Old Media Matters?
It was interesting to watch, after Nels posted the Facebook article, how this issue unfolded, in pieces, in the New York Times. After the NY Times printed an article on Feb. 11 about the difficult of deleting a profile, two day later they printed another way discussing what Facebook had done to make it easier. This article discusses the improvements Facebook has made and the problems that remain: “Quitting Facebook Gets Easier.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/technology/13face.html?fta=y . By the 18th New York Times was tackling the topic again, explaining how Facebook made the final changes to allow people to easily delete their accounts: “After Stumbling, Facebook Finds a Working Eraser” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/business/18facebook.html?ref=technology. I am uncertain how much an impact the New York Times had in encouraging these changes as a result of bad publicity but watching the story unfold is extremely compelling. As is the idea that old media is still relevant, even when addressing new technology issues.
Writer,
kglass
Topics: Resources | 1 Comment »
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February 20th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I think this example really shows how old media and new media can be used together to achieve positive grassroots change. The security issues with Facebook were first discussed on the internet where a small, but dedicated, group of people identified and worked to publicize the issue. When old media (like the NYTimes) got wind of this story and wrote an article about it they were able to get the story out to many people, which then put lots more pressure on Facebook to make closing accounts easier. This convergence of old and new media was able to accomplish positive grassroots change for Facebook users.