May 21, 2007
Anthony Lilly of Magic Lantern has a column in today’s Guardian looking at the explosion in online video. He suggests that the amount of content now online has resulted in us viewers not being able to find the balanced view: the facts. And that with no editorial policy on sites like You Tube the result is a lack of context for our new found voices.
Allen has resolved this issue by proposing that public service broadcasters and newspapers can help with an editorial sensibility. Whilst I applaud his idea that [tag]mainstream media[/tag] should link out from their protected walls and debate on the voices outside their websites, I do have concerns that ‘we need’ editorial to guide us through the online noise.
After all, people now trust their peers, friends and family more than the press and media. And surely the comments on sites like [tag]You Tube[/tag], along with the votes, tend to guide us. We intrinsically follow the influencers and the [tag]wisdom of crowds[/tag], through [tag]link love[/tag], is reflected in the rankings in Google.
So yes let’s encourage the media to comment outside its enclave and stretch out the debate into the [tag]blogosphere[/tag]. But let’s not suggest that this will deliver anymore than just another side to a story. Another viewpoint. The voice of the people is just as valid, offers just as much context and can inform just as well.