Has social media increased the quality of news and information or decreased it?

Social media has neither increased nor decreased the quality of news and information. There’s just more of it to be had, with even more access to it. News sources have more methods to gain more information, but have to do an equal amount of work to make sure that it is correct information. When anyone can be a publisher, the integrity of the information must be thoroughly questioned before it can be presented as fact.

With microblogging tools, such as Twitter, it’s easy to spread small amounts of information to a large audience. However, with such a limited method of communicating information, it commonly ends up being misinterpreted, and then further spread throughout the online community. For example, actor Mark Hamill (famously known as Luke Skywalker and the dominant voice actor of The Joker) had tweeted that his portrayal of The Joker in Batman: Arkham City would be his last, leading his thousands of followers to believe that he was retiring the voice of The Joker for good. This later turned out to not be true, as he clarified in a later tweet. 

Social media has allowed information to be exchanged rapidly, and reaching larger audiences. This creates a lot of room for error in interpretation, and in communicating in the first place. It hasn't really changed the quality of news and information; it has changed the quantity.

My perception of social media: Is it just a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

     The explosion of social media into our every day lives is indeed more than just a fad. It's in our work places, schools, homes and our pockets, and it's here to stay. However, I wouldn't go as far as saying it is the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution. I believe it is a more convenient way of interacting with the people in your life, especially if they are not easily accessible. 

I personally use it to keep in touch with family and friends, and keep up to date with things I find interesting, like my favourite bands. It's definitely more convenient for small businesses to reach a larger audience, considering that it's free advertising. It also helps larger businesses stay more directly in touch with their consumer base. 

On the other hand, social media is a tool not to be taken lightly. There comes great responsibility with having the power to connect to anyone, upload any picture, or post any statement. It is slowly teaching people to be more careful, and exhibit better judgment when deciding what they want the connected world to see.

Would the world today be crippled without it, though? Not really. People would just go back to getting their news from the TV, radio, newspapers, internet, etc. Connecting with others would revert to just phone calls, instant messaging, emails, essentially slower methods of communicating. The world would just be a little slower, and go back to being more private. And of course, TMZ would be out of business.

How to Blog?

This is my first blog. Greetings. I like stuff.