Wow, I seriously need to get off of facebook. I had never heard of Digg or Reddit, or any other version of this little phenomenon. Am I the only one who has never heard of this stuff? And where have I been? Well, these community based websites look cool and I spent some time exploring them. I'm surprised I hadn't at least heard about them and maybe the readers of this blog will be just as equally surprised.
The article "Citizen Journalism Wants You" opened my eyes at to why this is such a good idea. Not only had I not heard of these sites, I hadn't seen any of the material on them. (Not that my life has been lacking since I made these discoveries, but they're nice to know about it.) So why have these sites in the first place? As my title suggests, maybe there is something to the collective that makes us all a bit better off. Assignment Zero was discussed in the article to bring different, unapid authors to the project to report on differet topics together. I see some potential problems such as accuracy and skewed editting, but if one were to think positively the concept is really great. The best example for me to look at this concept is Wikipedia- but I like Wikipedia. So I say continue on information sharing people! Tell me about all the new exciting things out there that I don't have a clue about you certianly seem to know more than I do. (Although if you have any questions about facebook bring 'em on...)
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Better Together
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3 comments:
Don't worry Rachel, you are definitely not the only person who hasn't heard of Digg or Reddit. I'm pretty sure Digg and Reddit don't have Facebook's numbers.
Anyways, I think you're right about the "collective" appeal. My favorite part of Digg is the interaction between the users via comments. The community aspect is what makes websites like Digg and Reddit, different and fun. That said, maybe Assignment Zero will do well.
Speaking of wikipedia...
Up until pretty recently I used to kind of make fun of it. Snicker at people who were using it as a credible source instead of with a grain of salt.
But it seems like the concept of everyone contributing until it's perfect (or most correct) has really worked. A lot of information that I need for my classes, whether it be about java or ajax or similar things I've gotten from wikipedia just because it's all in one spot.
The only thing that scares me about it is when I hear about large companies paying individuals to post good things about their products or company on the site. Or conversely companies paying people to say bad things about other companies and their products on the site. But I suppose as long as you're looking up topics that can't be too controversial or too subjective then you're fine!
I can't believe you haven't heard of Digg! Good thing is that it's never too late. Check out Diggnation the Podcast on iTunes. It helps take citizen journalism to the next level by adding a video component.
Remember, though, that Digg only provides links and comments about stories, but doesn't create the stories themselves. Diggers do not write up content and share that as the news. A lot of Digg focuses around science and technology. And remember... always keep an open mind and check sources.
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