(Originally published as a column piece on Dec. 21, 2006)
AS you all probably know, Time’s Person of the Year is none other than: You.
Yup, you.
While it’s gratifying to see a publication like Time recognizing that the Web now belongs to ordinary individuals, I also find it somewhat ironic that, somehow, this is supposed to be a big deal because a respected stalwart of mainstream media has formally acknowledged what all of us who have been blogging; uploading and watching videos on YouTube; using social networking tools like MySpace and Friendster; and tagging and promoting our favorite stories via digg and del.icio.us have known all along. These free online tools have given ordinary individuals all over the world an unprecedented ability to generate their own content, collaborate with each other and influence other people from all over the globe.
This shift means that Internet users are now becoming not just consumers of online content, but also producers in their own right. Anyone can now create his or her own publication or video network on the Web, and this is the new playing field in which traditional media outfits such as print newspapers and broadcast companies that have invested in an online presence are now trying to thrive — or just plain survive.
Of course, we have to temper our enthusiasm for Web 2.0 with a bit of a reality check, including the fact that for all the praises we heap upon user-generated content, sometimes this just amounts to users posting videos of TV shows and other copyrighted content on YouTube instead of creating their own videos. Again, a tool is only as effective as the person who uses it — this revolution may have given more people a voice, but it’s also our responsibility to make sure that we have something worthwhile to say.
I don’t believe this ongoing revolution and evolution in new media will be a zero-sum battle, one in which only one side will emerge as the winner. It’s too simplistic to say that mainstream media is the one which will ultimately prevail, or that bloggers will rule the world. Both sides can learn a lot from each other. And as someone who received a lot of flak over two years ago for saying that mainstream media can adapt blogging and other online tools to their own needs to deliver the news (something, which, by the way, many publications all over the world have since done, just as some bloggers who once found mainstream media distasteful have since become newspaper columnists), I maintained then and continue to maintain that publications should embrace new technology without forgetting the tenets of journalism. It’s so easy to get caught up in the excitement of the revolution that you forget the right things mainstream media has done, and the lessons you can learn from their experiences. It’s like the dotcoms forgetting that business rules apply to them.
The new media landscape is one which can accommodate different producers of content. Some will be more valuable than others, but ideally the coming ubiquity of bandwidth means that all content will be equally accessible, but users will choose the destinations that give them the content they want. We will live with contradictions, because, well, quite frankly, we’re used to that. For instance, it’s ironic that some people think Time’s declaration of You as Person of the Year validates the Web 2.0 revolution and makes it more real. Does the fact that mainstream media declared it make this pronouncement more valuable than some blogger saying the same thing? Would a blogger or YouTube addict who doesn’t even read Time really give a damn that Time has patted him or her on the back? Is it a feather on your cap as a blogger if you’re featured on mainstream media, or if your entries are republished in the newspaper?
At the same time, journalists should also ask themselves if they’re also losing their objectivity when it comes to their dealings with blogging and bloggers. It’s one thing to recognize blogs as another source of leads for news articles; it’s another thing to rely solely on them as your main source of news. The worst thing that could happen for what otherwise might be a healthy give-and-take between journalists and bloggers is for journalists to copy and paste entries from blogs and turn these into articles, then have other bloggers copy and paste these articles that have come out in publications.
Journalists have the responsibility to prove they are better than bloggers. This is not a knock against bloggers, only a recognition that journalists have to live up to a higher set of standards and a code of ethics. You will have far more dire consequences if a journalist screws up, as it will have an effect not just on the public which gets shortchanged with wrong information, but also on the publication’s credibility. Journalists should remember that their actions reflect on their publication and also on journalists as a whole, so remember that the next time you feel like dousing people with water.
At some point, bloggers will also have to become more responsible writers, particularly since some courts have said that bloggers who are persecuted or prosecuted should also enjoy the same rights as journalists. Unless they really feel like having their cake and eat it too, enjoying rights without having to perform a duty.
Of course, it’s hard to generalize about blogging because people have different reasons for doing this, ranging from those who just want to rant, tackle social issues, cover the news, keep in touch with family and friends, and share their opinion with the rest of the world. Now that blogging is becoming popular and more mainstream, it’s actually becoming a commodity. The day will come when it’s no more surprising for a person to have a blog than it is to have an e-mail address or a mobile phone (and yes, it wasn’t that long ago when it was big deal if you had an e-mail address or a cell phone). But as blogs and these other online tools become commodities, once more it’s content that will come to the fore. The explosion of content is a good thing, but obviously it also means a lot of bad stuff is out there. You can’t expect every blog to be worth reading, just as not every publication is worth your time. In the end, the future belongs to those of you who excel, whether you’re a journalist working in the mainstream media or a blogger. Of course, sometimes if you’re too successful, the Age of You also means other publications want to be you, but then again, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. All I know is that Inquirer.net will continue to give its all in providing you with the best online content, and making this available on the INQ7.net portal.
It may sound corny, but as Spidey learned, “With great power comes great responsibility.” We who are lucky to have been given a voice, whether as journalists or as bloggers, should try to make others heard as well. The world is much bigger than our own vested interests in the success of mainstream media, on the one hand, and what I call the New New Media, on the other.
Otherwise, those who want to do all the talking are echoing what Adam Sandler’s character said in “The Wedding Singer”: “Well I have a microphone and you don’t so you will listen to every damn word I have to say!”
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I’d like to thank everyone who attended the Asian Gaming Journalists Association Christmas party. It was heartwarming to see the different stakeholders in the Philippine gaming industry in full force, and we truly appreciate your support. Kudos to Alex Villafania, our VP for External Affairs, for organizing the event and doing a damn fine job.
To check out the video interviews of some of our guests, visit hackenslash TV on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/hackenslashtv.
Thanks also to everyone who attended the CyberPress Christmas party, especially Luli Arroyo, who inducted the new board members.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
