Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Journalism in the times of Facebook and Twitter: Positive or Negative?

Journalism has been developing for years in order to turn out how it is today. It is traditionally related with newspapers, since it is the most common way of journalism. But since we are living in modern times, we have to adapt to technology. First it was television and radio, now it’s the internet.

Facebook is one of the biggest growing social networks in the world. It started out with a man in Harvard who wanted to make a social network for people in his university. Then it grew to other colleges and eventually to other countries. Today, whoever has access to a computer can have a Facebook.

Twitter might seem like Facebook’s student and pupil, but it is far from it. Just like Facebook, it is a social network that keeps growing every day. The difference is that it consists of personal status updates. One can decide to follow other people’s updates, including famous people like Ashton Kutcher or John Mayer.

Facebook has grown so much that today, one could practically start an entire online service with Facebook entirely. Companies can buy spaces for advertising in Facebook, and they can be assured people will see it. Facebook and Twitter have become incredibly influential. In both, one can post links according to what they’re interested in, and once a celebrity posts a link it has an assured view.

A clear example of News Spread on Twitter is the Death of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson’s death was reported through Twitter, when one of the nurses of the Hospital tweeted something along the lines of “The King of pop has died”. This Tweet was expanded and in no time it was known for a fact that Jackson had passed away.

Instead of looking back at the past and hoping for no more change, journalists must learn to adapt to the new technologies and to the social media. Media140 Sydney’s Editorial Director, Julie Posetti, says tweeting “is one of the skills contemporary journalists need to extend their professional practice and an essential venue for media outlets seeking to build new audiences and remain relevant as traditional audiences tune out, threatening the future of journalism.”

[Via http://natienglish.wordpress.com]

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