"If only they had been able to tweet
from the Titanic."
-- Anonymous@8:17 a.m., doubting the value of text-message broadcaster Twitter: "We have several on staff who do nothing but twitter and tweet and blurp and yammer all the live-long-day."
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tweet, this! That sinking feeling it's a time-waster
-- Anonymous@8:17 a.m., doubting the value of text-message broadcaster Twitter: "We have several on staff who do nothing but twitter and tweet and blurp and yammer all the live-long-day."
17 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yep. We have the same folks at USAT. And they will defend their right to the death to do this crap on work time. Personally, I don't have any compelling need to announce to everyone who I know when am eating my morning cereal or having my car washed or if I am having a bad-hair day. The tech geeks (posing as journalists) claim there is some redeeming uses for this high-tech lunacy, too. But from where I sit, 99 percent of this Twitter, Facebook, MySpace stuff is pure juvenile junk that actually is causing a decline in basic communication skills. And talk about feeding into people's sense of self importance. We have folks at USAT who can barely write English or conduct an intelligent phone call, but they're good with their thumbs. People who linger on these sites waste precious time at work, much the way people who camp out in front of a TV or talk endlessly about nothing to friends on cell phones do. It's just another distraction and one that is actually condoned by certain managers at USAT. Of course, it's a bad joke that these managers have even risen to the ranks they have. They possess zero leadership skills, so no wonder they are enamored by every new tech invention that comes out, whether it's truly a useful tool or not. Shallow people gravitate to shallow technologies. They cling to that stuff because they believe it puts them on the cutting edge and into positions of power in the newsroom. Sadly, at USAT, they are correct, which is why the paper is in decline. The people above seem to think that all things technical are good (whether they Tweet or not) and that maturity and journalism skills are outdated.
ReplyDeleteSomeone with true technical genius once said that technology is best when it works for people and businesses. When it becomes a distraction or creates a false sense of being progressive, it is a danger and counterproductive. A lot of what USAT is doing is very counterproductive, wasting resources and placing way too much value on one-trick ponies.
USA TODAY is in serious trouble. Tweet that!
They did tweet from the Titanic. It was called the telegraph, and it changed the way news was covered.
ReplyDeleteTweet, Tweet, "Dos Damn Birds"
ReplyDeleteI concur, 11:15. Fades come and go. But good journalism endures. Too bad USA TODAY now places more faith in the Twitter crew than the people who possess the reporting skills and editorial/managerial know-how.
ReplyDeleteUSA TODAY is a journalistic wasteland operated by folks who are all flash and no substance. The lines between editorial and advertising have been blurred. The importance of Twitter and Facebook and the rest of it have been overstated. As journalists, we should be aware of those things, as we are with all trends, and use them when appropriate, but we should also maintain our core values which has to do with being an integral part of a democracy. I don't see how hanging out on Facebook all day accomplishes that.
It's clear that USA TODAY is no longer interested in journalism or sound work ethics as evidenced by the gapping holes both in competent staffers and in the product itself. Way too much attention being given to all the wrong things that are merely passing fades for small minds. Too much clout in the hands of people with only marginal supervisory and leadership skills.
Journalism is in trouble. It's not because of Twitter per se. It's because the Twitter generation confuses the technical exchange of information with journalism. They see Twitter as efficient but don't see the many pitfalls of being reliant on it. Just as research and development of news sources should not solely rely on "Googling," newsroom managers should not make the assumption that just because someone is up on the latest web trends that they are a good reporter, editor or designer.
USA TODAY abandoned many good journalists in recent years, and I can't help believe it's because they thought technology and web awareness were far more important than they actually are. There is a place for that stuff, and it does play a future in developing platforms for good journalism, but by losing all the institutional knowledge that was once in the building, the brand is not well positioned for the future if it wants to remain a legitimate news source for readers. There needs to be balance between journalism and new tech innovations.
I do concur, 11:15, USA TODAY is in trouble. Too many losses of front-line personnel. Too much increasing power in the hands off people who know their way around MySpace, but can't tell you what FOI or libel means.
As a result of the loss of balance, I believe the paper and the web site and future innovations will all suffer. Balance needs to be restored at some point in order to have a successful news product on any platform. I hope we can move beyond this silly Tweeter culture and put things back into perspective.
