First of all, the internet is an amazing tool. Anyone can be anyone they want to be by using multiple site, such as Facebook, MySpace, SecondLife Twitter, but besides having a second persona, anyone can become a journalist. More often than not, people are acting as journalists when they aren't even aware that is what they're doing.
For instance, with tools like Facebook and Myspace young people are turning into journalists (or editorial writes to say the least). They're publishing their thoughts and opinions, sharing photos and updating others, while also using HTML. Unfortunately, most of the users have never used HTML before and probably don't even know what it is (Briggs, p. 23). It's saddening because HTML comes in handy in so many situations, and allows the user to customize and troubleshoot their own web site (of profile page on things like MySpace) in a way that's not otherwise possible. I found it interesting that just 15 years ago every web site was all created by HTML. Personally I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I have learned that it is a very time consuming process when building an entire web site off of it. I think that users of MySpace and FB should familiarize themselves somewhat with the tool since it would allow them to personalize their profile in an original way that someone else on the web might not have.
So while all of these people are using social networking sites as a form of journalism, others are using blogs to get their opinions out into the World Wide Web. Blogs are an essential form of news organization as well as a cornerstone for news coverage, if done properly of course. Blogs can also help cover a beat and build a community of loyal readers who can contribute to that coverage through comments (Briggs, p. 41). However, blogs can vary from influential to boring, informative or completely inaccurate, but either way is a different way for everyone to get their chance at being published. Anyone can do it from anywhere and engage an audience no mattere where or what they are doing. One thing I found particularly interesting was a term called "moblog". This is when a person blogs from their mobile device. I think this is very important to technology today because it seems like everyone has an iPhone or Blackberry. These devices also come in handy when a user wants to upload videos that they might not want to post to their FB or Twitter. These smart phones even allow a user to upload videos to YouTube (Grant, p. 117)).
Another topic I found interesting was microblogging, which is blogging using Twitter and the like. Twitter only allows users to share all the information they can (per post) in 140 characters or less. Although this may cut down on grammar and spelling, it lets the user get their point across quickly and efficiently to their readers. The publisher is able to provide readers with a short link to other topics and news and also share photos via TwitPic. Facebook status's and LinkedIn are also ways that a person can share their feelings in a short manner. Although FB doesn't restrict a user to a certain amount of characters, it seems to me that almost everyone on FB knows to keep their status updates to short, quick and blunt posts. Through status's and Twitter updates we are allowed to catch up quickly with others, which especially comes in handy when we are short on time or catching up with an old friend. One comment made in the Briggs book is that a lot of news leads come from Twitter (Briggs, p. 105).
There's amazing new things happening with technology almost every day, and there are many different ways for a person to get their thoughts and opinions on the web. Although not always accurate, these tools come in handy when wanting to share links or short ideas with others, catching up with old friends and even finding news leads.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky
I was immediately impressed by Shirky's book Here Comes Everybody by page 1. It was amazing to me how technology really can be used for all sorts of different things, in this case, finding a lost cell phone and seeking justice from the person who isn't willing to return it. An added twist was how the public came together to right the wrongs that someone in uniform was performing.
But besides this, technology is useful in more ways than that. Everyone uses search engines, and I enjoyed reading Shirky's opinions on Wikipedia. This site has never been able to count as a reliable source of information, but can come in handy when small bits of information are needed quickly or for verification. Shirky says that articles are "...sometimes quite lengthy...ending with pointers to more information-is pretty much what you'd wantin an encyclopedia." (p. 115) I disagree with this only because no one has time to read a 5,000 word long paragraph on a subject and then continue to click on all the links provided to them, especially when it comes to Wikipedia. When people visit the site they are visiting it for quick information, even if not always accurate. Besides the inaccuracy, there are thousands upon thousands of articles being added every day, and since everyone is capable of adding to articles and creating their own sites for things, it would take hours for a person to research one topic. There is just too much information to sort through. Here is a website weighing the good and the bad on Wikipedia: http://tinyurl.com/6htj6h.
