I fear for our future with our growing, unfettered Internet access regimes.
We’ve already learned how wicked this cyberbullying business can get, the sexting pressures, the needs to be recognized, even if it’s for all the wrong reasons. But that means the need to be recognized, even if you’re not using your correct name and Internet addresses. You are recognized, but you are not really you. So, you are free to say, send and receive whatever you want with no repercussions. It’s scary.
Even in our profession, we’re seeing all kinds of stupidity with wanna-be reporters and commentators taking up space with their desire … no … their compulsive need, to be first or, failing that, be the guy (or girl) to one-up the other guy with a cynical comment that usually embraces a litany of obscenities.
Accuracy is not important to these people and when they’re challenged on their fantasy facts, unlike traditional and responsible news gathering agencies, they simply ignore or ridicule the critics and those who want to set the record straight.
Even with those of us in the mainstream of news gathering often getting facts scrambled in a race to be first and foremost, at least when we err, we correct. In fact, sometimes when we didn’t create the error, but only reported it, the newspaper will comply with a request to set the matter straight. I like that part of the business … not the error making, but the agreement and desire to make it right.
I know, in columns like this, I get to just make stuff up and you, dear diary understand that I’m not that serious about the subject matter at hand. (Or am I?)
I mean, even now, are you sure that I’m upset with cyber intrusions?
I may have been a topic of discussion at some point within the past 10 years within the Twitter, blogging, Facebook, Snapchat, trolling universe, but I probably can’t be bullied because I don’t pay that much attention to them. Oblivion is my salvation. Ignorance is bliss.
I spend a good deal of my day, just trying to get the stories I have been assigned … done correctly and readied for print and yes, also for our online versions. I don’t assign hours on end to searches and Facebook or Linkedin requests. They get deleted along with the 80 to 90 emails I field every morning. Just grazing over emails and deleting 92 per cent of them takes about one tedious hour. I often wonder how efficient the system really is. It is nightmarish in scope if you leave it for a week, like I did recently.
What I can appreciate is the immediacy of the Internet worlds. Using information gleaned from the ‘Net to gather more information and confirmation, can be exciting. But it’s all too infrequent. Most of the fast-breaking news others like to transmit in breathless fashion contains vital information such as “Jordan Eberle coming off injury list, will play for Oilers tonight.” Or perhaps it’s “Another 100,000 Syrian refugees reach shore in Greece.”
Internet can enhance what we print in this newspaper. It’s not the other way around. That’s because, well, it’s because here at the Merc, “we don’t make stuff up.”
Unless of course, some stuff you might read in this space, from time to time … but not this time. Believe me. OK, you don’t have to believe me.
All I really want to know this week, is … are hashtags really necessary?
