Web 2.0 in Full Bloom
Friday, July 27, 2007
This past Monday, history was made as CNN hosted the first ever presidential debate with questions posed by ordinary people via YouTube. The consensus on the debate's success was unanimous, leaving YouTubers along with the rest of us marveling at the prospect of us, the people, finally having direct conversations with our leaders. Declan McCullagh of CNET reflected, The video questions posed in Monday's Democratic debate were more personal and more direct than the circumlocutions that political journalists tend to prefer, which I admit may not be a compliment to our profession. Don't worry, Declan. Journalists still have an important role, but now we also have a voice. The complaint that our current technology is grossly underused in the realm of communicating meaningfully with our government has been around for years. Some might even say that low voter turnout amongst the younger generations reflects this disconnect. How refreshing to see that steps are being taken to reconnect. As I write this, however, I find news that a GOP version of the debate, slated for Sept. 17th, might not happen as Republican candidates are feeling squeamish. "The presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman," said Rep. presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, referring to a question on global warming posed at the last debate by an animated snowman. I suppose this backlash is to be expected. Old habits die hard. But I am fairly confident that this is not the last debate of its kind. Web 2.0 is permeating into every crevice of our society, and this latest infiltration essentially cements the relevance of social networking. On another note, this Tuesday, the results of an analysis conducted by Neilson/NetRatings for the Newspaper Association of America came out indicating that online newspaper readership is up 7.7% from last year. So while print is on the decline, it seems that we still crave reliable news from familiar sources. When piecing together these two tidbits, we begin to foresee what lies ahead. Social networking creates new communication channels through which new influencers emerge. Yet, news from established authoritative voices for the masses remains significant. Labels: new media, Web 2.0, Youtube
posted by Gina Bolotinsky
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