I was thinkin’ about the swirl. Then I saw a comment by SiliconValleyWatcher’sTom Foremski, something I’ve read several times before but it hit me anew. He wrote:
Ken: That’s exactly it, it is about MSM and citizen journalism …and… what I call “smart machine media” in a holy trinity of sorts 🙂
I’m down with that! These are three engines being driven by people, but people from different positions, perches and allegiance. Differencesare likely to remain, but they’re all coming together on a level playing field where discussion, sharing and open, honest communication keeps lots of light on the truth. Sure there is a need for anonymity, but maybe only in the face of true fear, oppression and when it comes to protecting the live(s) of others/many.
Back to the holy trinity of sorts. I visited the eBiquity blog, run by the UMBC eBiquity Research Group consisting of faculty and students from the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering (CSEE) of University of Maryland, Baltimore County(UMBC), located in Baltimore MD. This is where I found this good explorationof MSM, or the mainstream media, and how mainstream politicians view and use them along with the blogosphere. Their conclusion:
MSM is influential and there are selective preferences of each community towards different sources. Some of the sources that are categorized under MSM in the dataset almost have a blog like quality. As people rely on blogs for information and opinions, the indirect influence that MSM sources (and perhaps, its biases) can not be ignored. While blogs and MSM seem to almost have a symbiotic relation, (IMHO) this election season might see a fierce competition between the two.
Many will be watching, and more people than ever will be participating!
Movin' Ahead 