I’m not sure what qualifies as new
media any more, but on a daily basis I engage in e-mail, the internet, texting,
apps on my smartphone, listening to music on my iPod, instant messaging, etc.
The interesting part is that I do all of those things personally AND
professionally as my company provides an iPhone for my professional use.
Another app I was recently introduced to was Klout. If you haven’t heard of
this tool, I encourage you to research it. As Communication students, I believe
it is valuable for us to take a pulse on capability of influencing others. I’ve
been told that a Klout score between 50-60 is considered good while anything
above 65 is excellent. A colleague of mine has a Klout score of 91, which is
practically unheard of!
For a long time I was against many
social media sites, mostly Facebook. My reasoning behind this was due to the
fact that many times Facebook is a breeding ground for negative consequences
regarding long-term health, happiness, and the general well-being of individuals,
families, and communities. For example, in 2011 Facebook was cited in a third
of all divorce filings. In addition, more than 80 percent of divorce attorneys
in the United States say, “social networking in divorce proceedings is on the
rise” (Lupkin, 2012).
However, I have come to recognize
that along with anything good also comes anything bad. Of course we can examine
the negative influences and aspects of social media platforms such as Facebook,
but what about the benefits? I love being able to keep in touch with friends
and colleagues from many years past or family I haven’t seen in years.
I am very intrigued to read the
rest of our textbook as I feel this will be a vital tool in enabling us to
decipher legitimate and reliable content. The author sums up chapter two
adequately when he says, “in the twenty-first century, access to information
has reached a new high. The question we now face is how to proceed: how do we
identify, with our new tools and options, what information is reliable?”
(Kovach & Rosentiel, 2011, p. 25).
Kovach, B. & Rosenstiel, T. (2011). Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload. Bloomsbury, USA
