INDImag – Contemporary fiction | Motivational short stories | Social stories | Short story criticism

The traditional media of today is under a microscope ; most of the media houses align with their special interests. It is an unfortunate, but a rather accepted norm for many a publications to take sides, or, at least be posturing. You would not find pro black, pro gay, pro global warming rhetoric on Murdoch’s Fox news, would you ? Or, when was the last time Deccan Herald did a major expos’e ?

Many of the other media majors are aping tabloids, with tabloidesque feel to some of its articles and coverage. Times of India(TOI)’s evolution over the years is relegated as tabloidesque. But, there is a market for it, and people are lapping it up; intelligentsia opines that the media needs to stay clean . But are they fair in influencing the content the masses need ? Who is to say it needs to be serious, put me right back to sleep journalism at the crack of dawn ? Some may like a bit more of color than the majorly black on white that’s a staple at sunrise ; maybe some would like to hear from other people than a few crisply toned ‘Letters to the Editor’ ; maybe they would love a ‘dude, god knows what you are smoking’ than ‘Dear Sir, I take exception..’, when they write to the editor ..

Enter user defined content. User defined content is arguably one of the best outcomes of Web 2.0. Just look at what Blogs, Youtube has done to the American mainstream. Seth Godin has more visitors to his blogs than all the readers of major US magazines put together. You can find moms, to teachers, to bikers, to a commonner with a camera becoming a reporter. Agreed, it has it’s banes. We will side step that for a minute, we are not embarking on the banes of internet. We want to look at ‘What’s not to like’, when done right : It empowers the common man and gives him/her a voice in the mainstay topics; it has been a moral compass(Michael Richards) and a whistle blower(Foley case); the conversations and critiquing is instantaneous, so suited for this age of instant gratification ; you hear from the masses and not from the corporate serfs ; many have little to no cost factor associated ; with a little common sense and web navigation, you can find news, articles, reviews and instructions on almost anything imaginable. All of this in a camaraderie of people who want to influence other people, who subscribe to the same thoughts and values, so dear to them.

With the hype and hysteria, and blogs hailed as the next best thing, is it the new way of media ? Are obituaries in order for the classic print media ? Is it time to cancel your morning delivery of the evening news. Not just yet. This, despite the issues with the traditional media. Despite all the good that comes with the new medium, there are issues.

1. Authenticity : When there is a breaking news and the crap hits the fan, you need a reliable source. Let’s face it, you head for the remote/website of NDTV or CNN or BBC and not your favorite blog site. Correct ?
2. Invested : Despite the discussive nature of the blogs, it is selective at best. You may or may not see some items discussed. Mainstream media cannot be picky, they are more invested in a wider audience and need to ensure they cover it.
3. Accuracy : Blogs are often views or opinions, both of which are wild horses with little control. Add a big group of opinionated people, and you have a sure fire recipe for chaos. You cannot deem a blog content accurate. Most mainstay media is ‘fairly’ accurate.
4. Redundancy : It is not uncommon to see blog after blog opine the same tale. There is little freshness to very many of it. Same with mainstream media, but the numbers are not in the millions..
5. Un/Ill Edited content : Traditional media is constrained by time(TV)/real estate(news paper) and the job of editors couldn’t be stressed enough. The content has to be good, un-ambiguous, accurate and make sense. Blogs are not constrained by the same rules. You will see everything from plain old jackasses to shock jocks to genuine people.

So is there any good in rummaging through the heaps of junk ? Sure there is. You just need to know what to use it for.

1. Find reliable Blogs : Don’t go looking for anything. Find a select few that are reliable(fairly) and have the content that suits your palate. Look for a wide ranging one stop shop that does have edited-mediated content.
2. Strike a chord : Find sites that strike a chord. It is not about what your friend thinks is good; it is about what you like.
3. Don’t just stand there, say something : Comment on articles; you will learn valuable lessons on the sites and how it may or may not suit you. If the site is committed to having a dialogue and does not look at just doling out platitudes, comments will be well received.
4. Sample a byte : Do not jump in head on. Sample a few sites and spend a few minutes a day for a week. See what you like, and what you don’t. Make a list there after.
5. Feeds : Once you have a list of sites you want to subscribe to, get a good RSS/Atom reader. Most good sites offer feeds. You can use these aggregators to subscribe to the list and read the articles at leisure or serve it up on your website. All without a line of coding.Web 2.0 is good. Make use of it…

Thank You For Reading This Post. Please Stop By Again.