3.2 Networks of information: blogging, citizen journalism & collective intelligence

This week focused on participatory culture, ethics, credibility with in new media forms, i.e. blogging, citizen journalism and wikipedia.

We were asked to consider the following questions:

  • What do new forms of information / journalism such as Indymedia, citizen journalism / blogging mean for traditional news media?
  • Is this the death of the editor?
  • If so how important is this for the credibility of the new/ information we source?
  • What do we mean by collective intelligence?
  • With regards to news media, what is gatekeeping? Who does it? What function does it serve – why is it important? What effects do newer media such as blogs and online social networks have on the identity and function of gatekeepers?

What do new forms of information / journalism such as Indymedia, citizen journalism / blogging mean for traditional news media?

Melissa Wall (2005) states “news is the media’s interpretation of event.” (Wall, 2005) However with new technology comes change, and in terms of news that change has come in the form of citizen journalism or blogging what this means is that traditional forms of news media have had to adapt their practices and the way that they report the media in order to a) stay up to date with their audience and b) still be able to break the news stories.

Is this the death of the editor?

The role of a traditional editor is dying, as they are rarely needed for online publications because most produces of content edit the stories before they are published.

If so how important is this for the credibility of the new/ information we source?

Melissa Wall (2005) states “the more personal and more open about opinions a site is, the more trustworthy and credible it will be” (Wall, 2005) in saying this it becomes important for the user to check the information for credibility, as online publications do not have editors, who are doing this for them, and according to Wall (2005) the more hyperlinks within a blog the more credibility the blog has.

What do we mean by collective intelligence?

Collective intelligence is what happens when a group of people collaborate and produce a piece of work, think Wikipedia or Mind Maps these are form of collaborative works.

With regards to news media, what is gatekeeping? Who does it? What function does it serve – why is it important? What effects do newer media such as blogs and online social networks have on the identity and function of gatekeepers?

Gatekeeping can be defended as a person or group who limits access to something for example news stories. In terms of news the function of the gatekeeps is to select the stories that are considered informative and popular. Gatekeeping still has a role with in new media, however the role has shifted to the person who writes the online content, they are now responsible for selecting what information to include in their post.

After watching Jimmy Wales TED talk on the creation of Wikipedia, we were ask the following questions:

How is Wikipedia an example of participatory culture and/or collective intelligence? How is material contributed to the site?

Wikipedia is an example of participatory culture as it is a collection of knowledge written by “thousands of volunteers all over the world” (Wales, 2006). Anyone can contribute to Wikipedia, his or her contributions are written in a wiki markup language and posted to the site, and once on site the material becomes free content and can be used, edited, copied or redistributed.

Why is the idea of ‘neutrality’ important?

As Jimmy Wales (2006) state, the idea of neutrality is important as it allows people who have diverse opinions and ideas to work together and produce content, neutrality also ensures that the articles do not become debates on certain issues, but rather a report on what “reputable parties have said about it” (Wales, 2006)

Is Wikipedia a credible source of information, and why/why not?

No Wikipedia is not a credible source of information, Jimmy Wales was asked “Is Wikipedia a credible source of information?” in a 2005 Business Weekly interview he replied “No, I don’t think people should cite it, and I don’t think people should cite Britannica, either… People shouldn’t be citing encyclopedias in the first place.” (Helm, 2005), Furthermore Wikipedia is a work in progress it is constantly being updated, while it might be a good starting point for research into a topic, I wouldn’t cite Wikipedia as a source in any of my essays.

References:

Helm, B. (2005, 14-December). Wikipedia: “A Work in Progress”.  From http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2005/tc20051214_441708.htm?chan=db

Wales, J. (2006, August). Jimmy Wales on the birth of Wikipedia.  From http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jimmy_wales_on_the_birth_of_wikipedia.html

Wall, M. (2005). Blogs of war: weblogs as news. Journalism , 6 (2), 153-172.  From http://jou.sagepub.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/cgi/reprint/6/2/153


Leave a comment