Social media is increasingly becoming a part of our lives and existence. Most of the information that transcribes online in the social media sphere is accepted as information, commented on, and spread to other people that are part of the same medium. Additionally, social media is also becoming a major source for instant information. This means that most people first see all the latest happenings on the social media that they are connected to. Therefore, with the increasing popularity of social media, the emergence of social media journalism is almost inevitable.
Journalism has had to recreate and reinvent itself based on the changes that have happened to the audiences, the latest one being turning to social media as a source. For instance, at a very broad level – first there were newspapers, and then came televisions, followed by online news, and now there is social media.
Most journalism experts and reporters have increasingly started to use social media as a form of expression to provide news and elaborate on their opinions on different news items. This includes creating accounts on Twitter, Facebook and so on to provide instant updates on latest information, providing clips as information on YouTube, and creation of blogs and so on that provide more detailed information.
Impact of Social Media & Journalism:
Initially, there was little to no acceptance of the impact of social media on journalism. This was because journalism has and will be considered a profession that requires discipline, analysis, explanation and context. However, with the changing times, journalism is learning to view social media as yet another source that can be used to provide information to its users. Journalism is undergoing a transformation into being a space that provides information in traditional ways to also ensuring that their news and opinions are available in the instant format using social media. This means that while adapting to the changes they are ensuring that the profession is still following the principles that govern the profession of journalism.
Citizen Journalists:
Another aspect of social media journalism is the increasing popularity of the term ‘citizen journalist’. A citizen journalist is someone that does not have the authority to be a traditional journalist; nevertheless, they have the tools to report news as they see or interpret it. This means that more and more individuals from outside the world of journalism are more involved and in touch with changes that are happening to the world around them.
Journalism is also learning to accept citizen journalists under their wing and giving them the power of expression and the importance that they so deserve. This too has been a drastic change from yesteryears where journalists were providers of information, while people were consumers of information. Today, more and more journalists are turning to social media as a source for forming public opinion and are giving the audiences a voice to represent themselves in mainstream media.
Social media has, over the last few years, has changed the world as we know it. With its rise in the social spectrum, it promises to get bigger better and more reliable. Journalism on the other hand is also trying to move towards social media to accept the changes and have social media work to their advantage. Rest assured this is just the beginning.
Social Media Journalists & Marketing Power
The recent TiE Chennai conference “TieCon 2010” went major hit as EchoVme team grabbed few Social Media Enthusiasts from the city. Planned the event promotion via Social Media, executed the live coverage of the event covering every minute human element of the show right from registration counter, speakers, sessions, food, caterers to cleaners. The event was well appreciated globally and was live streamed on web via video, tweets, facebook updates, detailed blog posts, pictures and more. The event was later re-buzzed on Social Media with its pictures, comments and cherishing memories.
Social Media Journalism helps brand not just cover a live situation but also maintain it up on the web for historic evidence unless traditional journalism where news comes and fades with time.
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