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Datacloud: Toward a New Theory of Online Work
This text examines information work from a broad range of viewpoints to construct a better understanding of how and why we use computer technology as we do. Constructing a post-disciplinary theoretical framework from disciplines including rhetoric, techical communication, cultural studies, architecture, and more, Datacloud interprets how people work in a variety of contexts, both computer-supported and analog.
161 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
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December 28, 2013
First off, this book is not about what I expected it to be about. The title would seem to indicate something about cloud computing and maybe some interesting ways in which we can work with that. This book has nothing to do with cloud computing.
It has plenty to do with postmodernism. WTF? Basically, in postmodernism, you are no longer creating new, original works. You're taking stuff which has already been creating and remixing, rearranging, reorganizing it. A DJ, which takes existing records or samples and streams them together to come up with something new, is engaging in postmodernism. The blogger, who is tracking all these other blogs, linking stuff together from various sources, adding their comments and analysis on top of it all, is engaging in postmodernism. The person who is creating reports from existing data, organizing and analyzing it all such that others can come up with useful analysis, is engaging in postmodernism. Such instances of postmodernism are only growing in our society and in our job market. There are certain skills you need for each of these, and you would be well-advised to get busy developing such skills if you do not possess them already.
What kind of workspaces do you need to do such things? I really didn't find the author's descriptions of them that compelling. A musician who uses a Mac with multiple screens, a computer keyboard and multiple musical keyboards. An academic who uses, of all things, a whiteboard, a chalkboard and a desk covered with notecards, in addition to a computer. Wow; that's really cutting edge. If the author was trying to show diversity in how workspaces can be setup, he succeeded. Other than that, I wasn't impressed.
I have a one-file wiki (search for TiddlyWiki, if you're interested) where I store my ideas. Like the academic, writing ideas on his whiteboard, I put my ideas in the wiki and store it on a USB drive. Occasionally, I delve in there, look at stuff, maybe expand on the ideas, ponder whether they're still relevant. My workspace for this is any modern web browser on any modern computer. I don't need some defined, physical space for this.
This book is not an easy read. The author likes to use lots of complex language and seems to delight in referencing others who do the same. There are plenty of mixed metaphors, which the author (and the sources) probably found clever. I found them to be a severe case of intellectual masturbation. The author probably enjoyed it a lot more than I did.
I'm at a loss for who I could recommend to read this book. There are some useful things in here, but they could probably be summed up in 20 pages. Not the 100+ that this book consumes.
It has plenty to do with postmodernism. WTF? Basically, in postmodernism, you are no longer creating new, original works. You're taking stuff which has already been creating and remixing, rearranging, reorganizing it. A DJ, which takes existing records or samples and streams them together to come up with something new, is engaging in postmodernism. The blogger, who is tracking all these other blogs, linking stuff together from various sources, adding their comments and analysis on top of it all, is engaging in postmodernism. The person who is creating reports from existing data, organizing and analyzing it all such that others can come up with useful analysis, is engaging in postmodernism. Such instances of postmodernism are only growing in our society and in our job market. There are certain skills you need for each of these, and you would be well-advised to get busy developing such skills if you do not possess them already.
What kind of workspaces do you need to do such things? I really didn't find the author's descriptions of them that compelling. A musician who uses a Mac with multiple screens, a computer keyboard and multiple musical keyboards. An academic who uses, of all things, a whiteboard, a chalkboard and a desk covered with notecards, in addition to a computer. Wow; that's really cutting edge. If the author was trying to show diversity in how workspaces can be setup, he succeeded. Other than that, I wasn't impressed.
I have a one-file wiki (search for TiddlyWiki, if you're interested) where I store my ideas. Like the academic, writing ideas on his whiteboard, I put my ideas in the wiki and store it on a USB drive. Occasionally, I delve in there, look at stuff, maybe expand on the ideas, ponder whether they're still relevant. My workspace for this is any modern web browser on any modern computer. I don't need some defined, physical space for this.
This book is not an easy read. The author likes to use lots of complex language and seems to delight in referencing others who do the same. There are plenty of mixed metaphors, which the author (and the sources) probably found clever. I found them to be a severe case of intellectual masturbation. The author probably enjoyed it a lot more than I did.
I'm at a loss for who I could recommend to read this book. There are some useful things in here, but they could probably be summed up in 20 pages. Not the 100+ that this book consumes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review