A New Phase: Social Networking

With today's youth communicating less through the traditional use of face-to-face communication, it has become immensely more important for the journalists to be online.

Furthermore, the more I immerse myself into the world of journalism, the more I realize the necessity of social networking and social media outlets--such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkdin--but more importantly, the power of these outlets.

When the Internet was created so few years ago, I doubt it's inventor imagined the shift it would bring about for modern day communication and present day journalism. With the Internet and the power of social media sites, anybody and everybody can be a journalist, all one has to do is create a blog or a Twitter feed that is popular enough.

Nevertheless, there are positives and negatives to every great development. When reading an article by The Wall Street Journal's Digital Network, I discovered something very alarming, there are sites specifically tailored to monitoring social networking. While this appears to be a great invention, and in context I would agree, it is disheartening to know that it was necessary to create a site for parents to monitor whether or not their children's reputations are being damaged or if they are being cyberbullied. With an increase in the everyday American wanting to contribute to what is presented as news--or to simply posting things online to be noticed--it is definitely time with these new advancements, for journalists to find the news and present it as objectively as possible (in order to help the public sift through the limitlessness of online "news").

However, while social networking may be difficult for some, it is not all bad. Journalism can and will greatly benefit from its existence if used properly. In an article by the Associated Press, it demonstrates how quickly social networking is reaching beyond teens and is being utilized in many different settings. The article talks about how social media companies are "friending" politics. And, while this may not seem like a positive to many, it does further demonstrate the magnitude of what social media is capable of.

Journalists everywhere are already ahead of the game utilizing social media to its full potential and providing news to the world because of it. Those who aren't, it's time you step up your game quick or get left behind.

Photo Credit: creativecommons.org