By first glance of the social media landscape, it’s amazing to see that there are so many different platforms to participate in. I remember back in 2006 when I created my first MySpace account and now just five years later, this landscape has grown tremendously. Web sites like Facebook, Twitter, Skype have kept people in touch with others while sites like YouTube, UStreamTV, Blogger and flickr have allowed for free expression. And even the Simpsons found the urge to create an episode dictated to social media. The writers’ firing of the old-school teacher and hiring of a “digitally savvy teacher” shows that they approve of the new wave of technology and think that it should be embraced even in our school systems. I completely agree.
In regards to social media’s effect on the current news media, I agree with Doug Fisher’s opinion on the public’s bias, but not to such a harsh extent. There’s no question the public’s contribution of valuable information and insight add to the debate, but like Fisher said, “it takes work to filter it and evaluate it.” Of that hard work includes cities with hyper-local news bureaus. I agree with Fisher’s notion that it’s over-hyped except in highly populated cities. Finding news may be an obstacle in smaller cities, but I think I would find stories more appealing in bigger cities than in smaller ones. In the end, involvement is key to keep such a movement working in the right direction. Ideally a from-the-ground-up approach is what is desired, but like Fisher said, having the man/woman-power to make it happen is just not there.
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