Concept 5. The mobility of electronic digital data
Email and similar forms of asynchronous communication carry with them the possibility for rapid, efficient, almost invisible 'multiplication' of the addresses to which communication is being sent. Functions such as carbon copying, forwarding and so on enable the most rapid form of communication 'expansion' - bringing other people into communicative circuits - yet seen. It is very easy, with forward for example, to simply 'pass on' information without processing it or, without processing the dynamics of the communicative relationship between you and the forwardee or without realising that you are establishing a third relationship - between the original sender and the final recipient.
Moreover, once people begin to use email and realise that information can be copied and forwarded very easily, there is a tendency for this 'mobility of data' to become a cultural given in which, routinely, we include more people within circuits of communication than are necessary; or include them in ways that are inappropriate.
Advanced Internet communicators always think about the ways in which their own exploitation of the technological ease of mobile data can impact on other Internet users, seeking to ensure that technical possibility is not simply substituted for effective communication requirements.
Another complex aspect of the ‘mobility of data’ can be seen in the way internet users routinely send each other URLs. The addresses, or reference points, of Internet information are incredibly mobile, then. But, to exploit this mobility requires a little work prior to sending, or after receipt. For example, sending URLs to work colleagues without any ‘contextualising’ information is not very useful. You can assist recipients of your URLs by briefly indicating why it is being sent, what is ‘behind’ the URL, and how useful it might be. You should also recognise that passing URLs around may be less effective than passing around summaries of information or comments. For example, would you prefer to receive a short precis of an important article 9and the URL) or just the bare URL? While the ability to move data rapidly and simply, and the cultural sensibility of constantly forwarding and sharing information, is to be valued, it does have certain problems. (Concepts Document n.d.)
Response
The affects of mobile data on journalism
It is estimated that there will be over two billion users in the Asia-Pacific region who use telecommunication technologies to connect to the Internet in 2010 (MacManus, 2004). This explosion in popularity will be from a direct result of the “Portable Internet” as a communication tool which efficiently relays information to the masses. With an estimated 80,000 Wi-Fi hotspots (Perez, 2008) and the low cost of mobile phones with cameras anyone can embrace the technology and become a citizen journalist. A combination of this new technology and the amount of people accessing the Internet has forced a shift in the way big corporation news publishers will function in the future "our Internet site will have to do still more to be competitive. For some, it may have to become the place for conversation [...] We need to be the destination for those bloggers." (Murdoch, 2005) Empowering the community as contributors, not just Internet users will “revitalize citizen-based democracy” (Rheingold, 1993). The immediate access through mobile phones to the Internet gives the means for people upload stories faster than CCN can get there. A recent example was of the plane crash into the Hudson River, images were posted onto the web within minutes of the plane crash and were being viewed around the world before any of the major news networks were able to broadcast (Silitoe, 2009). It’s also evident that professional journalists are sourcing their stories from social networking sites to aid their work, "On Wednesday evening, I was traveling home from a night out, glanced at my phone and saw one of the people I follow on Twitter talking about Apple's new statement on Steve Jobs' health. That meant I could get straight to work on filing a radio piece." (Cellan-Jones, 2009).
Citizen journalist are everywhere, remote parts of the world can now bring international attention into trouble spots where before government control was absolute (Ehrlich, 2007). The down side to citizen journalism is stories like the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks in New York where voyeuristic scenes of people falling from the towers were shown around the world without consideration of the people involved (9/11 The Falling Man, 2009). Without the usual “gatekeepers” of professional journalists and editors this approach encourages a wide panorama of public views far greater than the main networks could or would broadcast. This effectively stops news being filtered, censored or news networks putting their political pervasive views on the topic (Brun, 2004, p179–188). This has changed journalism from a “top-down storyteller” to “bottom-up facilitators” (Deuze, 2005).
