RSS feedsLike information professionals, journalists are constantly meeting new people and learning. Along with writing, it is what makes journalism worth the effort. These components also, in my opinion, give you a licence to change your mind, because you are in a constant process of learning. This summer, I experienced one of these drastic changes of mind.
When I first encountered
MySpace
and
Facebook, I
was dubious. I’ve been in the technology game for some time and my scepticism
has served me well. Anyone remember how WAP was going to change mobile phones
and information forever?
Facebook and its cohorts in what is known as ‘social computing’ seemed like a
complete waste of time an application for people with too little to do at work
or in their lives. As one real friend put it, “Facebook is just like mass
emails, and no one responds to them either.”
Many moons ago, I worked for Factiva’s new owner, Rupert Murdoch. Our division was closed down and staff dispersed into every corner of journalism and broadcasting imaginable. I knew one of them moved to Cardiff, but where? How do you find them? There could be hundreds in the phone book with the same name! And, as we all know, Google can be way too random.
Suddenly, with a visit to Cardiff imminent, I found the need for Facebook, often called the ‘killer app’. Within 10 minutes, I had tracked down that old colleague and organised a night out. So, instead of popping up the bar on my own, I’d be networking with an influential friend.
Using Facebook I could see who I was contacting, therefore verifying I wasn’t about to become some odd stalker. I could contact them, and if I couldn’t remember any details I could log on from my laptop and see all the information we had shared about the meeting. There are risks, of course, and some of the data you are expected to place in the Facebook domain are ill-thought out, but I’m warming up, nay, changing my mind.
All Information management technology
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