Conclusion?

 I think this project has been well worth it. It’s definitely a good way to learn about something and a really effective way to work as a group. I think we’ve all had something to offer and with that, created a degree of discussion. I know that if I ever want to get something quick on digital technology (DT) I’ll come here and use what we’ve done.

I think we’ve covered quite a wide range of aspects of the topic, from the obvious practical benefits to the political effects and to what degree DT is an emancipator. All very useful in view of the modern workplace that I think we all want to enter.As far as individual efforts go I think Lora has been the star of the blog. Lots of good, worthy content and interesting comments. Well done there. 

Peter ‘obviously’ did his share to provoke discussion and debate and that’s one of the things we wanted. Eric and I seem to have done our fair share too.

I think we covered evaluation of the presentation at the time so no need to readdress that. Overall I’ve enjoyed it and may well be unable to resist posting new things if ever I come across something that may be of interest, and I’m sure Lora, unless her hands fall off, will keep a steady flow of DT info flowing.

I think what I’ve found most interesting is the political affect that DT has. Especially as described in one of the lasts posts I did about repressive governments. I like the subtle, interwoven, loop-holes that new things like this create and how they are dealt with.

I think that ultimately DT has enhanced media freedom. There is a wider audience for journalists as well as a bigger pool of critical feedback. More people can create news themselves, and although there are regulation and quality issues I think it is still good to promote citizen participation and keep official journalists on their toes. The fact that we can present and speak from anywhere on the planet is a development bordering on unbelievable. Imagine what people would have said even a hundred years ago if you showed them that. Amazing.

Anyway, enough rambling for now, it’s been a pleasure, well done guys.

T.I

Digital Deadline Junkie

I know it’s unhealthy. I know it’s just an excuse for being unorganized…but I just can’t help it: I’m a deadline junkie. It’s one of those truths I’ve just had to own up to like the fact that life is better caffinated and that I’ll probably never learn to play piano. Ever since High School I have had to make supreme efforts not to leave everything to the last minute. In the run up to my Bachelor’s dissertation I hardly slept at all. Not because I particularly wanted to find out what it felt like but because I had no choice. I’d simply left too much too late.

Digital technology has made a lot of things simpler in journalism just as everywhere else. At the same time I can’t help but wonder what I would have done if I’d been forced to type out 15,000 words on a typewriter. Would I have been more organized or would I have given up on academia long ago and gone for something where I could actually start making money before hitting 30?

 

Truth be told sitting in front of my laptop at 6:34am, after spending a night writing a newspaper article I can’t help but feel that life might have been simpler then. Of course that’s one of the luxuries I accord myself, namely not dwelling of the moronic quality of my entirely pointless and almost painfully self indulgent fantasy.

 

Or maybe we should go even further back. How much last minute editing can you do when you’re chiselling letters into a marble slab worth twice as much as your life? My guess is; not much.

 

EG