Objectivity=Subjectivity?

So, I read a pretty interesting blog today. It concerned the objectivity of journalists in the web 2.0 world and, this is the most interesting part so pay attention, how important (or non important) objectivity really is.



How about an equation?



Objectivity =/= Subjectivity.



Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, this blog does not think so. In fact, this blogger basically equates objectivity to subjectivity inasmuch that readers want, NEED, subjectivity in their news stories and articles.



Let's face it-when we read an article, we know we are getting a biased opinion. Whether it's through Fox News or MSNBC, Time (which I will give props to for at least attempting to remain unbiased) or the New York Post, we read articles as much for the "need for narrative" as we do for the hard facts. I'd hazard a guess that gossip mags sell more than any newspaper. And why is that?



Because people love sensationalism. They crave it.



So, bringing this back to the originial point (and how this relates to Web 2.0.) A memo from the Washington Post (leaked, of course) told all journalists on staff that it was OK to have an objective point of view, to be human basically, but not to let in interfere (noticeably) with their articles in research.



Wut?

It is impossible to not have a bias. It is almost as impossible to hide that bias. And that is what this blogger is saying. That the transparency of objectivity is an OK thing. We all know journalists have bias, and that's just fine with us.

Google's Plan to Make an OS Obsolete

Last year, I heard talk about a new tool Google was inventing. Google Wave is an application that can be installed in Internet browsers that allows multiple users to basically share a desktop. Google Wave will allow for the instantaneous (that's certainly become a Web 2.0 buzzword) sharing and editing of documents, the ability to play games together, have an IM conversation, and much more. It is basically the best of every neat web tool put together in one easy to use/see flow. Kinda like a RSS feed on Ritalin. Or an iPhone in a browser. Well, you get the idea.

Google Wave, if done successfully, (and Google certainly has an excellent track record) could mark the turning point of something greater, bigger, than Web 2.0...perhaps, and you heard it here first, Web 3.0? Google Wave will make everything that came before it obsolete, as anything you could want to do is available right in your Internet browser. Need to edit a document and share it with a colleague? Simply place it in Wave and you can edit it together. Need to have a web cam conversation with your spouse and review your finances? Simply open up a web cam chat window in Wave and share a document. And, if there is something you do need to do but can't find on Wave, clever Google has made it an "open source license" basically saying that amateur and not so amateur developers can make widgets and new features for the Wave. It is a constantly evolving microcosm of the Internet.

So, I admit, not most teens are like me. Many teenagers do not get excited over the latest and greatest in Internet technology. A lot of them, quite frankly, don't care. Why should they? Well, because, if they want to exist and thrive in the future, they're going to have to become adept at the usage of these new Internet products. Technology is a very slippery slope; once you fall behind, it becomes almost impossible to keep up with the newest and best ideas conjured by the nerdiest minds on the planet. Just as our parents had to learn how to use a computer, the Internet, and communication tools, we will have to learn even more advanced technology to compete in the job market. Imagine, if you will, a 2010 high school graduate twenty years from now. They haven't kept up with the technology, as they don't care, but a 2030 high school knows the ins and outs of recent technological breakthroughs simply because they lived through it and experienced it. Why would an employer hire someone who would take months to learn new info when they could hire a bright, fresh new mind?

Technology is born out of necessity; perhaps, then, it is fair to say adaptation to technology is born out of the will to survive. A 21st century case of Social Darwinism where only those who know exactly what they're doing have any chance of surviving.

Web 2.0...And Beyond.

The dot com bubble was born in the 90's, and the world never looked back. People could look up information, view pictures, and communicate with each other virtually instantaneously. The internet became staid almost, though it was still regarded as one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century. However, as the new millennium began, the Internet became invigorated by a new term and new concept; Web 2.0. The definition of Web 2.0 itself is hotly contested, though Tim O'Reily, who coined the term Web 2.0, has offered one definition. His concept of Web 2.0 is far broader than the ideas that are bandied about now. Some think Web 2.0 is based around social networking and idea sharing, though O'Reily considers any way in which people can instantly communicate with each other as Web 2.0 technology.

As I've said previously in this blog, we are the techno generation. We live on the internet; Facebook in one tab, a google search or wikipedia entry in another, our e-mail in a third, and iTunes minimized. We live in forums, we developed our own language (bbl, ttyl, brb, and the endless parade of emoticons), and we can constantly be interacting and connecting with others. A student in America can share and talk with a cubicle worker in Bejing. This fascinates me. The Internet fascinates me. It is the lifeblood of the world now. We cannot exist without the Internet. It may sound pathetic, but I am not ashamed to admit that I feel withdrawal when I am not able to access the Internet for an extended period of time. I have an Iphone and can check my e-mail and facebook multiple times a day, and that's without even sitting down at a desktop computer.


