Subscribe
Anna Quindlen in a recent Newsweek column, March 19, 2007 points to Ann Coulter’s recent anti-gay slur against John Edwards, and talks of how
The landscape of American discourse has grown lousy with agents provocateurs whose careers are built around delivering verbal depth charges, not information.
And she hits it on the head. So many people out there, desperate to be read, seen, heard–especially online.
The information age has offered journalists another place to write; and citizen journalists the opportunity to be published. But with so many fighting for the same audience, who will win?
Interestingly, both can. It’s just a matter of style and time. Those who work on it can succeed, those who don’t, wont.
Journalists need to embrace the new medium and fit it into their needs. They have the writing skills; it’s just a matter of opening their mind to the possibilities of the new technology, and understanding it on a base level.
Citizen journalists and bloggers also have a great shot at success. Most are already tech savvy, aware of the do’s and don’ts on the Web, now it’s a matter of polishing up their grammar skills and getting the words right.
Only then, when both groups develop a unique online style, get over the distrust they have for one another, and begin helping one another, will the original intent and true power of the Internet be seen.
Sharing useful and reliable information will also help the search engines do what they are meant to do: manage the worlds information more effectively. There will be no reason for them to run around madly, constantly changing algorithms to sort the good stuff from the crap.
