Is it possible to merge traditional values with new technology?

During a time when people increasingly tailor their news on the Internet, voices calling out in alarm as traditional Newspapers fall like dominoes are drowned out by the electronic buzz of technology’s super-highway.  Your medium is dying !  In an era of immediate gratification spurned on by 20-second television news reports and one-line attention-grabbers on the internet; the number of people who have the patience to focus their attention on one thing for an extended period of time is rapidly dwindling. 

If long-standing traditions are becoming obsolete, perhaps the values attached to them are dying out, as well.  Sentimentally, many equate old-style media and now outdated technology with a time of seemingly stronger moral conviction and less questionable ethics.  However, if we fail to evolve we are, in fact, stagnant.  Clinging to the past, we go down alongside the waste products of technological progress.  Where BETA is in charge and no one wants to claim responsibility, it seems that new technology has taken on a life of its own.  In that case, should we not fear this digital monster, as with anything that is beyond human control?

What is increasingly ominous to me is that rapid technological advances coincide with a severe economical downturn.  Fiscal irresponsibility is seemingly rewarded with bailouts.  Like young children, indignant executives crying Do-over! get to wipe the board clean and start anew in the name of Capitalism.  The response does not seem to be humble gratitude, but entitlement.  Where, then, is the lesson learned?  Perhaps rules and regulations have become good old-fashioned values…   -Are they outdated, no longer valued virtues?

It is bittersweet to note that the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th President were many newspapers’ last Hurrah! before they succumbed with a barely audible crumble of brittle pages.  Our new President is techno savvy.  Unafraid, he leads the masses into uncharted digital territories - already occupied by the youth and techno geeks.  Some of us pause and cautiously frown, as we try to merge existing values with a new schema in html format.  Certain things we do not wish to leave behind as we step across the threshold into an unfamiliar zone buzzing with bits, bytes, gigs and zips.  In the name of Change, it is not so much old media we should fear losing but thorough reporting and good writing: information we can trust from identifyable sources; the mental exercise resulting from food for thought.

Yet, there is hope amid the confusion.  A stern finger wagging in the egocentric face of AIG bonuses was able to ward off a riot.  Do we dare to believe someone responsible has stepped up and taken hold of the reins?  In any case, with the birth of Web 3.0 we are no longer simply along for the ride.  Virtual town-hall meetings give us all a measure of control over which paths we choose.  The road may be new, but Change is our future.  We must trust that new paths and actions rooted in good old-fashioned values will lead us safely home…in time.

One problem with Crowdsourcing as the 'Wisdom of the Crowd' is whether people's so-called opinions have been manipulated by corporate interests.  Businesses, understandably, would like people to think highly of their products.  Many have been caught red-handed; involved in 'astroturfing' or manipulating votes (i.e. 'Digg's) in an attempt to create a fake buzz about themselves.  -Is the consumer's indignation justified, or is this simply good advertising?  In my opinion, this is a double-edged sword for businesses.  If a product is not good enough to sell itself, it will inevitably disappoint the consumers with its poor quality.  The end result is likely a cynical consumer with a distrust for a business' future products.

picture from www.arts.ualberta.ca

-This is right up there next to my Google paranoia!

Ads are ning's main source of income.  They automatically run on the right hand side of the free social networks.  The users have the option of controlling the ads on their site for $24.95 a month.  Additionally, ning users can purchase their own domain-name by getting rid of the .ning after the name of their social network. 

Picture from www.pragatiweb.com

ning is easy to learn and to use.  You can customize your pages with selective themes and colors.  Features can be added or taken away quickly, and the layout is easily changed according to the user's wishes.  ning is not only a free communication-tool, it is a great creative outlet!

That being said, I also have to give kudos to posterous for providing a free, convenient, and easy-to-use tool to quickly post your thoughts!
Thank you, Sachin and Garry!

Official ning.com logo

ning is a virtual gem.  Its co-founders, Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini, mirror Tim Berners-Lee's mindset: they feel people should have access to the tool for free in the interest of humanity.  ning empowers anyone and everyone to create their own social network.  It is in everybody's best interest to stay connected to and better communicate with the important people in their lives.

Picture from www.squidoo.com.

This semester, for my 'Communicating on the Internet'-class, I will be taking a closer look at crowdsourcing.  In economic times like these, the concept seems like a double-edged sword.  Crowdsourcing may potentially produce a lot of innovative ideas and expand possibilities for audience interaction with the media, but what about job security?  Is educational expertice becoming undesirable because steady jobs are priced out by over-eager contributors volunteering their time and efforts?  Furthermore, how can we easily identify reliable sources if jobs and personal reputation no longer are at stake?

Picture from brainreactions.blogspot.com

(Spring Semester 2009)

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(Fall Semester 2008)

Every time I drive a certain route I cast a semiotic glance to my left when I pass a specific spot along the road.  The wooden cross displayed on the tree sends a message of untimely loss.  Thoughts churning, I solemnly exercise my agency as I spin a story around the symbolic text of heart wrenching grief.  My heart bleeds for its producers who are left behind to mourn.  Perhaps it would be a small measure of comfort for them to know that their message is received by many, and has produced feelings of sympathy, loving thoughts in remembrance, and a cautious foot on the pedal.