Let's just skip the semantics and just cut to the chase for once Ryan, ok? ok.
Is blogging journalism? Well, in this reporter's humble opinion, yes. However, that's not to say that every blog is a legitimate source of factual information. Hell, if i farted in a bucket and called it art, does that make it art? My personal answer to that question would be yes, because I said it was art. But that doesn't make it good art. Writing a blog and calling it journalism just gets you tucked under the warm, sweeping blanket of the word 'journalism.' It doesn't make it good journalism.
On Save the Media, it was mentioned that, "Bloggers aren't journalists, but journalists can be bloggers." I can see exactly where there coming from here, but because I'm a jerk, I have to disagree. After searching through some internet definitions, the only real thing I found that makes a journalist and journalist is that they are formally employed by a news agency. Now, of course this ads a huge amount of credibility to their claim, but how can we exclude everyone else just because they're not working for Fox News? (bad joke). In all seriousness though, what if I happened to witness firsthand the signing of a major bill? or the former vice president shooting someone in the god damn face with a shotgun? If i went to my blog and hurridely typed up what I saw verbatim, does that not make me a journalist?
It seems more like these guys are arguing credibility rather than the definition of a journalist. And again, there's no doubt that I would rather hear a breaking news story from a proper journalist than some faceless internet personality, but I don't think we can complete discard bloggers as useless, biased information, which it often is, but we still can't write them off 100% (obviously this doesn't include people who have personal or commercial blogs, but you get my point....I hope).
Well anyway, whatever you're opinion is, this is just one of those arguments that I don't find worth getting heated about. People will continue to blog, journalists will continue to report, and despite all the hair-pulling and name calling, no one will win. Everybody's got an opinion, and you've just heard mine. If you believe on way or the other, there's a good chance I'm not going to sway your ideals, but it is a very interesting topic to hear both sides of nevertheless.
Well, I'm off to make a sandwich. Tuna salad today? Hmm...nope. Nutella and banana. Bingo. Later skaters.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Tim O'Reilly Gets Busy on NPR - A Statement of Reaction
It's no secret that this new collection of social media and networking tools are rapidly becoming more and more common as a definitive part of our lives, and more specifically our generation. There's a lot of talk discussing the horrors and the virtues of these tools, and I thought Tim O'Reilly made some pretty rad points about what they are and where they might go.
His statement that web 2.0 signifies 'the second coming' of the internet is not at all an understatement, but I do think we have to look at it like we did with the original .com craze. After the bubble burst on all the upstart websites in the 90's, few survivors remained. While some people may suggest that this new web craze will burst as well, as we continue to assimilate the functions of these tools into our lives, it seems more and more probable that this new wave of social networking websites will not disappear in the sense that they will no longer exist, they will disappear in the sense that they become so ingrained in our culture that we accept them as a way of life. i mean, i can barely fight off the facebook addiction as it is, think about the rest of our generation, and the one after us!
I also like Tim's comment about collaboration. This generation, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, relies very heavily on the communication aspect of technology. These web 2.0 websites are clearly a reflection of that. Facebook and Twitter are simply giant parties that everyones invited too. Without people at the party, what are you going to do with all these party hats and novelty beer mugs? You've hung the streamers and busted out the thong song, you just need everyone to show up, which is exactly what our generation is attracted to - communication. It's the collaboration and this sort of 'anonymous teamwork' that make these websites work and lead me to my next point - predictions for the future.
As Tim mentioned, it's hard to truly predict what will pop up next, but there is a sort of trend you can follow to get an idea. He mentioned mobile technology as a trend with ever-increasing popularity. Tim, I think this is a real good call buddy. Apple changed everything with the invention of the iPhone, and everyone (companies and consumers alike) have started to latch on to this.
I'm about to go off on tangents and ramble for another four hours, so I'll just sort of wrap this up and say that my one big prediction is that (drumrolllllll....) the people will kill the news. yep. I'm edgy as shit and thats what I think. Allow me to explain. O'Reilly mentioned the Mumbai terrorist situation and i think that's a perfect exmaple. People were using this communication technology to update everyone on what was happening long before the news got any sort of solid story locked down. Another one I can personally remember is the Virginia Tech incident. I was reading a forum online, and the people who were actually living this horrible situation were literally updating everyone on the forum what was hapenning in real time. WHO NEEDS NEWS NETWORKS?! As these web 2.0 tools becoming increasingly assimilated into our lives, we the people ourselves will become more reliant on eachother. The only difference is that we won't even have to speak face to face.
His statement that web 2.0 signifies 'the second coming' of the internet is not at all an understatement, but I do think we have to look at it like we did with the original .com craze. After the bubble burst on all the upstart websites in the 90's, few survivors remained. While some people may suggest that this new web craze will burst as well, as we continue to assimilate the functions of these tools into our lives, it seems more and more probable that this new wave of social networking websites will not disappear in the sense that they will no longer exist, they will disappear in the sense that they become so ingrained in our culture that we accept them as a way of life. i mean, i can barely fight off the facebook addiction as it is, think about the rest of our generation, and the one after us!
I also like Tim's comment about collaboration. This generation, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, relies very heavily on the communication aspect of technology. These web 2.0 websites are clearly a reflection of that. Facebook and Twitter are simply giant parties that everyones invited too. Without people at the party, what are you going to do with all these party hats and novelty beer mugs? You've hung the streamers and busted out the thong song, you just need everyone to show up, which is exactly what our generation is attracted to - communication. It's the collaboration and this sort of 'anonymous teamwork' that make these websites work and lead me to my next point - predictions for the future.
As Tim mentioned, it's hard to truly predict what will pop up next, but there is a sort of trend you can follow to get an idea. He mentioned mobile technology as a trend with ever-increasing popularity. Tim, I think this is a real good call buddy. Apple changed everything with the invention of the iPhone, and everyone (companies and consumers alike) have started to latch on to this.
I'm about to go off on tangents and ramble for another four hours, so I'll just sort of wrap this up and say that my one big prediction is that (drumrolllllll....) the people will kill the news. yep. I'm edgy as shit and thats what I think. Allow me to explain. O'Reilly mentioned the Mumbai terrorist situation and i think that's a perfect exmaple. People were using this communication technology to update everyone on what was happening long before the news got any sort of solid story locked down. Another one I can personally remember is the Virginia Tech incident. I was reading a forum online, and the people who were actually living this horrible situation were literally updating everyone on the forum what was hapenning in real time. WHO NEEDS NEWS NETWORKS?! As these web 2.0 tools becoming increasingly assimilated into our lives, we the people ourselves will become more reliant on eachother. The only difference is that we won't even have to speak face to face.
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