necessarily a bad thing, if you ask me. I would like to think that if one is on Facebook it is easy to create a page for promoting a product, music group, movie, and even a health or humanitarian cause. Initially since I started reading Zittrain it is an easy read it is pretty straightforward.

                        Before I start my review of the readings, this is my second blog post so I am still trying to find my voice in what to say in terms of the readings. Simply just regurgitating what I read in the articles and chapters is not the greatest way to apply what I learned from them. So I am going to take a different approach to this altogether. I started reading the the two chapters on Zittrain and I learned a couple of things that I normally would not. I learned that the use of generating technologies can work so long as there are more innovations, what are happening in the internet on a consistent basis. What I found that was most unique was that the 2 chapters were repeating the same theme in both, that is evolution. Yes evolution. Evolution in the use of generative programs within computers and the internet the is a specific where Zittrain explains, in chapter six, how the evolution of wikipedia sprang from the use and the importance of the computer. By that I mean, the use of CD-ROMS like as he explains by stating,
                                           "Eventually Microsoft released Encarta encyclopedia on CD-ROM in
                                            1993 for just under $1,000, pressuring Britannica to experiment both with
                                             CD-ROM and a subscription- only website in 1994." (Zittrain, 131)
It is from that very instance that evolution of wikipedia began, and it cause that small innovation in the functional use of computing to become an evolutionary state for the use of the internet. In essence one cannot go without the other. The same can be with use of chatting on the internet started with chat room and IMing on AOL. Therefore, leading to other messaging site such as Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger, all of these site are peer messaging sites. These all led to the evolution of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and so on. For every generative innovation, it spawns to a massive and complete evolution.





Works Cited

Zittrain, Jonathan. The Future of the Internet–and How to Stop It. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009. Page 131