So, what does this have to do with anything?


The future of the Internet is of great interest to me. Widgets and RSS Feeds, wikis and blogs, flickr and IM. All these technologies occurred in the last decade. What awaits us around the corner? Just one example is the latest web based addon Google has unveiled, a tool that allows users to comment on/give extra information about a web page. The greatest features of this tool are the instantaneous feedback and the ability for multiple comments to appear on multiple web pages. This is quintessential Web 2.0.

My goal is to learn more about what the Internet can offer, the odd/quirky ways in which people utilize Internet tools (del.ici.ous comes to mind), and the rapidly growing and expanding technology that makes up the infrastructure of the Internet. Is it really that hard to imagine a time in the future where the human race has (d)evolved into cyborgs? Where computers are embedded into our brains, where we can look things up simply by thinking it? Nothing ever stays the same, especially technology.

Blogging isn't just for ranting anymore!

We are the techno generation. We grew up with PC's and laptops, cell phones in our pockets at the age of twelve, iPod earbuds entwined around our necks, and the Internet anytime we want it. In the middle of this deluge of information, however, a large percentage of this generation is woefully ignorant of the vast majority of tools the Internet can provide. Sure, most teenagers can e-mail, check facebook, shop online, and maybe even check Wikipedia. However, blogging is something that many more students should be made aware of. It is a way for students and teachers to interact in a less formal setting, a way for students to feel more at ease completing an assignment, and way for students to become more connected with the outside world.

Blogging in schools is fast on the rise. It's a way for the students to share their thoughts and feelings in an environment that is controlled but untamed at the same time. Theoretically, anyone could comment on any blog post a student does. But, what exactly does a student get out of blogging? Well, for one thing, it allows the student to express themselves in a way that might otherwise be uncomfortable for them, say in the classroom. Also, a student way wish to look at their classmates blogs, which could lead to a sharing of ideas and information. After all, isn't that a main goal of education in the twenty first century; to make students more well rounded and worldly?

Blogging also provides the amazing ability to connect to other stories, articles, and ideas. There is nothing better than presenting a point and then linking to someone else with that opinion; it makes your thought sound more real and more accepted. A student writing a blog can link to an article discussing the facts of the case, present their opinion, post a picture of a concept, and then get feedback from others. It is a self-contained world of action and reaction.

However, a blog may have drawbacks. Privacy is always an issue. Though I mentioned earlier the privacy afforded by a blog, the opposite may be true as well. You can be as anonymous as you want on the Internet but, at the end of the day, your ideas are still your ideas. People who you may not want to read your writing have every right as anyone else to. Also, there is always the chance of a blog to go off topic, or of a student not completing an assignment. After all, it's easier to keep track of a student manually writing an assignment as opposed to setting them loose on the Internet.

The Internet and technology are here to stay. My generation, the techno generation, knows more than Generation X or the Baby Boomers. However, our children will know even more. Today, we scoff at the ideas of typewriters and rotary telephones. Maybe, in the future, our kids will scorn us for our cell phones and laptops. Maybe, this is the future:

Image courtesy of: petitinvention.wordpress.com

I Can Haz Hyperlink?

I think the most important thing we've learned so far is the structure of a news article and how to write one. The inverted pyramid and bottom up editing have been helpful because it shows how a real newspaper would run its articles. I hope to continue to learn what makes a story interesting to someone, how to obtain a larger readership, and what to do to keep people reading. I have learned that news can vary greatly in how it is presented and its accuracy. News can be biased or objective, fact filled or fluff.

The ways we look at different types of media (such as blogs and wikis) was also important as it helped to better understand the type of news on these sites and the people who post them. For example, by reading many different types of blogs, it will be easier to determine which blogs are interested in reporting the "facts" (though it is next to impossible to remove all personal bias when writing in such a personal way) and which blogs blatantly put a spin on a story. In the future, I hope to learn more about the different ways media can be manipulated and to continue to work on writing news articles and more informal forms of journalism.

NATO Airstrike in Afghanistan

This article deals mainly with prominence and consequence. The prominence of this article is the fact that NATO, normally a peaceful organization, bombed an area of Northern Afghanistan where hijakced oil tankers were with the intent of killing insurgents believed to be there. The consequence of this article was the fact that the vast majority of the eighty deaths were civilian. NATO claims that they did not know that amount of civilians would be around the oil tankers, but many were siphoning gas from the tankers.

Proximity also plays a part in this article, though of lesser importance. The Middle East, and Afghanistan in particular, are a hot bed of news interest. Because of the war in Iraq/Afghanistan, many Americans are interested in anything that occurs over there, especially events that result in casualties. Finally, timeliness is a small part of this article as the deaths were recent. The prominence and consequence were the most emphasized elements of this article as the fact that NATO killed civilians is a very newsworthy piece of reporting.