Official Post 1: We the Media

This week, let’s consider two separate yet interesting topics: truth, and time. 

First, truth.  In our previous two classes, we’ve discussed the idea that the People trust “people like me” more than they trust institutions, including the media (check out the Edelman Trust Barometer).   

Here’s what I think when I hear this: if my friend’s grandmother were to visit my blog (tell your friends!) and also visit a media site that promulgated the same type of information, she would be more likely to believe my version.  I’m friendly and likable and she figures I have no agenda, so I won’t do her wrong by recommending a product or service.  

With this in mind, I was troubled by the notion, suggested in both “Essential Blogging” and We the Media, that information placed on the Internet can be made right, even if the information is not right from the start.    Consider, for example, this quote from Cory Doctorow (“Essential Blogging,” pp. 6-7), who called for the downfall of Verisign on his blog:  “Calling for the death of publicly traded companies is Just Not Done in the pages of responsible magazines.  What’s more, I discovered after the fact that I’d gotten some minor details wrong.  A fact checker would have made me research these myself (or more likely would have made me remove them altogether)…I iterate towards the truth rather than exhaustively researching it.”  Consider, also, the many times that Dan Gillmor urges truth and adherence to journalistic principles, warning against, among other things, incidences such as the Jayson Blair scandal and the “death” of Kaycee Nicole.  However, Gillmor then questions the reaction against Matt Drudge, who accused political operative Sidney Blumenthal of abusing his spouse.  Blumenthal went on to sue Drudge for defamation of character.  Gillmor states that he is “troubled by the fact that [Drudge] was sued in the first place.  After all, he did quickly retract the story and said of his source(s), ‘I think I’ve been had.’…[A]nyone who cared to know learned quickly that the story was bogus” (We the Media, pg. 193).   Whuh?  How could anyone fault Blumenthal for his outrage?  How could anyone say such a thing about another person without ensuring that the story was true?   I think these examples highlight a major problem with the Internet: there is little control over faulty Web content, except in cases involving libel which, according to Gillmor, have been tried with only mixed results. 

Points I’ll concede: blogs are generally editorial pieces, as opposed to hard-hitting news; as such, bloggers are entitled to their (possibly misguided) opinions; and everyone makes mistakes sometimes. However, is it acceptable, in the rush to publish content, to get things almost right? If my friend’s grandmother visits my site once and then acts on incorrect information that I’ve displayed, she may not visit again before I have time to correct my mistake.  My mistake would affect a real person and result in real consequences.  It would not be more acceptable because I made it electronically than if I made it over the phone during a chat with grandma. I would argue that it is as important (if not more important) to post correct content on my blog as in traditional media because: for many, the Internet is more ubiquitous than television or print media — these folks can check any site from anywhere at any time; not everyone knows to view information from unfamiliar sources skeptically; and in a lot of ways, the Internet has yet to prove its trustworthiness to people like the Luddite.So, now you know my thoughts.  What are yours? 

Now, time.  As I leap into the 2000s (an iPod. A digital camera. A blog!), I can’t help but think of the technology age in terms of a time capsule.  So, my question of the week: if people of the future discover the technologies we use now, what do you want them to find so that they understand your life?     

A note to my JHU480 friends: I was able to purchase all but one of our books at Barnes and Noble, so fear not if you shun the online shopping (as does the Luddite).  I continue to bring this retail giant to its knees through my membership card and its myriad benefits!