To overview these article is to cut down their worth and their mirrored  images to current society and its innermost workings. Both articles reflect and ponder upon the value of social media along with its pros, cons, and intimidating qualities. In contrast, the articles discuss two different circumstances. This is to not simply state that they are entirely different, because they are not. Each article poses the same statement that electronic connections made hold no less value than those made in a face-to-face setting.

In “It Takes a Village to Find a Phone,” the author recounts the story of a young woman losing her phone and the bountiful response from a friend’s internet following to not only retrieve it, but to supply advice and support in the process. This article coincides with the discussion that takes place in “Love Online,” where the author tells us his story of when he took his son to meet his online girlfriend for the very first time. He explains that the connections that they built are no less real or congruent to those that he and his father had built with their wives in times of separation. The only difference is that the process was now digital. Both articles discuss how the banding of people from great distances are all right and true, but they both pose the question, why is this the place were society resides now? Where does it stop? Can it be avoided? Should it be avoided?

Current technology provides a space to build relationships and forums that otherwise could not have existed in the world in such an instantaneous and continuous fashion. It allows a potpourri of people from all spaces, times, and backgrounds to come together in a familiar place to communicate information and discuss happenings in a way that everyone can understand and access. It fosters the building of friendship and acquaintanceship that otherwise would take years though the distance; when now it takes just the typing of letters on a keyboard.

When Shirky explains the concept of “architecture of participation,” on page 17 of the “village” article, he’s explaining the instant pool of resources into a universally accessible platform. One person cannot possibly know or understand all of the information that makes the world go around, but one person can ask another person for their take on a matter and fix the problem that otherwise could not have been solved due to the lack of information owned by one individual. This concept is visible in both articles, in Shirky’s article, the story includes and could not move on without the pooling of resources from many individuals to help find the phone. There was help from police officers, cab drivers, and many other individuals following the story. They all related to the issue, so in this they supplied information that Eric and Ivanna did not possess in their tool belt. This is the exact reason the phone was found.  In an altered form, this is how the couple from ” Love Online” came to meet. Thy found each other in a forum that fosters information that they are both interested in. This pool of knowledge is built by people all over the world who are interested in the same things that want to find others with the same passion. In their case, it was pro-wrestling.

In both of these articles we can observe the alterations to the framework of society caused by the addition of certain technological resources. This concept is illustrated in the statement,” when we change the way we communicate, we change society.” Long distance courtship no longer requires letters and stamps, because now we have email addresses and internet connection. Tracking down a phone in the city no longer requires as much anxiety and rushing around, because we now have online forums that help look for lost objects and even apps that will find the phones for you. These are all alterations to society that were conducted by the introduction to technological accommodations to every day life.

After reading these articles, I have realized something. Individuals share information online to find other complimentary information provided by other people. This is because rather than sitting and waiting for the conflict to fix itself, they realize that there is a ubiquitous resource at their fingertips that can connect them to distant knowledge and companionship. We no longer have to wait on the side of the road for someone to come help change a flat, we can post on Facebook that week need help and attach our location. We no longer have to wait to run into our soulmate at the diner, because we can access “Okay Cupid” and “Match.com”  from our phones. The resource is there, so we no longer feel the need or the responsibility to sit and wait when all we have to do is grab the phone off the night stand and type the right words into the right spaces.

In conclusion, I think the most important thing that I have learned from reading these articles is not only to acquire a great appreciation for new technologies, but to realize that society can no longer physically function without them. This has numerous pros and cons in itself, but that’s a topic for another time. I wonder, what would happen if we took away everyone’s phone at UW-Whitewater for a single day?