"Shea is going nuts!"
At 9:02 p.m., I got the text message from my dad. It was official, our beloved New York Mets had just won the division for the first time in 18 years, and Shea Stadium was rocking.
Working in the newsroom at the Topeka Capital Journal, I was unable to see this feat being accomplished. As soon as I got the text, I got on ESPN.com and scoured all the websites I could find to read up on this great night.
Without cell phones, who knows when I would have found out the good news. Truth is, it probably would have been later that night, when I had a free minute, but with the text message, I was able to read about it right away and enjoy the moment.
Photo: mobilewhack.comOf course, had I not been working, I could have been checking the score on my cell phone the whole night along with just about anything else going on in the world.
The new era of cell phones, text messages and websites like facebook, have totally changed the dynamic of news. It isn't delivered to you when the television stations or newspapers want it to be delivered to you, it's delivered to you when you want it to be.
Even the most traditional of mediums, who once refused to go multimedia, have to now because that's the way there audience wants it. No longer do people sit around and wait for the network news, or even the newer days of sitting around and waiting for Sportscenter.
Now, you can receive instant updates on any topic in the world whenever you want. If the Mets clinch, you can receive an alert on your ESPN Mobile telephone, if Kansas scores a touchdown, kusports.com will send you a text message and let you know.
If the President decides to veto a bill, your cell phone will tell you within minutes.
The era of waiting for news is over. Now, news happens when you want it to happen. The only question remaining is, what's next?
Your cutline is out of whack on my browser on the huge mobile phone shot. Fix it when you get a chance. Otherwise, pretty good post.