Jaron Lanier writes a regular column in Discover magazine. The recent issue contained an article that referred to an op/ed piece he wrote for Edge earlier this year. I went back and read the Edge article as well. They both deal with collective intelligence and how crowd theory relates to our current age of collaborative web pages like Wikipedia. I think they are both very interesting articles and relate somewhat to the discussion Adam, Ana and I had on the last podcast. I highly recommend reading them in their entirety but will reprint a couple of highlights here.
“Compounding the problem is that new business models for people who think and write have not appeared as quickly as we all hoped. Newspapers, for instance, are on the whole facing a grim decline as the Internet takes over the feeding of curious eyes that hover over morning coffee and even worse, classified ads. In the new environment, Google News is for the moment better funded and enjoys a more secure future than most of the rather small number of fine reporters around the world who ultimately create most of its content. The aggregator is richer than the aggregated.”
“The question of new business models for content creators on the Internet is a profound and difficult topic in itself, but it must at least be pointed out that writing professionally and well takes time and that most authors need to be paid to take that time. In this regard, blogging is not writing. For example, it’s easy to be loved as a blogger. All you have to do is play the crowd. Or you can flame the crowd to get attention. Nothing is wrong with either of those activities. What I think of as real writing, however, writing meant to last, is something else. It involves articulating a perspective that is not just reactive to yesterday’s moves in a conversation”
I think that there are some good questions here. If we are moving to a digital media source for news then where are our reporters going to come from? Just as important, who is going to pay for their contributions? Finally, if we are going to be using collective sources then how do we know the true value of the information we are getting? If we are going to have reliable and trustworthy sources of information on the Internet replacing the traditional newspapers and networks these are questions that will need to be addressed.
It's been almost a month since our last podcast and for that I am deeply sorry. I really only heard one person complain though. That was Corby and he told me that he didn't even want to listen to our last "Fear of a Black Hat" show. Andyway, this show clocks in at just over an hour and for most of that time Chuck, Anna and I argue a lot about the future of mass media and I just can't seem to say a damn thing that makes sense at all. Maybe I'm out of practice or something. Also I think Chuck was dissagreeing with me just to fuck with me but who knows.
I hope you all like this one and I hope it's not another month before we do another.
I'm wondering why in the hell MSNBC keeps letting Keith Olbermann make these types of editorial asides. I don't believe for one minute that MSNBC's management is just giving the editorial department a free hand. That type of journalism has been dead for a long time. For a look into the past checkout the movie "Good Night and Good Luck". I liked it but my wife fell asleep about half way through. Probly sooner than that but she always falls asleep during movies. Damn this pregnancy thing.
Ok back on topic. MSNBC must feel that because they have singled out one commentator to make these saditous speeches they can claim to they corporate sponsors and advertisers that Mr. Olbermann speaks just for himslf and not for the network while at the same time apearing to be a like a Edward R. Murrow of old to lure in young and openminded people like me. Well probly not like me. I'm not openminded, especially when it comes to MSNBC or any other news network. I just don't trust those fuckers no matter how many speeches Olbermann gives telling us how fucked up George W. Bush is. I truly don't believe that they know what they are doing. Case in point, the above video. MSNBC is making no money off it and has no real control over it. They would never do something like that knowingly, which is why I can't trust them.
Until the days of the internet and the blogosphere corporate bias and left or right slant is something that we had to just accept about tv news and newspapers. But not anymore. Keith Olberman shouldn't be on MSNBC. He should be his own station all on his own. Independent and free to rant till he's blue in the face or not but his words would stand on their own merit without the billboard of MSNBC behind it. And so should everyone else. In my lifetime I believe this will be the case. Personal publishing will kill news networks. It must. End rant now.
If you can read this news story and not laugh or at least have a shit eating grin on your face there is something very much wrong with you. Fuck, I love the internet some days.
It was always lots of fun in highschool playing the shotgun game. The people who put the time to put this site together have taken it to a new level. A must read for anyone that ever rode in a car with friends in highschool.
I LOVE posting video to this blog but it seems that I don't have enough origonality to post anyhthing else. While this is true I really can't bring myself to care much to here is a giant video post that is sure to make you soil your maxi pads.
