Program or be Programmed!

Now before I get into this, I have to say that I am no computer programmer. I have never been a computer programmer. I will probably never be a computer programmer. The difference, however, between what Johnson describes as end-user interfaces and coding/programming is important for us to take a critical look at in Johnson's book. At the recent SXSW festival, Douglas Rushkoff (who you notice is quoted many times by Johnson) made the bold proclamation: Program or be Programmed! Learning how to use computers is not enough to prevent being used by the people who create their architecture (ahem, CMU technocrats I'm looking at you). So as much as I want to take Johnson's word about how the internet (and computers in general) give us the tools to engage our world more intelligently, there is an untold story here. Let's take his example: Apple's iTunes. While I could go into a rant about Digital Rights Management (DRM) and the sad fact that artists only see 7 cents of the 99 cents from your iTunes download, I'll look to the future...Apple's iPad simply does not fit with the "learn as you explore" narrative that Johnson advocates on page 123 specifically and throughout his writings on digital culture. Many pedagogical researchers have made convincing arguments about the educational benefits of neglecting the manual and learning to use software by playing around, but the iPad directly prohibits that kind of freedom. Yes it is sweet to double-tap and get any program on the iPad to work, but it sucks that the user cannot install any program that is not preapproved by Apple. The internet, and digital hardware/software is not a place to explore. It is a place to receive content. Quickly, rigidly, and the way Apple wants you to.

Learning how to interact with interfaces documents an impressive new literacy. But with any literacy, there are many other questions and problems built into learning it, studying it, and defending it. The interactivity that Johnson lauds is limited which means that the liberatory rhetroic surrounding this new literacy must be contingent as well.