The Elders of the Internet

The Interwebs and What Have You

I'm 17 (despite looking old and haggard) and the media that I've grown up with is now out dated...

Newspapers, TV, radio and print in general is now "Old Media." I thought (and still do think,) that the internet is in its infancy. Only to learn that the web has gone through phases and is again changing.

This clip really sums up my understanding of the internet...

So, let's talk about what the internet actually is (that I've learnt from people who actually know what they're talking about). 

Web 1.0 

The "Information Web" as they like to call it. Web 1.0 came about in 1989 was pretty much a read only type of thing. Searching for information was difficult and slow due to the content of websites rarely being updated. Web 1.0 was the perfect platform for advertising as searching for information would bring random and (unsurprisingly) irrelevant results. Web 1.0 became synonymous with the term "brochureware."

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 was the birth of New Media. This phase began around 2004/2005 with the advent of Google. The internet became more user friendly as information could be easily delivered and the advertisers changed their tactics. Web 2.0 also gave birth to social media which allowed people to come together (virtually) in a variety of ways. Advertisers used this electronic playground to target social groups and bring them specific products rather than the usual mass media approach of exposing everyone to everything.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 isn't quite here yet, but it is definitely on its way. We are heading towards the semantic web where advertising is tailored to individuals. Advertisers have access to people's web history and activities via smartphones. Rather than sending out an ad to a social group hoping that the majority will take note of it, advertisers can send specific ads to people based on their online profile and habits. 

If in doubt about any of my explanations, this guy seems to explain it better than me: http://www.cscan.org/presentations/08-11-06-MikeEvans-Web.pdf

The DEATH of Journalism

Newspapers have had a monopoly over public knowledge and current affairs reporting game since they were invented. But online news and the internet in general are changing this...

Newspapers made their profits from the sale of space in their publication, in the form of classifieds. Since Web 2.0 brought eBay and other forms of self-promotion, classifieds (with a price) have lost their purpose. 

And with citizen journalists and free online news we have to ask ourselves: will newspapers survive?

People don't have to pay for newspapers anymore. They believe that news should be free due to the need to know. To quote Dr Redman (our lecturer): 

Will people pay for something they believe they are entitled for?

Newspapers have moved to the internet as well as selling hard copies of their publication. However, to continue making a profit they have gone behind a paywall to prevent readers from accessing their information for free. They fill these subscriptions with incentives such as discounts, competitions and giveaways, but is it really enough? Personally, I just want to know. I don't want to know something AND get half price tickets to the footy this season. Publications seem to be devaluing themselves just to hold on to people rather than relying on their commitment to finding the truth to keep readers.

In My Most Humble Opinion...

Personally, I don't think newspapers are going to die. People still want credibility from their news sources. While the internet can provide you with information, who's to say that it hasn't been written with some sort of agenda? Take the Kony 2012 campaign. While it is a good cause, the video that has gone viral isn't telling the whole truth. There are exaggerations about Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army when it comes to their actions and motives (which are reprehensible, no questioning). They also aren't talking about the future beyond the capture of Kony, such as repairing the social, political and economic damage done by the LRA. The entire campaign is based on the agenda of Invisible Children rather than appealing to people's reason in order to bring social change.

Journalism seeks the truth, to understand the roots of an issue, to inform and anticipate what is going to happen next. For a while I was convinced that newspapers would die. It wasn't until I read Page One: Inside the New York Times and the Future of Journalism that I became hopeful for this form of media. I've gone on for long enough so I won't bore you with the details, but essentially it contains many arguments and essays about media, news and The New York Times. It outlines the need for print media and  the challenges that it faces, which it should overcome.

All we know is that technology and the internet is changing. Journalism faces a battle with the New News but should come out of it relatively unscathed. At some point my generation will no longer be technologically savvy. We'll be like this someday.