A Veneer of Certainty

First, social media seems to be about mindset, not technology. Tech is only a conduit for changes in how we think about and use media. For every newspaper subscriber who felt they could do a better job with reporting and content, now they have the opportunity to try that. Instead of a top-down architecture to news, there is now a many-to-many relationship, with individuals producing and consuming a huge variety of informational and topical sources.

Second, social media is about perceived value. The huge variety of content produced, as well as new mechanisms for retrieving it, allows consumers greater choice than what they’d find in the local paper. If information is a truly a market then the Invisible Hand is not only guiding the choices consumers make but also creating new venues.

Next, social media has a component of interactivity that old media is hard-pressed to match. For example, while new/social media is faced with the same threats to objectivity and accuracy as old media, there exists a built-in expectation that the consumer acts as a corrective mechanism via feedback to the producers. Also like with old media, there is the danger that a social media producer can shape this conversation via omission or deletion of feedback. (Granted, methods like podcasting and vlogging are certainly one-way conversations.) Sites like Digg allow consumers to submit and vote on stores they find important or relevant.

Like with traditional media, social media relies on trust relationships. The question of, say, blogging as opposed to traditional journalism shows that social media is prey to the same pitfalls. Some new media producers will not care a whit about notions of journalistic ethics and standards; they’re doing this for themselves and their opinions. Others will take great pains to give a complete and balanced picture. If a blogger makes a habit of posting misleading or biased information, their online reputation will reflect that, losing some readers and perhaps gaining others. Not all that much different from the Big J media.

I think one of the issues facing new/social media is that of consumers unable to partake in the technology. The poor may not have a computer; the blind and/or deaf may be unable to read a story on Digg or watch an uploaded video on YouTube. Bridging the limitations of the technology is going to be a big deal if this revolution in media is going to be for everyone’s benefit.

Ultimately, social media is about the dissemination of information in the form of dialogue. Whether or not tradition media learns to adapt may not be an issue, save for the symbiotic relationship that old & new media currently share. But it’s going to be an exciting time for both.

UPDATE: Via its website, MSNBC is doing a series called Gut Check America, where readers vote on topics for coverage then submit questions on the selected top to a panel. There is even a message board for feedback and commentary. Looks like a step in the new media direction.

(h/t to Ali-Bobali)