Book Post 2 - Here Comes Everybody

The example in the book of Evan using his online connections to find his friend's phone might have worked then but I don't necessarily think it would still work today. The internet has become flooded with everyone sharing articles, blogs, pictures, and so on. New social groups are formed everyday among people with shared interests. And so called amateurs are breaking down the distinction between themselves and those journalists and reporters with "professional status". I think it is a very good thing that anyone can share information about a developing story as quickly as they can. But I think it can also discredit a lot of the things that are shared. Since anyone can say anything there is the possibility for a story to be shown in a way other than how it really is. There is no way to guarantee the information being shared is valid. The reason the old style of reporting news worked, where agencies decided what was good enough to report and triple checked the story before it went out, is because viewers felt they could trust these sources. I think with this movement toward breaking down the barrier between professional and amateur journalists and reporters there comes a need for trust in what is being shared. Whether this is maintained through official news reporting agencies or some unwritten regulation that develops among the online social group of amateur journalists it does not matter. It just needs to happen.