Citizen Journalism and Connectedness

With regards to the digital age and social media, there are many advantages as well as disadvantages.  Citizen journalism is, according to Dictionary.com, "the involvement of non-professionals in reporting news, especially in blogs and other websites".  In my previous blog posting, I gave several examples of citizen journalism that was extremely effective.  Antony and Thomas (2010) in their article consider that the public sphere surrounding the Oscar Grant shooting incident was "citizen journalism at its finest" because witnesses to the shooting posted the incident on YouTube.  This is an example of how traditional media and the public sphere are being reconceptualized to accommodate new media technologies.  Mena Trott gives a negative example of what some might consider citizen journalism in a YouTube video that shows how to unlock a Kryptonite lock with a Bic pen.  She talks about how blogs tell stories and are a record of who you are, your persona.  Two great examples she gives are the website Snowdeal.org where dad, Eric, blogs daily regarding his son that was born extremely premature and on Day 96 brings him home.  Eric is still blogging about Odin and the healthy young boy he is today.  Another example she gave was about a lady named Emma with cancer.  Emma's sister stated that writing her blog and being able to share was empowering for Emma the last few months of her life.  Traditional media does not get inside of a topic like this.  In James Suroweiecki's 2008 TEDTalk, he discusses the 2004 tsunami in Colombo and how "it was a seminal moment when the blogosphere came of age" when citizens recorded it as it was happening and we were able to see what the experience was like for them.  Mainstream media does not provide this viewpoint.

 Surowiecki states, "Under the right conditions, groups can be remarkably intelligent.  Groups are only smart when the people in them are independent."  The danger of online crowds is they drive attention to the things the network values and makes independent thinking more difficult.  This becomes evident the more tightly linked we become to each other.  An ant colony can accomplish amazing things together.  However, they lose the ability to survive outside of the colony.  An army ant gone astray will follow another army ant in circles until they die.

 The image to the left is one of the ways I would define connectedness.  It involves physical touching, eye contact, voice inflections, unfiltered verbal communication, effective listening, imperfection, and vulnerability.  Sherry Turkle is a psychologist who discusses how the digital age is reaching a critical point where we are technologically connected but actually alone.  She says, "Our little devices are so psychologically powerful that they don't only change what we do, they change who we are".  Some examples she gives that previously would have never been allowed are texting during corporate board meetings, students texting and shopping online during class, parents texting and emailing during breakfast and dinner while their children complain about not having their full attention, and removing ourselves from grief by texting during a funeral.

The image to the right is how connectedness is defined now.  Although technology has its detrimental effects, it has also afforded us the ability to save time (a valuable commodity).  Technology definitely plays a role in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of our family schedules and household.  For example, our family uses Apple products so we can stay connected and share our programs/software/apps.  I can use the calendar on my iPhone to keep appointments, baseball practice, school functions, meetings, etc. so I can be reminded of them wherever I am.  If we are not all together, we are able to remain in communication with each other and stay on top of our planning.  We are able to collaborate.  For these reasons, I am thankful that technology disconnects us from the bonds of space and time.  This helps things run more efficiently so we can maximize our quality time together and everyone knows what is coming up and what to expect.  We are able to do more in less time.  My husband and I teach our Sunday School class, I am a Bible study leader with my Mom Time group, both of my older boys play baseball, my middle son takes drum lessons, I am involved in all three schools, and we still make time to sit down for dinner together, have movie and pizza night on Fridays, and spend quality time together.  Does this happen all of the time and every week?  No.  However, this is considered a norm in our family.  This happens through balance and control. My husband works on the phone systems for Mobile Infirmary.  However, when he leaves the office it is time for family life.  He still receives emergency calls from time to time that he has to leave outside of office hours and take care of.  However, it is the exception to the rule.

I enjoy Facebook and staying connected to family members and high school friends.  It has enabled us to schedule reunions and communicate until we see each other.  That is when it is time to put the phones away for a while.  Turkle also says that when we clean our relationships up with technology (editing, deleting, retouching to make things just right), we sacrifice conversation for mere connection and shortchange ourselves.  She says, "A flight from conversation can compromise our capability for self reflection.  Solitude is where you find yourself so you can reach out to other people and form real attachments".  This can then affect who we are as an employee, leader, visionary, family member, or friend.  This is where a solid organizational culture needs to be implemented and maintained that uses technology to connect its employees as well as facilitating person-to-person communication and contact.  Every person wants to be heard, and Facebook and Twitter provide so many automatic listeners that can be perceived as the illusion of companionship and pretend empathy. Our focus needs to be on how technology can positively empower our real lives, bodies, communities, politics, and planet within a healthy balance of reality and control.  A scary fact that Turkle shares is "we are getting used to being alone together".  For subsequent generations, this is fatal.  Conversation is the bedrock of development.

Technology definitely has its place in society and enabling organizations to maximize their potential and communication efforts.  Balance simply needs to be established.  An empowered individual who is able to converse effectively online as well as in person will help build a team of strong individuals who then incorporate to run a successful organization. 

 Let me know some ways your organization and family have established this balance and share the rewards and benefits you have experienced!