YouTube and CNN have now started to take advantage of this mobile data revolution to engage would-be journalists to participate in their new ventures of “Citizen News”. The Internet is changing the media industry by encouraging a participation culture. Criticism has been raised about the accuracy of the blogging news but there have been many stories of bloggers uncovering news that may have been overlooked. Senators have been forced to resign from office, movie stars embarrassed by their anti-semitic views and major news outlets have been caught doctoring photos to make a bigger impact (Usher, 2008).
Power to the people—the affects have been wide spread, news bloggers are the new online vigilantes that will continue to demand accountability and transparency through their actions as citizen journalism. The professional media has labeled new bloggers as “anti-globalisation activists” but bloggers are the “gatekeepers” for professional news outlets by enforcing a type of industry self-mediation to “keep the bastards honest” (Chipp, 2004). (510 words)
I have purposely cited both referenced material and news outlets to try and receive a broad picture on the topic. Most of the news outlets do not reference their work but that’s the nature of the media. Never reveal your source.
Annotation
Site 1:
Usher, N. (2008). Reviewing Fauxtography: A blog-driven challage to mass media power without the promises of network publicity. Retrieved 15 May, 2009, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2158/2055
Nikki Usher reports on the blog news media to highlight the potential for ‘new opportunities for openness’ in the media industry. It’s a timely reminder that propaganda still flourishes in the media and bloggers are acting as public informers. The report goes on to warn the aim of news bloggers is to increase the amount of traffic to their site and monetise their products, which just makes them a competitor supplying an alternative source to mainstream news. However, Usher users well know examples to convince the reader that there is a place for this type of reverse investigative journalism.
Site 2:
Little Green Footballs. (2009). Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
Little Green Footballs is a citizen journalist news blog site that relies on controversial news stories to keep up the hits on their site. Most of the stories are not necessarily mainstream news items but are design to grab your attention with keys words like Fascist, Synagogue Bombing and Torture. The blog also acts as an aggregate, featuring news from other sites and blogs. The success of the site depends on people looking for sensationalism and a shock factor. The site fills a niche news market but fails to appeal to the greater audience unless it hits on a once in a life-time major story.
Reference:
9/11 The Falling Man. (2009). Retrieved April 6, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXnA9FjvLSU
Brun, A. (2004). Reconfiguring journalism: Syndication, gatewatching and mulitperspectival news. Virtual Nation: The Internet in Australia. Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.
Concept Document: 5. The mobility of electronic digital data. (n.d.) Retrieved May 13, 2009, from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3Fcourse_id%3D_14736_1%26sc%3D%252fwebapps%252fdiscussionboard%252fdo%252fmessage%253faction%253dlist_messages%2526conf_id%253d_23724_
Cellan-Jones, R. (2009). Twitter and a classic picture. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/01/twitter_and_a_classic_picture.html
Chipp, D. (2004). Keep the bastards Honest. Don Chipp Enterprises
Deuze, M. (2005). Towards professional participatory storytelling in journalism and advertising. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1257/1177
Deuze, M. (2005). Online Journalism: Modelling the First Generation of News Media on the World Wide Web. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/893/802
Ehrlich, R. (2007). Bloggers in Burma keep world informed during military crackdown. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/28/MN8QSFFUD.DTL
Silitoe, D. (2009, January 16). Hudson plane crash. BBC News, Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/01/twitter_and_a_classic_picture.html.
Perez, S. (2008). Mobile Web Use Growing Faster than Ever. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mobile_web_use_growing_faster_than_ever.php
Perez, S. (2008). YouTube Launches Citizen Journalism Channel, Citizen News. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/youtube_launches_citizen_news.php
MacManus, R. (2004). Portable Internet. Retrieved May 15, 2009, from http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/portable_intern.php
Murdoch, R. (2005, April 13). Speech by Rupert Murdoch to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. [Press release] Retrieved May 17, 2009, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1257/1177
Rheingold, H. (1993). The virtual community: homesteading on the electronic frontier. Reading: Addison-Wesley
Usher, N. (2008). Reviewing Fauxtography: A blog-driven challage to mass media power without the promises of network publicity. Retrieved 15 May, 2009, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2158/2055
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