In “Here Comes Everybody,” I was thinking about how the “professionals” of the newspaper business missed the threats of the Internet. It is totally true that the Internet seemingly presented little of a threat to them: 1. it wasn’t a newspaper 2. it wasn’t a business 3. it wasn’t an institution. And yet, the newspaper industry failed to see that “professional” meant very little to a people that just wanted access to desired information.
Craigslist and Ebay made life so much easier for everyone. No longer did we need to flip through the pages of Real Estate, looking for a puppy or a car. Life got so much easier when people were always greeted with a simple “search” bar. This is not to mention that trying to sell a puppy or a car got 1000 times easier as well; now people don’t need to spend money, trying to make it. Oh the much too easy life the Internet has created for us.
“Professional” also lost its meaning when the question of “Why publish this?” got replaced with “Why not?” Before, publishers were concerned with trying to fit in as much relevant information that could cover the interest of as many people as possible. But is that the case today? No! Find something specific and unique, and you just hit jackpot! It is what distinguishes you from everyone else and the rest of the “bundled” information. I relate all of this to my knowledge of Internet marketing and the idea that if you find yourself a very specific niche market, you are going to attract more clients than the person trying to get the attention of everyone (attracting no one). As well, it means very little to be a “professional,” because as long as I get the necessary information, I don’t really need to know whether or not you have the degree to pass the information along to me.
And finally, the article presented a very thought-worthy statement: “social effects lag behind technological ones by decades [so] real revolutions don’t involve an orderly transition from point A to point B.” This happened with the scribes and the printing press; this happened with the radio and the television. All were very heated times in history that we cannot relate to anymore today. But what are some of the negative reactions of the Internet in today’s society? (Although we as the younger generation might never notice it to a large degree).
Questions:
1. The Internet has done so much for us in terms of providing us with costless ways of communication and distribution of information. But just like the Printing Press created problems for some in society and just like the television disturbed the radio lovers, what are some of the ways in which the Internet is stirring up tension and could keep some from fully embracing it and the change that follows it?
2. How have you abandoned more traditional ways of receiving certain information and communicating, now that the Internet is at your fingertips?
Yana's Blog 
Nice discussion by the way on Charity:Water! I haven’t picked up a newspaper in years. When I say “picked up” I mean paid for. I have lived more or less on my own for seven years. In that time newspapers have been less and less important. The Internet is so fast these days that it seems like reading the newspaper actually slows me down. Plus every time I read The Daily I get the black ink on my fingertips which makes me mad. I think I am just addicted to the immediacy of the Internet. Until my Wifi router burns up and my TV goes away I don’t see myself reading a newspaper anytime soon.