New Media is leaving old media in its dust. Get hip, be flexible or be left in the fog, it seems.
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“New Media” as a term or resource is very difficult to define because of its breadth. The New Media Institute writes that it is a “catchall term used to define all that is related to the internet and the interplay between technology, images and sound.” It goes without saying that technology and New Media is changing every single day at a pace that is difficult for any one medium to keep up with, especially something like an old-school newspaper. It’s a world which seems to say, “flexibility or die.” Newspapers are all but phased and constantly have to come up with new and immediately innovative ways in which to get news to their readers like Facebook pages and smart phone apps.
And now, Facebook is in the game of becoming a personal newspaper for its readers, reported Phys.org on Nov. 23.It’s a prospect that maybe should seem frightening. Already, Facebook has been a game changer in the way that many receive their news. For many, Facebook has become the main, if not sole, news resource that is consulted on a regular basis. Mark Zuckerberg recently stated that he wants to take this idea even further with a clear goal of making Facebook users’ feeds “the perfect personalized newspaper for every person in the world.”
And this certainly sounds like a great idea. Facebook as a newspaper would be able to incorporate family and friends’ updates with world and local news that is specifically tailored to the interests of any Facebook user. Further, Facebook’s newsfeed would streamline all of the above in such a way that traditional newspapers cannot and would work much more efficiently than any news resource on its own could. Facebook as newspaper would simply give readers more of what they want, say some experts. “It’s intimate, it’s relevant, it’s extraordinarily timely and it’s about you,” stated Alan Mutter, former newspaper editor and current digital media ventures consultant, “That’s more than any newspaper can do.”
As time goes on, more and more readers will shirk old print mediums for digital and mobile ones. Further, making the news more personal and related to one’s interests does sound spot on. Haven’t we already been personalizing our newsfeeds to reflect accordingly to our tastes and curiosities? In the days of newspapers and magazines, didn’t we choose the rags that pertained to our interests the most?
In whatever case, it’s appearing more and more that traditional newspapers are just not going to be able to keep up. The model via which news has been broadcast has changed much more slowly since its inception than new and ever-changing models. Old-news mediums are eating New Media’s dust. Companies like Facebook, curated by algorithms, can’t be beat in their span and efficiency.
*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com
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