Benefit or Bane?

Facebook and Twitter, they've appeared everywhere now. People are often saying follow us or tweet us... Share with us every thing in your lives. For journalism, the question I think needs to be asked is quite simply is this trend a benefit or a bane?

For the people using these social media, they feel they can talk about anything and everything without thought of who might see it. (Privacy settings are a wonderful thing though, aren't they? Even if they are only a fleeting thing...) So sometimes people may say or write something that isn't exactly flattering of others or of themselves. (I'll admit, I've done this a few times...) But those posts can often been seen by more than just friends... There might be a few enemies... A few people you might not consider "right in the head" but two of the greatest groups that might see those things? Potential/current employers and journalists.

I'm sure the employers comment makes sense. It has been talked about, on the news of all things. People who may be considering you for a job want to see what kind of person you are and what better way to do that than to look at what you write, post and do on a social networking site where you most likely would feel comfortable to say just about anything you want without editing. (Again, I'll be the first to admit I've let my typing to get the better of me on those times when I have been especially upset, disturbed, lost or otherwise perturbed.)

People are using such social networks for their daily diaries, writing their thoughts, feelings, emotions, et al. for the world to see.

Thus, in order to keep up, journalistic organizations have taken their places among the members of these social media. Most have RSS feeds set up to automatically post things to Twitter or Facebook. So as soon as something is completed, bang there it is! Such posts take potential readers straight to the main source of the story, thus the news organization's Website.

You can search so many people's names and sometimes even find the person you're wondering about. Or you can search for a memorial page posted for someone who has gone. On such sites, journalists might find a contact to interview, to get their impression on what has happened or a topic of interest.

Organizations, both for-profit and not, also use the social networks to find people who are interested in them. From the SPCA to Coldwater Creek and so many others, the social networks give them a place to offer specials for friends, fans or followers. Thus such organizations and businesses generate new business, new contacts, new sources of donations and revenue.

Some days it seems there is just no such thing as privacy anymore, especially in the face of such social networks. Even though a resource like these can be a treasure trove for people specifically searching for information, but there is a negative side.

Take the whole Erin Andrews and the man who videotaped her situation. Those videos ended up posted online and could be linked to various pages on social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. So in that instance, her privacy (and the privacy of all the other women he taped) was violated and that violation was out there for all to see.

Perhaps even worse is the fact that once something is posted online... It's very hard to get removed.

Take the example of the little girls at the dance competition and the "outrage" generated by both their costumes and their dance moves. The parents of at least one of the girls said in an interview they had tried to have the video taken down, but that because of how many places it had been posted, they were unable to do so. Truthfully, as someone who once danced (many years ago) I think the outcry was ridiculous because the people who were fussing probably don't know much about modern dance or the outfits that go with it. Those girls were fantastic! Especially for their age group!

So, in the end... Is the social network a benefit or a bane? I certainly cannot answer that question, and if anybody else can, feel free! However, I doubt there is any one or any complete answer. In some respects, these networks are amazing sources of information and more. In others, they are an invasion.

I cannot call myself any sort of expert on the issue. I can only go on what I have seen, what I have heard and what I have experienced.

And the body says... STOP!

Probably one of the really bad things about the Internet is that it never stops. It's on all day, every day. But eventually, the physical body working to maintain anything online simply has to stop. We have to eat, sleep, recharge our bodies. If we don't, we pay a heavy fine.

I'm just getting over paying that fine. Having pushed myself too far, I over-extended. And came down with pneumonia. While I have had pneumonia before, it hasn't knocked me down quite this hard before. Three days during which I could hardly breathe. Simply standing became an arduous task, almost as hard as trying to keep a constantly changing breaking news story up to date.

Thus, the long spell during which I haven't posted.

I can only hope I don't have to go on a second round of antibiotics, because keeping up with that is pretty hard when it comes to working online. It happened several times I was so occupied with my job that I forgot to take my pill... The janitor in the building got a good chuckle out of watching me dive for it one evening when I realized I was about two hours late.

So even though the Internet is constantly updating, it takes people like me to do it in many cases. But we are nothing more than people, which means we have limits. If we hit those limits and we ignore our bodies (or other aspects of our physical and mental well being), then our task must fall on other shoulders until we get back on our feet. Sometimes that recovery is quick and sometimes it isn't. I can be very glad I didn't end up in the hospital with this one, but that's no guarantee I won't someday in the future if I keep going the way I have.

In this market, simply having a job is a relief, but it also places extra stress on the people with jobs to do everything they can to keep that job and keep their bosses happy. Thus we fall victim to our own fear. The fear that we may be next, the fear we will wake up one day and be handed that pink slip, the fear that we simply aren't good enough no matter how hard we try. Even if we consciously know our jobs won't (or maybe can't) be eliminated, our unconscious minds still dwell on the "what ifs."

It takes dedicated people to keep the Internet up and running with all that information, especially on news sites. However, even the most dedicated person must eventually close the program, shut down the computer and leave the desk. Even when working from home, the Internet-based worker has to stop at some point.

