QUOTE:

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." -George Orwell

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Is technology turning journalists into crackheads?

Speed, speed, speed!

Does anyone speaking online about the future of news delivery mention anything other than speed?

How about quality, quality, quality?

Or better yet, speed, quality, customization and relevancy?

What other industry doesn't have a balanced approach in its delivery of a product? In our quest to jump on the technological bandwagon of News 2.0, or whatever you want to call it, the news community has become nothing more than a zoo full of squawking parrots for the start-up and technology worlds, hoping to harness some of the speed, brain trust (and, ahem, funding) that tech companies like Google and Bing are enjoying at present.

Even my dad's pet squirrel Pewer gets tired just thinking about how fast news comes at him these days.


Can we get back to the strengths that got us here, folks? Writing that embodies a sense of history while grasping the future, reputation for factualness and grammatical accuracy, insatiably curious natures and noses for newsworthiness, peer-review and consiseness (not just leaving word count to flap in the wind, since the internet is infathomably big)?

Anyone will tell you that in terms of the nature of a traditional hack, I am by no means the definition of one, embracing changes in technology before I know how to use them. But I'm losing my patience with our industry. Let's get back on track with our objectives, shall we?

1 comment:

Gloria said...

Well written. And ... OUCH
I do feel like a crack head wanting faster speed for often times, silly needs.

Sometimes I hear a comedian's line in my head reminding me to chill: "Give it a minute. It's going to space!"

And right now, as in today, I'm sitting in my new apartment waiting for the candyman to deliver my router from AT&T. 11/16/2012 or day 11 sans connectivity...

And while I'm feeling ashamed of my need for speed, I feel more ashamed for not being more ashamed than the latter.

These are great times we live in and being reminded to be grateful is what I appreciate about your post. (plus the squirrel pic)

Gloria *_*
SF Bay Area Internet Junkie
House music enthusiast