Internet responsibility

I have been doing a little on-line writing lately, which requires learning about new things and researching issues of which I have very little or no knowledge. I love learning new things. I treat learning as almost a hobby. But it is vital to be able to trust what I know.

I am troubled by some things I have discovered.

The Internet often mirrors real life -- the good and the bad. My personal and professional experiences over the last 25 years have shown me that if a lie is told often enough, it is often taken as fact. That has certainly been a hallmark in the State of Illinois' quest to build the Peotone Airport, my personal poster child for things amiss.

The internet was begun by a bunch of geeks and scholars. Today, all people have embraced it.

There is an influx of on-line writing, citizen journalism, blogging, new website, and a general on-line presence. On-line writing sites encourage everybody to try their hand at writing. They advertise that you can earn money by writing what you know. That is great!

But in doing so, individuals get caught up in a competition with other writers to write more, and even earn more. The result is often more quantity than quality. Those stories written by wannabe journalists are placed on the internet for the world to see, for young students to use as research projects, or for other writers.

Some writers simply regurgitate Wikipedia articles, put their name to it and go on to the next project. They give little thought to the reality that wikipedia is a work in progress. Often times, wiki writers get their information the same way, from something that has been posted to the internet. They think it is fact, but it may not be.

New articles may not be 100% accuracy. Then along come an eager new writer anxious to score another article. They are more intent on satisfying their google page rank and parroting incorrect information than doing more digging to verify what they are writing. And like the old game of telephone, on and on it goes until nothing can be trusted for accuracy. I don't want to see that happen.

I love the Internet. It has been one of my favorite developments in the 20th century. It offers scads of information to teach new things, or in my case, replenish some of what I've forgotten. It offers new opportunities, potential for earnings, introduced new careers, and countless other things. I would hate to see it become tainted by too much bad information.

So, in the same context as real life, we must take responsibility for everything we write. If internet users are going to act like journalists, we must behave like journalists - dig, dig, dig for the truth.

The same goes true for users of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others. Know that what you write, could last forever. Make sure it is what you really want to say. Use good common sense, do your research, be responsible, and think before you write. If that is done by all users of the internet, this medium will continue to be the wonder that it is.

Journalism trends

Journalism as we know it is changing, rapidly. But is the trend toward linking and collaborating one which will stand the test of time? And what does it all mean to the notion of making a living?

Since I stopped working for a weekly newspaper which resulted in the loss of my weekly paycheck, I have been exploring the potential for writing on the Internet. My study has led me to believe that it is easy to write on-line. In fact, anyone can do it. One thing is certain, there are no short-cuts. And the down side is that not everyone can make a living at it.

While I remain in the throes of the learning process, I have concluded that making a living as a writer on the Internet may be doable, but it will take not only talent, but lots of hard work, and perhaps a little luck. The pool is large and growing as journalism schools graduate new students and established newspapers present pink slips to longtime reporters.

The new trends: link and collaborative journalism, encouragement of citizen journalists, and a steady influx of new bloggers is producing a glut of sources to fill our 24-hour news shows.

I have to wonder how much of this new found information is paid for? Does CNN pay citizen journalists to send in photographs of planes landing in the river or forest fires threatening neighborhoods? Are bloggers paid when they provide information that goes on the air?

It seems to me that news organizations, which are scrambling to save themselves are doing it at the expense of the innocence of some hard-working would-be journalists eager to see their work displayed in the mainstream. Even the newspaper I worked for begged for digital photographs to be contributed to help provide community news. There was no talk of compensation, but there was an offer of a byline.

Getting a byline is a great thing. I happen to think a byline stands for something special. It should not be tossed out like candy at a parade. I also believe that if work is good enough to earn a byline, it is good enough to deserve compensation.

It seems that along with journalim trends, there is a growing practice to try to coerce free services from journalists in return for nothing more than a pat on the back. Trouble is a pat on the back won't feed the family. I hope the journalism trend does not include FREEdom of the press.

I happen to believe that this freebie trend will peak and then subside as the laws of nature dictate. Once people realize how hard they are working for nothing or for very little, we will begin to see survival of the fittest.