Too many toys and distractions at USAT and not enough roll-up-your-sleeves and get the work done types. Tweeting is only one of the many things that sidetrack people there. Employees waste so much time here that it's amazing the paper ever gets out or the web site ever gets updated. Not condemning all, but there is a growing number of employees who simply don't know what it means to put in a full and productive day.
ReplyDeleteTweet - the band is STILL playing - tweet
ReplyDeleteTweet - the band is STILL playing - tweet
ReplyDeleteAlong with facebook, twitter and myspace...I would also include the reading of comments on blogs/forums/etc.
ReplyDeleteWell what do you expect? After all, Gannett, in it's gloriously complete understanding and infinite wisdom of the future of news reporting and journalism in general has kept the "best and the brightest" (read "young and internet savvy") to run things at their newspapers.
ReplyDeleteHence, they think texting and Facebook are somehow connected with cutting-edge reporting and will be the future of nournalism. In reality, they're the "Slam Books" of the current generation. You do remember slam books don't you?
Technological advances are driving behaviors. There is not one socially-redeeming characteristic to Twitter. It is yet another enabler to further dumb down human communications. MySpace attracts teens and pre-teeners. Facebook attracts everyone, including geezers like me. If anyone ever tells me that Twitter is a "solution" I will slap them.
ReplyDeletePlaying on Twitter and the use of other social networks were encouraged by USA TODAY. That is very true and not some blog exaggeration. I was involved in meetings where top editors strongly suggested, almost mandated, that employees join and participate in these stupid sites as a way of beefing up our tech awareness and skills. It's come up on my annual evaluations and the peer pressure to play on these sites has steadily increased. I also agree with other posters who alluded to the fact that the whole culture of USA TODAY has gone from being a sound journalistic venue to a mish-mash of ridiculous initiatives that waste time and ultimately weaken the product. There are few people left who are comfortable in their own skin and able to make tough decisions. If all it takes to get into power now is to Tweet and use techno-language at every opportunity, well, many more productive, creative and loyal employees are going to be left by the wayside.
ReplyDeleteA friend and I had this discussion about Facebook/Twitter the other day.
ReplyDeleteI see it as a tool that can be used for good or ill. Just like you can use a hammer to nail up a picture or bash someone's brains in, you can use Facebook/Twitter for sharing useful information or for making yourself the star of your own self-centered reality "show."
Unfortunately, the culture being what it is, too many people use it for self-centered crap.
Oh, and it's also important to post to Facebook via Twitter and to Twitter via Facebook. That shows all how cool and with it you are even though it accomplishes nothing.
ReplyDeleteTwitter can be used by Metromix employees when they are out shooting photos at a bar.
ReplyDeleteExample;
MetroMike "Hey John where the fu#k are you? Come to the main bar and get a photo of these three girls with huge breasts"
MetroJohn "Thanks Mike, I will be right over, just doing another lemon drop shot. I sure hope this job that pays shit gets me laid, lol"
Thanks for your comments, 11:15.
ReplyDeleteThere's quite a bunch next door at GCI who not only Twitter and Facebook away, but spend their "work" days planning showers and weddings, collecting recipes, watering plants, auctioning on eBay, reading gossip rags, doing NYT crosswords, etc. each and every day!
And you know what? The managers see it and don't give a damn!
Wow...all of this just makes me sad for you guys. You're so eager to push technology away, just like you were 15 years ago when the web was booming...and look where that got us.
ReplyDeleteAll of those sites: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace - they are all tools that we can use to get our news out to a different audience and get information about our communities. If you're too stubborn to use it - in addition to the same skills and resources we've used for decades- then step aside and let me have your job. At least I'm willing to try new things for the sake of my job and this business.
There are no Florida Today reporters, to my knowledge, that Tweet regularly in public about their beats. (At least, if they do, the paper doesn't promote them at all.)
ReplyDeleteI've seen other reporters at other papers get in hot water on Twitter because they tweet about retarded personal stuff no one wants to know about -- the "washing my car" phenomenon.
However, there's one paper that's a shining example of how Twitter should be used by reporters: the Orlando Sentinel. Their police reporter keeps a running tally of homocide-free days in Orlando, and the tech columnist organizes community events and works on stories constantly via Twitter. I don't know if they have separate personal accounts they use for venting, but none of their Tweets are about what they had for lunch.