Do i believe that social media has increased the quality of the news or decreased it? If i am being quite honest i would have to say i'm on the fence. Social media has brought some advantages to the playing field but there is just some things you can't make up for.
Journalists are trained individuals who have made a life out of digging in deep and exposing the nerve of the issues. They will get in the face of the people they are accusing, look them in the eyes and tell them they disagree, tell them to be accountable. While the journalist are out there getting the facts and directly holding persons accountable, the bloggers/vloggers are sitting in front of a computer talking into a camera, making loaded statements about issues that they have heard bits and pieces of, not necessarily having all the fact or in some cases any of them.
Now this being said i do believe there is some good to be had. Nowadays everybody has a phone, and all phones have cameras and internet access. These Bloggers, and just plain old average people now become the first responders. People now have the news faster than every before. While it's happening! there is no more waiting until eleven to catch the news. All you have to do is check one of your many social media networks and chances are you will have a dozen different people posting on the shooting that happened downtown with photos! These people will each have a different perspective on what happened, will have seen it from a different view one of them might even have a video. People can feel like they are in the action while it is unfolding or if not minutes after. This is where i believe it is getting better.
We have so many people giving us the news from so many different unfiltered angles, it is really easy to keep up. Where is falters is in integrity. The bloggers want the shocking stories that aren't necessarily true, the reporters want the good stories with the strong facts to support their claim. The real reporters aren't in it for the views, they are in it for the quality of the information. The stuff they know they can stand behind.
Google pays people based on their popularity so they have to get their views. These people influence others on a grand scale. If they get their views by telling people what they want to hear, that's what they will do, whether it's true or false.
It would seem towards the end i started to lean towards social media decreasing the quality of news. Though i do believe this is true, there IS merit in social media as a source of news, i just believe the other stuff is important too.
Sunday 30 September 2012
Sunday 23 September 2012
I'm rambling!
Has social media become more than just a convenient way to stay in touch with friends and family? Well i don't know how about i make a Facebook page and open up a forum, or maybe a You Tube video is the way to go. I could also Tweet about it. The fact that all i have to do to spread my ideas and opinions is turn on my computer never ceases to amaze. Social media has become a way of life for most. A means to spread the word, whatever it may be, whatever I want it to be. In the world of social media you become your own entity. Something company's search for, people follow, people comment on and like and dislike and TALK about!
To say social media is just a means to stay in touch would be a vast understatement. The world lives on computers now. What people did yesterday doesn't matter unless pictures were taken, videos were posted, blogs were written and re-blogged and re-blogged and you check your in box to see that Danny had waaaay tof mush to draaaank on Saturday night. Let's comment " Been there, done that". But in the world of social media you could end up being the next victim of a friendly paparazzi nightmare. Next time Danny i'd drink water.
As convenient as it may be to have the world at your fingertips one must remember that we are not the only ones with access to it. With the world of social media exploding , company's now have an easy way to get to know candidates for employment. Lets rule out the interview process and see what these people are really like. How about we check out their Twitter, Tumbler, Facebook, Myspace, Google+, Youtube and any other site that this person is affiliated with. Then we will really know who we are hiring...or not. You can have the best resume in the world but with easy access to your personal life at the click of a button it won't matter. Judgement s are now being made about how you spend your personal time. If you happen to have nothing to tweet about except what you put on your sandwich, chances are that management job you had your eye on might be slightly out of your reach, unless it's at Burger King.
Even the police can find the person who robbed that corner store last night because everyone posts EVERYTHING online. I'm technically just telling my computer that 'i totally smashed that window'. No one is going to read this except everyone!
With everything posted online adds are even know becoming personalized. Most add companies use social media sites to sell you stuff, and people put up with it and most likely even buy the stuff because there life awaits just on the other side of that add.
Now to end this blog abruptly!
Social media has become much, much more than a means for staying in touch with just people, it has become a way we stay in touch with the world. And how the world stays in touch with us.
To say social media is just a means to stay in touch would be a vast understatement. The world lives on computers now. What people did yesterday doesn't matter unless pictures were taken, videos were posted, blogs were written and re-blogged and re-blogged and you check your in box to see that Danny had waaaay tof mush to draaaank on Saturday night. Let's comment " Been there, done that". But in the world of social media you could end up being the next victim of a friendly paparazzi nightmare. Next time Danny i'd drink water.
As convenient as it may be to have the world at your fingertips one must remember that we are not the only ones with access to it. With the world of social media exploding , company's now have an easy way to get to know candidates for employment. Lets rule out the interview process and see what these people are really like. How about we check out their Twitter, Tumbler, Facebook, Myspace, Google+, Youtube and any other site that this person is affiliated with. Then we will really know who we are hiring...or not. You can have the best resume in the world but with easy access to your personal life at the click of a button it won't matter. Judgement s are now being made about how you spend your personal time. If you happen to have nothing to tweet about except what you put on your sandwich, chances are that management job you had your eye on might be slightly out of your reach, unless it's at Burger King.
Even the police can find the person who robbed that corner store last night because everyone posts EVERYTHING online. I'm technically just telling my computer that 'i totally smashed that window'. No one is going to read this except everyone!
With everything posted online adds are even know becoming personalized. Most add companies use social media sites to sell you stuff, and people put up with it and most likely even buy the stuff because there life awaits just on the other side of that add.
Now to end this blog abruptly!
Social media has become much, much more than a means for staying in touch with just people, it has become a way we stay in touch with the world. And how the world stays in touch with us.
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