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>> Zebra: Hey, G! Did you see me out there today? I lifted up my stripes and mooned all
those snap happy tourists!
>> Giraffe: Seriously, Z, you’ve got to stop doing that. You’ll never get into a
zoo if your potential keepers see your bare rump splashed all over Facebook
>> Zebra: Face-what?! All those photos take weeks to process then just end up in an album
on a dusty bookshelf somewhere... It’s not like they’re professionals.
>> Giraffe: They might be, Z. Anyone can be a professional with digital photography. As
soon as they hit that button the photo is processed and can be posted online immediately,
visible to billions of people!
>> Zebra: No...
>> Giraffe: Yes! Those little black boxes they’re holding aren’t just for taking
photos. They’re also televisions, books, video cameras, telephones, music players and
home theatres all in one! They’re all connected by the internet so any amateur can snap a
photo and display it online. Those photos from today might end up on next year’s African
Safari brochures!
>> Zebra: But what about all the special effects?! Who’s gonna touch up my stripes?!
>> Giraffe: There’s an app for that now. In one click they can turn you blue or make
your head look ten times bigger than your –
>> Zebra: No! Back up there! You mean those amateurs can make me look like a fool and
then post my photo on the internet?! What if it goes viral like Kony 2012?!
>> Giraffe: Are you kidding? No one uses the term “viral” anymore. It’s so disempowering.
>> Zebra: Really?
>> Giraffe: Yeah! Going “viral” implies that someone, somewhere, created this killer
thing which is so powerful it can be passed from person to person like an uncontrollable
disease, whether we like it or not. But that’s not what happens on the internet.
>> Zebra: It’s not, smarty spots?
>> Giraffe: No. Technology can’t function by itself. It can’t make decisions without
us. We choose the information and photos we share on the internet. We also choose how
we share it. If we want, we can pass on the same message
but totally change the format. You can’t do that with a virus, can you? You see, it’s
called human agency. Or zebra agency, in your case. The information only has power if we
give it power.
>> Zebra: So what would you call that then? Because you know, “viral” has a great
ring to it...
>> Giraffe: Well, Jenkins over in the lion pride calls it Spreadable media. Or Spreadability.
And you know we don’t generally mess with the lions...
>> Zebra: You got that right... So you better bring me up to speed on this spreadable thing
in case I bump into them at the watering hole. What else do they say?
>> Giraffe: They reckon information is not “distributed” anymore. It’s “circulated”.
Before, companies created one message and distributed it to thousands in the same format.
But today, people take the same message and reshape or remix it and then share it through
their social networks. This new vocabulary reflects the power of the people. Or the giraffes,
as it were...
>> Zebra: Or the Zebras
>> Giraffe: Yes, I suppose. Or the zebras.