Media Meditation #2

The Information R/Evolution


In my last Rhetoric class we had a brief introduction to one of our librarians on campus, Michele Melia. She had an interactive way of explaining what and how to use our library’s information. I found the technical shift approach she used, by showing us a youtube video, to be more attention grabbing than the old standard of lecturing us without the use of tools or interaction. She asked the class three questions: Where does Information come from? What do you want your information to be? What do you want your information to do for you? She went around the class asking for different answers to each question. I found some of the answers surprising.

Michele started her lecture with showing a video by Michael Wesch entitled Information R/evolution. This video immediately reminded me of our media class and Wesch’s video that we had watched. I have enjoyed both of Wesch’s videos so far. They are intellectual and make you really think critically about the information inside them. I felt that Wesch didn’t really make a stand one way or the other on the web 2.0 emergence so much as provided pros and cons for both sides. His videos are extremely informational and fun to watch at the same time.


The answers to the three questions that Michele asked the class surprised me. The first question—where does information come from—initially sparked the answers: people, learning experiences, books, magazines. This class was a freshman class and they were listing off non-technological answers. I was rather surprised that the generation who is completely submerged in the web 2.0 world (as Wesch’s video suggested) was listing these sorts of resources first. I mentioned blogs and RSS feeds and that brought about more computer based resources. The answers to the third question—What do you want your information to do for you—I also found interesting. The two top answers were: Answer questions and Inform you. After our discussion in our media class I couldn’t help but wonder how submerged in the Feed-based media world we were and whether the information answering our questions and informing us was accurate?

The entire “lecture” that Michele gave us came off as more of an information session on information than explaining how to use the library. However with the small mention of the library and how to access the information there I believe she successfully explained the potential of the library resources and the wealth of information that is beyond books in our Miller Information Center. I left the lecture understanding the uses of a librarian and how to access the libraries website. I also realized that while there are still books in our library, the computer and internet have become the dominant sources of finding information. Having grown up in a world where both were dominant at one point in time, I am not entirely sure how I feel about that.