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“The Media” vs. “Social Media”- Fame and Credibility ~ Erin Ryan
In Media we consider high ratings equals a credible source, whereas in Social Media, high numbers may not mean the same thing, many spammers, for example, can have a high following. In the Media an “expert” most likely has a degree or has proof of their expertise, whereas in Social Media anyone and it seems as though, almost everyone is claiming to be an expert.
It’s almost like putting Paris Hilton in a News chair and calling her a news anchor. How many people would believe that she was credible? Has Social Media in a sense become “The Paris Hilton” of the media, which has many wondering what is credible anymore? Does it matter if you’re right or if you’re first? In The Media, you must do a background check before you can broadcast, you must use a credible source such as “Reuters”.
In Social Media, such as Twitter, you can tweet what you want and gain followers like mad. Is it strange that where we can get news is also where we say “Hey, I just woke up”? It’s like having your toilet in your kitchen. Especially if you use your 160 character bio as a place to self proclaim yourself as an expert. Unless you have a link to back that up, how are you credible? A no picture tweeter looks like a n00b, yet he has 1200 followers. Many may believe that “fame” equals’ credibility, if a famous person said it, it must be right. If a person on twitter with many followers tweeted it, are they right? Wrong.
In “The Media” what is being broadcasted is the perception of that company such as CNN or Harpo Studios. In Social Media, the perception is based upon one person, so is there fame in Social Media? You may pop that story, or tweet it first, but is it fame? Perhaps if it is a credible story, but it is fleeting.
There are arguably those in Social Media that may be well known, but ask yourselves why? Is it due to claiming they are experts or is it because they have proven themselves to be experts. If you do call yourself a “so called expert” and have never shown credibility, over time, all those followers will have been there, tweeted that, and moved on.
Although, Social Media has given us a way to Socially express ourselves, it truly isn’t any different than “The Media”, we still have to weed out what WE believe is credible, and if you said it first than bonus. People in any aspect of the Media, whether it is Social or not, like stories to be credible, a Twitter bird can’t fly without wings, in other words, nobody likes a liar.
That’s my opinion, what’s yours?
Massive Twitter Hack/Leak ~ all
Twitter has been hacked yet again, but this time 310 internal docuemnts including emails and financial papers were taken.
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