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November 26, 2008
Mumbai and Lesser Phenomena
One of the big problems with using Twitter is the inability to filter noise. Think of "just got out of the shower, coffee and then fighting traffic with this hangover," ad nauseam...
Stuff like this is an overstatement. The potential is there. The present reality is something entirely different.
When you search on #mumbai you find insightful, impassioned texts from all over the world. But you also get airheads saying "omg I need to bake pies for tomorrow but I want to watch cnn!" and gee-whiz-gosh insensitive dorks who insist on impressing [sic] you with some mythical "social media experiment" significance. And don't forget the big Twitter picture: misinformation, rumor, disinformation and glib ignorance spreading like flu among harpies gathered along neighborhood backyard fences.
Suddenly it seems everyone's got a cellphone and a Twitter account. Just like (supposedly) everyone who heard the Velvet Underground started a band. Problem is-- no matter how enthralling the, um, artists found their particular noise-- only a small fraction of those bands was ever worth listening to.
The story is the story. The medium should not be the headline. One new-ish manner of reporting the story must not overshadow the narrative's gruesome human and political significance. That kind of self-importance is counterproductive from a journalistic perspective.
Posted by Paul at November 26, 2008 10:29 PM
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