On this episode of Spark: Religion in a digital age, WiFi t-shirts, and curating the web
- Nora mentions several intersections of religion and technology:
- Rachel Wagner researches the intersection of digital culture and religion, and what it means for how we understand the sacred (full interview)
- Liane Balaban reads her poem “Wireless Networks”
- Nora and Jesse Wente try out the WiFi t-shirt (video)
- Jason Kottke curates the web (full interview)
- Jason’s favourite blogs:
This episode features Creative Commons music and sound effects:
- “Wadidyusay?” by Zap Mama
- “Mermaid Song” by J.Lang
- “Go Inward” and “Starry” by General Fuzz
- Clip from “On the Air (1937)“
- “Deep Blue (2005)” by Antony Raijekov
- “Moodswing” by Podington Bear
Play audio:
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[Original image by foxypar4]
Interesting podcast, community that has been affected significantly by the internet is the non-believing community. Historically, non-believers and atheists have always been individuals or small disparate groups and have never had any organization and therefore little or no representation in society even though they have always been a sizable minority.
The internet has been a huge boon for these groups, as many people who thought they were alone in their ideas discover a large population of like-minded people. I think the rise of the “new atheists” such as Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, etc are a clear indication of this shift. The increasing momentum of these groups is most clearly shown in Obama’s inauguration address, where he said one of America’s groups were “non-believers. This would never have happened previously and online networks have played a large role in this.
Faiz,
believers and 'non-believers' alike have a belief.
The internet allows both groups to find each other and form communities.
You may find that both groups are similar more that they are different.
Cheers,
Nick
I am all for "E-Faith" though there are some dangers, deficits and pitfalls to be sure, for someone like me who, because of family responsibilities, lives in a community that have no affiliates of my faith represented; I have to depend on the internet for learning and fellowship. The nearest synagogue is 3 hours away and is not feasible for me to attend regularly, besides they are of a stricter sect that is not my cup of tea.
Yes, this is really an interesting fact of modern life, isn't it? People are so much more mobile than they used to be, that you can end up pretty far away from 'real world' contact with your religious or cultural community.
Indeed, well said. I very much enjoyed the radio show today, thank you for such a thought provoking, relevant topic. This is also, I feel, about the ability for religions to evolve and adapt to survive, Judaism (which is the only faith I can speak for) is all about adaption and yet remain true to the foundational principles of the faith so as to stay the inevitability of remaining unchanged and thus die out, or the other alternative is just as grim, which is assimilation. Also I believe many people have been "burned" by organized religious institutions and this is a "safe" way for them to practice a faith and yet have some anonymity and not find themselves in a situation in which they will get burned again. But the negative aspect personally for me is I miss flesh and blood interaction and fellowship with people of like-mind. Thanks again! Shalom
Thanks Norah – unbelievable how thick I can be. It took me a while to "get" what your sacred text discussion was really all about. I am 46 years old and had never before understood that some people would consider the actual book itself a sacred item. I grew up within a church community too!
It also occurred to me that the Bible was the first thing ever to come out of a printing press – Preachers were on TV as soon as the first signals were going out – I think the Sacred has always been what they call "Early Adapters"!
Podcasting is a huge example of that. Tons of religious podcasts out there.
I use to help out with the AV part of my church. We had a projector with an amazing slide show program that fazed in and out images, videos and you could superimpose the text on them. It was a real quality production and in addition to it was the MP3's that we created of the sermon. The whole thing was so accessible and really got me interested in being active in my church, 'cause it was kind of geeky rather than the usual hymn book singing I disliked immensely. The best part as that w did sing the hymns from the hymn book but because it was in powerpoint format, it felt more real.
Nick,
the distinction i am trying to make in regards to the spread of Atheism is that religious communities have always had an organizational framework, that’s one of the reasons they exist, after all.
While non-believing communities, by definition, often exists in opposition and therefore are usually single individuals that have made an active choice (Think mac users in a sea of PC’s). much like niche sexual communities, people who otherwise think they are alone find other like-minded people.
It also connects well with the Banjo story from a couple weeks ago; finally, groups that are geographically diverse, but have a significant population size finally have representation.
I absolutely loved Liane's poem!
I have vacillated between keeping my wireless network open and locking it down. I love the idea of sharing my WiFi with the world and letting a random passerby check his or her email. On the other hand, anyone could use _my_ Internet connection to do something illegal, and it would get traced back to me. I'm not sure I want that kind of responsibility.
While I would love to see more cities provide free WiFi (or even paid WiFi coverage, for that matter!) beyond the occasional hotspot around town, I'm not optimistic about this happening any time soon. However, that hasn't stopped smaller groups from organizing their own free WiFi initiatives, such as FreeWiFi.ca.
On my corner in Toronto, we have a very small Meraki-based neighbourhood wifi project: http://public.meraki.com/network/Corktown
On my corner in Toronto, we have a very small Meraki-based neighbourhood wifi project: http://public.meraki.com/network/Corktown
On my corner in Toronto, we have a very small Meraki-based neighbourhood wifi project: http://public.meraki.com/network/Corktown
a huge part of religion is the fellowship, is it not? so how on earth can people sit isolated and listen to sermons and participate in that religion?
Gary, when I traveled for business, the isolation I felt was when I ate in a restaurant alone or came home to my empty hotel room. The time when I felt fellowship was when I was with my friends online. The wonderful thing about my online community (SecondLife) was that it didn't matter if I was stuck in the Denver airport or in a hotel in Orlando. I could still be with my friends.
I recently went to a Quran-recitation party. It was interesting to note that some people were reciting out of their iPhones rather than from book-copies. I liked the idea.
Technology has been significant for me in learning about my faith.
In fact I am doing a project that would revolutionize how people progress themselves in faith/good deeds, God-Willing
Today I came across a wireless network named, "Leave me alone or I'll kill you." Maybe it's a digital age's version of harsh no parking signs. It remineded me of Liane Balaban's poem I heard from your podcast!