My experience with interactive media has been limited to social media sites, message boards at the bottom of online news articles and, in my classroom, the occasional remote Internet lecture. In other words, my idea of interactive media is generally limited to things like dinner plans and ignorant rants. Since I usually can’t afford investing time in that type of interaction, I’ve pretty much blown off interactive media.
Sometimes an old dog need a good challenge.
During a recent conference, a University of Missouri journalism professor asked a group of my students if they blog. A couple raised their hands. The professor said more than half of her students blog as a way of honing their craft. Okay, so professional competency may be a reason for me to write. But it’s no reason for you to want to read any of it. What could I write that would make you want to invest your valuable time reading it?
For an answer, I commissioned a small but tough focus group – me. I visit two online resources on a regular basis. One is the Associated Press newswire, which I have read nearly every day since I was 19 years old. The other is the “Ask Vic” column at Jaguars.com. I have the journalist gene, so the AP makes sense. But “Ask Vic” attracts me for other reasons. I’m a Jaguars fan so the content interests me. But that’s not enough to make it a habit. It’s a habit because there’s often a nugget of wisdom that makes me think beyond football, a life lesson that stays with me for the rest of the day. That’s worth 10-minutes of my time.
So what could I say that would be worth your 10-minute investment every few weeks or so? I was conditioned during my years as a journalist to keep my opinions to myself. But that experience also gave me a perspective on how we receive and process information from the incessant barrage of media messages that bombard us almost every waking hour. It may be valuable to take a few minutes here and there to step back and consider the effect some of those messages have on us.
I have no intention of telling anyone what to think. But with a little luck, I might prompt you to do what I ask of my students – keep an open mind and think. Sometimes I might challenge you. I’ll probably anger you once in a while, too. And I might even surprise you occasionally and “make nice.” Maybe there will be a nugget of wisdom here and there that stays with you for the rest of the day. But, in the best scenario, the blog should be a starting point for you to continue the conversation.
If you’re interested, subscribe by clicking the appropriate link and leave a comment below. Let’s see where it takes us.
Maybe you could do an experiment of teaching an old dog new tricks and give your perspective of the trials and tribulations of using new media.
ReplyDeleteSomeone must have tattled that I actually had a student suggest the site, saying it was so simple that even I could do it!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your posts. Occasionally something in the media will cause me to wish I was back at school so I could share it with my professors. Would you mind if I pose a question or hypothetical situation to elicit your comments?
ReplyDeleteFor example, when some bonehead runs onto the field during a professional game, the media no longer puts the camera on them so as to not encourage others from doing the same.
Using the same premise, what if the media agreed to quit reporting terrorist incidents? Would the number of incidents decrease?
Robert - Yes, I'd like to see the site develop as a forum for this type of discussion... so please contribute your thoughts and ideas. Here are my ideas regarding your hypothetical scenario. You know about the bonehead at the game because the announcers actually report it - they only withhold only the pictures because those pictures might glorify the bonehead's actions. And that's what might encourage other boneheads. Acts of terror are different, I believe, because they involve public safety. Wouldn't you prefer to know BEFORE you travel that terrorists hijacked a jetliner three days prior?
ReplyDeleteHere's a similar real-life scenario: When I was an undergrad at Syracuse working for the student radio station, we had a rash of bomb threats directed toward academic buildings. We reported them; police evacuated the buildings and swept for bombs. No bomb was ever found. Police told us they suspected the threats were pranks to get classes canceled. Since the threat to public safety seemed minimal at best, we stopped reporting the bomb threats. They stopped within a week. It's impossible, of course, to make a direct connection. In this particular case, no one was ever in any danger. We can't say the same about terrorism.
Great food for thought. Any other viewpoints?