Some of my friends who are not on Twitter keep telling me the same thing: "I just don't understand the point of it."
Now, these people are not journalism majors and therefore might not be as inclined to use and love Twitter, but I always defend Twitter in response to their remarks.
I think that Twitter is a great way for people to read social news and to get factual and legitimate information through following news sites. By adding themselves to Twitter, news sites can help themselves to get information out to people in a way that consumers want it: conveniently in one location.
Blogging
Some journalists seem to be scared lately that bloggers will take over their jobs with the content they come up with and then put out on the Web for all to see. But really, I don't see why.
I mean, think about it. What would bloggers have to blog about without the news they get from news sites? Bloggers would become the new town criers. They might occasionally hear of newsworthy events that they'd post, but without any journalism training, their information would not really appear as legitimate.
Johnathan Bailey from Plagiarism Today wrote on bloggingtips.com five things that bloggers can learn from journalism school, which I guess as a person who has never taken journalism classes would be very helpful. But still, bloggers will never have the same finished product as a good journalist.
Journalist and blogger Mark S. Luckie wrote a good blog about "Why J-Schools matter." They definitely do matter and show the difference in the quality of blogs put out on the Web today.
As Brian Solis says in his entry, "Content becomes a social object that inspires communication and action." I also agree with him when he says that good journalism will always be upheld. It will be what inspires bloggers to talk about.
Money
It's interesting that Solis brings up the idea that news sites may one day charge their readers to read the news. I understand that the Internet will change and evolve with time, but part of the beauty of the World Wide Web is its accessibility.
When I read over the idea that Solis addressed, I couldn't help myself say "bleh" out loud. I think that if this were to happen, less people are going to be inclined to read the news. I can foresee a jump back to print if that is what happens.
Solis also addresses ads, which is an interesting topic. It is definitely, as he says, disappearing from the print side.
I think that digital ads are going to take over even more so than they already have because of the capabilities they can have. Consumers, if interested, can click and go directly to the business, ads can have and animation, and size isn't as big as an issue on the Web.
Mashable.com has an interesting blog about online ads. Jennifer Van Grove discusses how lately ads have been noticeable on YouTube videos.
Statusphere is ultimate way to share news
Again, I agree with Solis that RSS feeds on news sites are on their way out. There will be more "Share this" options in which consumers can tweet about stories or share them on Facebook, etc.
Social media sites allow for people to get all information in one personalized spot. It saves time, and it lets consumers pick and choose what they want to read.
Is this bad for journalism? Yes and no. Of course, it's a little sad that more stories are probably not going to be read as much. But it's also great for journalism because with all of the changes happening now, it's a fresh start. WIth all of the sites that monitor Twitter trends, it will be easier for journalists and news sites to figure out what people are reading, what they respond to and why.
Right now is a weird transitional phase in journalism, but I only see things getting better as journalist figure out how to incorporate social media sites into their profession.
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