PBSoffbook again and it is a subject matter that i am fairly invested in. Reddit is globally sprawling culture built upon up voting and down voting news, comments, pictures or links based on nothing more other than a whim. It is hugely popular however and it is also perhaps the most complete embodiment of what Lanier calls a ‘Hive mind’ (Lanier, 2010: 49) where a single consciousness dissipates in the face of a collaborative mass, a total submission to what Suroweiki (2005) calls the Wisdom of the Crowds or Levi (1997) called Collective Intelligence. In this video that state of consciousness is questioned and analysed on its key characters which are far from egalitarian.
Lanier, J. (2010) You are not a Gadget: A Manifesto, London: Allen Lane.
Surowiecki, J. (2005) The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many are Smart than the Few, London: Abacus.
Levy, P. (1997) Collective Intelligence: Mankind’s Emerging World in Cyberspace, Cambridge: Perseus Books.
JJarr news 