Web 2.0 controversy

It’s easy to see why Web 2.0 is such a controversial topic. On one hand you have the professionals: the men and women who have worked their whole lives to end up in prestigious mass mediums like The New York Times, CNN or even The Wall Street Journal. Yet on the other hand you have inexperienced people sitting at home getting almost the same attention as the journalists. As a future journalist, I feel like I should be supporting those who think Web 2.0 is a bad idea but somehow I disagree. While Web 2.0 may not be good advertisement for mass media, I think it’s important to a society as a whole.

Let’s pretend I am your common Joe Blow. If I had some idea pertaining to the betterment of society, I understand that the common Joe Blow probably won’t have such a grand epiphany but for argument sake let’s pretend, I could log onto Web 2.0. I could use something as conversational as AIM or for more permanence something like Livejournal or even something as flashy as Myspace and relay my ideas to either my social network or even the general public. Although I am not a “journalist” and have no credited title at all, my ideas can be transferred across the web. Stepping outside of the Joe Blow character, personally as a future journalist, I think this is important. I’m an advocate for the exchange of information, regardless of who you are. Web 2.0 creates a big commercial hoopla and a whole bunch of nonsense that a reader might have to filter through, but the point is the exhange of information is still there.

I feel like this controversy has a lot to do with a generation difference. Older generations want the facts. They don’t like flash, hoopla or any other garble to filter through. That’s not to say my generation likes that, but I feel like people my age are more accustomed to it. Since we were younger we’ve been filtering through “fat burning cream” commercials and “all natural spray-on hair” ads just so we could see the content we really wanted to. My generation has grown up in what I like to think of as commercial overflow. We’ve been around tons of junky billboards, commercials and internet pop-ups. My point is that while older generations are cringing at the commercial monopolies of Web 2.0, my generation has embraced it. All the ads and commercial profit that come with it are not in our concern. Those aspects are items we have learned to naturally block out. Younger generations use Myspace and AIM simply for the exchange of information.

Web 2.0 may be an open door for anyone to pose as a person with valuable information but the truth is people will still stray to CNN or The New York Times if that’s what they want. There is a foggy cloud that hovers over what is credible and what isn’t with the creation of Web 2.0 but I think people have held on to the sources they trust. If audiences want to stray off to read and invest their time in Web 2.0, I don’t see why that should be a problem. Journalists will still have their job. If anything this will push journalists to prove why they are more credible than Web 2.0 users. They shouldn't be concerned with Web 2.0 users breaking a story. They should be the first to accurate facts. If a Web 2.0 user "breaks" stirs up unnecessary controversy, the public will turn to the sources they've always trusted, mass media. Web 2.0 hasn’t made the general public more stupid. They can still determine, for the most part, what is credible and what is Web 2.0 opinion. (for e.g. John's Blog vs. Washington Post. It's easy to see who is more credible, therefore whom to trust)

Not only do I think this isn't a big threat to the journalism world, I think it is an asset to media. While Web 2.0 may not be the most trustworthy source, it is something reporters can get ideas from. What better way to find out what's the word in teenage world then to log on and find teenagers interacting with each other? It's something that allows outsiders to get an inside view without invading someone's privacy (or the "fly on the wall" view). Right now if a journalist wanted to get an inside view of what might be going on at Highland Park High School, he/she could step inside by visiting Lilly's Livejournal. Isn't that something journalists have battled with for some time now? Web 2.0 creates the illusion of a hidden camera. So while the journalist is getting all the profits from Web 2.0, they face less of a legal battle than they would with the use of hidden cameras.

I think people need to step back and really take a good look at what Web 2.0 brings to society before they make judgment. Overall, I think Web 2.0 has too many advantages to consider it taboo. As far as the journalism world is concerned, as long as mass media continues to do their job with efficiency and accuracy, there is nothing to worry about.

The significance of Friday

Friday was the end of the first "week" of school. Although I haven't been in school a whole week it was technically the end of the week, you catch my drift.

When I think back I can't believe how time flies. However cliché that must be, it's the truth. Ever since high school I've felt like the years have gotten faster and faster. I've talked to my dad about it and he's told me he feels the same, although not about school but about life in general.

Let me paint a picture for you. A little girl growing up into the real world; she is seeing things for the very first time. She is lively and open to new things. Contrast that with an older man, full of memories, expeirences, and wise beyond the girls years. Yet they both face the same thing: time. While she's noticing the changes in school, the nearing to the real world, he is feeling the same thing only on a much grander scale. He is watching his little girl grow up before his eyes, he is watching the years pass him by and still wondering when he became so "old". The funny thing is while these images contrast, they are one in the same. He was once the youth watching school, friends, and life move forward and she will one day be the elder looking back and wondering how the years went so fast.

My freshman year of SMU, I could've never seen myself as the way I am now. If the trend continues I'll be so much different. It's creepy to watch yourself grow up up. Everyone knows growing up is just part of life but a lot of times people take it for granted. To be as aware of it as I am is just, well, creepy.

I only have two years left here at SMU. The way my junior year is set up, I know it's going to pass me up in the blink of an eye. Before I know it I'll be out in the real world trying to make my own living. There will be new people new experiences and a whole different outlook on life.

I guess that is the way life works though. Outlooks change with time. I think back to when I was in high school to where I am now. I'm completely different. I can only imagine what I will be like in a matter of a few years.

"Life is short." I guess that old cliché does have depth. You never really realize how short life is until you look back. It can even make a young person like me feel old. Sometimes I think how amazing it would be if I could pause time and just enjoy being in where I am at just a little longer than nature intended. However, if that were possible, then it wouldn’t be life. Maybe awareness of age, of time, is just something people face to make them realize what they have and appreciate it.

With life comes experiences and those experiences are worth living life. I'm excited for the future, however nervous I may seem. I'm just one step closer to being in the next stage of my life. So although I didn’t write about some event written in history books, Friday is a page of my personal history. However corny that may be, thinking about time passing can really get you on a deep train of thought. Try it sometime. It’s kind of crazy.

Indeed

Hello world.