Technological Communication Transformed Media
I liked how Grossman described the process of how people on the web tend to reach out to one another and help out without wanting something in return. I agree with how he said "We're ready to balance our diet of predigested news with raw feeds from Baghdad, and Boston, and Beijing" (Grossman). I also agree with him how he said that we are "seizing the reins of the global media, for founding, and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating pros at their own game" (Grossman). I thought his hypothesis very interesting about how this is the way that global communities will be established. I think that this plays really well into participatory journalism because this type of journalism thrives on the cooperation and collaboration of ideas from people all over the world. Wikipedia is an example of participatory journalism that has its advantages and disadvantages. One on hand, the fact that so many people are willing to take part in putting together an informative document without putting their name on their sections, shows that it's important for people to make a contribution to the world. On the other hand, the fact that Wikipedia has a huge traffic flow increases the likelihood that some information posted may be false, whether intentional or not.
I think that having cell phone pictures, and using other sorts of technological devices to capture incidental moments is a great thing. As in the example of the UCLA student being tased by the cops, I think that it was great that it was caught on camera. I think the fact that people can actually show others what happened without the confusion of "he says, she says" is really great. It shows what clearly happened. I have to say that it's a different feeling watching the incident on YouTube happen and reading about it from the articles we read this week. The fact that I was able to hear and see what happened made me feel a lot worse for the student that got tased. The fact that such a small device as a cell phone can capture a police tasering a college student would be viewed as evidence in a court of law. It is also a great way to show moments that capture great injustices. Instead of speculating about what happened, people are able to actually witness it for themselves. I also don't see anything wrong with watching clips of flims or music videos before they premiere. The fact that there is such a high interest in those features before they premiere will only help fuel its success.