And all these people aren't just adding accounts on the Wikipedia site, but are also creating accounts on MySpace and YouTube. Shirky talks about a phrase called "user-generated content," used to describe the collection of pictures, video, personal postings and other things that users on the Internet can post. Almost everyone in America uses a computer on a regular basis, and it would be safe to say that on a weekly basis most of those people are uploading, posting or updating content on the web. Social networks are especially prone to this type of participatory activity. Shirky explains that on social networking sites such as MySpace, most users only interact with a few others and not the other tens of millions of people that are signed up, and that the median number of friends is only 55. Although the web site has links to hundreds upon thousands of other accounts, people tend to only stay linked in to a few others, mostly because these social networking sites are a platform for gossip, family news and purely "thinking outloud." (p. 86) Link to a debate on MySpace v. Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/8b56oq.
Shirky does a fine job of covering topics with perfect clarity in today's digital world, but what really peeked my interest were his final thoughts in the epilogue. Shirky describes the differences of the world when he was younger and now. Then, he describes, they were worried about the Space Age and they were certain about the technologies of his era (p. 293) and now I think it would be safe to say that we don't know what the future holds. Even if we are fully trained and knowledgable about the technology we use on an every day basis, we know that tomorrow a totally new product may come out that we need to learn all over again. "There are thousands of experiments in new social forms going on every day, as people who want to gather together try capabilities that have only recently become ubiquitous." (p. 300)
Today's technology and everything new: http://tinyurl.com/323hhqa.
But besides this, technology is useful in more ways than that. Everyone uses search engines, and I enjoyed reading Shirky's opinions on Wikipedia. This site has never been able to count as a reliable source of information, but can come in handy when small bits of information are needed quickly or for verification. Shirky says that articles are "...sometimes quite lengthy...ending with pointers to more information-is pretty much what you'd wantin an encyclopedia." (p. 115) I disagree with this only because no one has time to read a 5,000 word long paragraph on a subject and then continue to click on all the links provided to them, especially when it comes to Wikipedia. When people visit the site they are visiting it for quick information, even if not always accurate. Besides the inaccuracy, there are thousands upon thousands of articles being added every day, and since everyone is capable of adding to articles and creating their own sites for things, it would take hours for a person to research one topic. There is just too much information to sort through. Here is a website weighing the good and the bad on Wikipedia: http://tinyurl.com/6htj6h.
And all these people aren't just adding accounts on the Wikipedia site, but are also creating accounts on MySpace and YouTube. Shirky talks about a phrase called "user-generated content," used to describe the collection of pictures, video, personal postings and other things that users on the Internet can post. Almost everyone in America uses a computer on a regular basis, and it would be safe to say that on a weekly basis most of those people are uploading, posting or updating content on the web. Social networks are especially prone to this type of participatory activity. Shirky explains that on social networking sites such as MySpace, most users only interact with a few others and not the other tens of millions of people that are signed up, and that the median number of friends is only 55. Although the web site has links to hundreds upon thousands of other accounts, people tend to only stay linked in to a few others, mostly because these social networking sites are a platform for gossip, family news and purely "thinking outloud." (p. 86) Link to a debate on MySpace v. Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/8b56oq.
Shirky does a fine job of covering topics with perfect clarity in today's digital world, but what really peeked my interest were his final thoughts in the epilogue. Shirky describes the differences of the world when he was younger and now. Then, he describes, they were worried about the Space Age and they were certain about the technologies of his era (p. 293) and now I think it would be safe to say that we don't know what the future holds. Even if we are fully trained and knowledgable about the technology we use on an every day basis, we know that tomorrow a totally new product may come out that we need to learn all over again. "There are thousands of experiments in new social forms going on every day, as people who want to gather together try capabilities that have only recently become ubiquitous." (p. 300)
Today's technology and everything new: http://tinyurl.com/323hhqa.
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