Even if you are one of those that would be willing to expand your training (and I do count myself as such a one), this kind of field makes that very difficult. Between the need to keep up with daily tasks of posting and editing, trying to learn the new technology that is constantly coming out adds yet another stress to an already overloaded person.

It gets rather freaky when you start to dream of work. For example, watching text scroll across the screen (or sometimes pull a Matrix on you and be scrolling down in random-seeming columns) behind your eyelids. Even after that computer is off, you still see the screen and the slots that must be filled. It's like you never leave the computer behind, even when you burrow into your pillow. Please do not consider this a complaint. I am merely describing something that has actually happened to me. I have even overheard some of my co-workers describing strange dreams that took place at "work" while their minds and bodies were supposed to be resting.

Because of such things, rest is not restful and stress can continue to build in the subconscious. That makes our bodies weaker when it comes to staying healthy. We can try and try and try, but eventually, it will catch up and take you down. So beware. Listen to what your body has to say. If it says, "Stop," you had best listen.

Filling in...

I sometimes can't help but feel that I didn't quite explain something correctly. For instance, I feel as though I have left something out of my earlier post, some key stone that completes a thought.

It often happens that some connection forms in my head that just doesn't translate well into the written word. So while what I think makes sense (at least to me), explaining to someone else the process and the connections in my mind just doesn't work.

For instance, anyone in journalism will probably already know that it is a very detail-orientated field, but someone outside the field might not realize just how detail orientated it is. Fact checking and accuracy are just two of the words used to describe this.

When it comes to the Internet, there are all kinds of "sources" a person can access, but how do you know the accuracy of that "information?" In some instances, you can't know. Some people will simply write whatever they want without checking to make sure their information is correct. For journalists, that could almost be counted as a crime, say libel. For an online journalist, that makes it even more difficult to make sure information is accurate and correct.

Indeed, expanding into the blogosphere makes the going even more treacherous. Because a blog is simply one person writing their thoughts, beliefs and notions, those writings do not have to be checked for accuracy. There are more blogs out there than can be counted, but most are not acceptable sources of information for a professional writer.

So usable online sources are mostly reduced to Websites produced by government agencies and known organizations (certain charities, local groups or the like).

Journalistic sources try for accuracy, but they can make mistakes. That's where a person like me comes in for I'm is supposed to catch the mistakes before they become a problem. Still, no one person can catch everything. So mistakes are bound to happen.

The good thing about the Internet is that you can, in most cases, go back into the original and make whatever changes you need. There is no real requirement to print a correction or re-air a story with a correction.

While a Website like Wikipedia may not be the best resource to use for information, it is an excellent example of just this process, because members can go in and make corrections when called for without a lot of fuss. But remember the scandal that broke a while back when Wikipedia found out some of its "contributors" were lying about their credentials and similar other activities.

The Internet has its own advantages and disadvantages, just as any information source does. Being an online journalist means I'm one of the people trying to make sure the information is correct, accurate, easy to access and more.

I'm sure I'll think of more concerning what it is to be an online journalist in the future days. And I'll write it down as it comes to me.

Being an online journalist

The Internet has been changing the face of journalism everywhere... Newspaper reporters might need to know how to shoot and edit video or television reporters might need to rewrite their stories for an online newspaper. People like me have to know some web design, Internet language, text editing skills and more just so we can put content online where people can see it. The University of Missouri School of Journalism (from which I got my degree) even created an entirely new department just to help reporters be able to cross media: Convergence Journalism.

You might ask, "What is Convergence Journalism?" I'm sure other people out there will have a slightly different idea of what it is, but for me, Convergence Journalism is taking aspects of newspaper, magazine, photography, television and radio journalism, and combining them all online.

However, there's a twist... The Internet has changed dramatically since news outlets first started posting content. It still is changing and will continue to do so. New programs, new languages, new design options, all these make it very hard to keep up. It seems that no matter what skills I learned, parts of them are outdated within months. I could probably study new online skills 24 hours a day and still not be able to keep up.

It often seems the same for computer technology. Hello! Anybody been paying attention to how many new OSs have come out in the last few years? At least businesses aren't investing in the new technology as soon as it comes out! So there I can at least continue to do my job with most of it...

This is not an easy field. It never has been. The hours are long; the mental strain sometimes overwhelms; news never stops. The Internet is just taking that further because people can connect 24/7/365. It might be an overload, and it might not. Still, as long as there is a demand, there will have to be people, like me, to fill it.

Here is something you might find interesting, even though it's a little outdated now... Epic 2015. It's a very interesting take on how technology has changed media...

Introduction

In the field of journalism, words are life and being able to play with those words, mold them for various uses, is a handy skill. The phrase, Journaliste Sagace, is actually a play on words that crosses three languages. Journaliste is the easy part. It’s the French word for journalist; what I am. Sagace is also a French word. This one means sagacious or wise. That is what my name, Klug, means in German. In other words, it’s who I am. It’s just a little twist of the tongue, one of those clever puzzles that can be solved with the right code. I am Sharra Klug and I am the Journaliste Sagace.