August 21, 2009

We don't even know what to call journalism anymore, or what exactly the job entails in this new reality. We don't even know where the industry is headed or what will the media companies will look like in 5 years. We know that some will survive and some will fail, but what form will the surviviors take and what their business model will be is a mystery whose answer we'll discover in the future. There will be media outlets providing audiences with information, but the logistics have not been determined yet. If everyone can write their mind, how do we sort out the signal from the noise?

If everything is "free" what is the motivator to create work of quality? Ego and peer recognition will get some people pretty far, but if it doesn't make dollars it doesn't make sense in the long run. Accolades can only get you so far. Media must (and will) become a viable business again before our information society can stabilize.

This site is actually a damn good example of how one can create quality from the commons. Peer review is always a good way to distill the good stuff out, but the danger there is that popular shallow news will always win out over unpopular in-depth news (just look at teh scene today).

I think I broke my brain at some point.

I was sitting down trolling on yahoo answers (of course) and a much older/stronger/bigger relative bursts in and asks if I let a friend of his in to retrieve something that belonged to them. Well of course I did, it was the friend's stuff after all.

Apparantly that was the wrong answer and he proceeded to get very mad and got right in my face and screamed at me.

"Get out of my face." I asked this only slightly annoyed, as if all he'd done were steal one of my cookies.

I think he yelled something else before punching my shoulder and storming off. I didn't even flinch. It was like we were discussing the weather over a cup of tea, the whole time I didn't feel even the slightest bit of fear or intimidation; instead I just felt happy and easy going like I had all day. Then I started laughing at the answers coming in to my troll questions and carried on just as I had been.

The last time this kind of thing happened I got mad and got in a big argument.

Today, disgruntled Ottawa Senators right winger Dany Heatley held a 10 minute press teleconference to address his request to be traded away from the Ottawa Senators, and his subsequent refusal to accept the Edmonton Oilers as an acceptable destination. During the call Heatley stuck to his core messages while giving the inkstained wretches very little to chew on. He expressed no animosity toward either city or the fans in those locations, suggesting instead that his major complaint is that his "role was diminished" in Ottawa without elaborating on what that might mean.

Fans are left to imagine what might really be going on in Heater's mind, and what we might have heard had Dany quaffed a couple of wobbly pops beforehand, found a few extra minutes to speak....

Q: Dany, what makes you feel entitled to preferential treatment by coach Clouston?

Heatley: Entitled? Talent! I'm the superstar, and who is he? Coach Clueless. Some guy nobody has ever heard of. He talks about a team concept and defensive responsibilities. I'll tell you, if I wanted defensive responsibilities I'd of been a defenseman. Obviously you need defenseman, because it's in the NHL rules and stuff, though think how exciting the game might be without them....

But people have to have roles. My role is to score goals, not to prevent them. Look, does an airplane pilot take a turn serving drinks? No. Does he clean the johns? No. See, I'm the pilot, and the defense are like the stews, and the 'tender, well, he ... cleans up. You can't fly a plane by committee, no matter what Clueless thinks. Just shut up and let me fly the goddamned plane.

Agent: Uhm, no more questions.