Mediactive by Dan Gillmor

2 min read

 Mediactive is an ebook by Dan Gillmor

At the risk of being too cute, I’ve mashed together two words— media and active—that describe my goal in this book, website and accompanying materials: I want to help you become mediactive.

At the very least, the payoff is that you’ll be able to navigate the rapids, to better sort what you read (view, hear, etc.). If you’re like most people, you’ve been mostly a passive consumer of media, and I want to help you to become comfortable as an active user. I want to help you minimize the chances that you’ll get bamboozled, or worse, by the incorrect or misleading material that’s all over the Internet (and, all too often, in what people call “mainstream media”), and to help you find trustworthy material instead.

Being media literate underpins network literacy. As we interact with and get information from more individuals, some of whom we are only tangentially connected to, a critical eye is necessary. We no longer go through "trusted" gatekeepers who will vet all information for us - we need to take that responsibility upon ourselves.