Social Medipedia

Remember the days when Wikipedia was about as valid of a source as the story told from the guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who has some drug dealer cousin that heard the story from some girl? Even though Wikipedia has become a bit more valid of a source for information, people still have a negative connotation toward citing it as a source for papers.

Social media is now threatening to become the new Wikipedia.

Much like the collective collaboration concept of Wikipedia was great, the immediacy of news on social media is a great concept. It is how we, as a whole, choose to use this tool that will determine how it will be perceived in the future. Posting breaking news on hearsay and questionable information will be the downfall of the reputation for social media as a news outlet.

An article on editorsweblog.org brings up a great question: is tweet first, ask questions later the best policy? Is it so important for people to know right away? When there is the risk of your tweet being incorrect, there is a chance that you will lose credibility. Have enough incorrect tweets, you will not be a valid information source to a large population of the online news readers.

A different article on editorsweblog.org discusses how several different news companies handle the balance between immediacy versus accuracy. There are ways for these two important news elements to live in harmony, and it would bode well for journalists everywhere is the world would ensure accuracy in their reports. Even something as small as a tweet can cause a massive reaction, and misinformation can end up doing more harm than help.

Do you have any ideas on how to ensure accuracy? How do you make sure your tweets aren't full of false information?

Photo courtesy of creative commons.

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16 Dollar Muffin?

A 16 dollar muffin breaks out gossip in the media about spending of the Justice Department.


The media is bashing on the Justice Department saying it is an example of bureaucratic largess. The media though did not get the full story.


With the expense of 16 dollars the conference would receive variety of fruit, drinks and a muffin.


The media kept on writing gossip about the Justice Department without getting the full story. There were 178 false stories only 36 tried to set the record straight.


How can we rely on the media being correct these days? It seems that the media is just like a tabloid magazines by creating falsified and gossip stories.


Most of the false stories were out in the media before the Justice Department could explain the expense of the conference breakfast. This can be blamed on the technology advances in the world today because how fast the word can be spread.


Can we trust the media in telling the truth?

Media today will be false on occasion but if you frequently watch the news, the true will be told.

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