In our social computing meeting today I used a term that I think accurately describes blogging in some sense -- fast food journalism. It's all part of the same culture that wants things quickly, and is willing to sacrifice quality for quickness.
Journalism used to be about accuracy and fact checking, back in the day. Now anyone can post anything they feel like, whether it's accurate or not. There are still libel laws and such, but the average blogger is probably not worth suing. More to the point, you have to find them first in order to sue them.
So what we have are a lot of instant experts. A recent example comes from a trade show, where certain bloggers went to the booth, tried the products, and blogged their reviews that day. Not exactly the sort of in-depth testing we've come to expect from organizations such as CRN or Network Computing. What's fascinating about it is nobody seems to mind.
Perhaps as a society we've gotten used to substituting convenience for quality. But if you've ever eaten a real hamburger at a real restaurant you know there's a huge difference between what you get there and what you get a McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. Or even Fuddruckers (sorry Dan).
It's a shame, but when it comes to news and information, it seems like these days we prefer it come in a paper wrapper.
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