One imagines that ‘News’ is the stuff worth knowing, but instead the news feeds us the stuff that sticks out, the sore thumbs of life. I love the observation Max Kaizen makes in reversing the brain.drain… “… especially after the numbing effect of news. The news presented by mainstream media, (TV & papers particularly) is largely reactive, and leaves us feeling impotent to change the outcome of almost everything we’re offered.”
She recommends reading Neil Postman
I think that observation is spot on, at least in terms of why the “News” is so incredibly depressing – the whole after the fact-ness. That there is F-all you can do about it except be grateful it is not you being written about – in most cases. Maybe the “News 2.0″ approach the folk of The Times are chasing will change all this. One can and should hope, and maybe do something to encourage it. Then “News” could be less show-bizz and more community fellowship – even bring us a little close step by step to those elusive ideals we most-all yearn for – the stuff that we want “Democracy” to be.
Let’s look at today’s top local on-line news headlines via some of the results of a Google of “South Africa News” ( I didn’t see The Times in the top 30 results, seems some SEO work still required. Though I’m including them and Reporter.co.za to give UGC initiatives some representation)
News24:
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Mail&Guardian:
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IOLNews:
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SABC:
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The Times:
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Reporter.co.za:
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| This is no way to start your day! | ||
So the question is, how many of these articles do you think includes some kind of call-to-action inviting readers to contribute in some way to addressing the woes and traumas that are spicing up their morning coffee? E.g. click here to donate toward building pedestrian bridges etc. I think that will be my suggestion for our news-media practitioners – don’t just stop at user contributed content but innovate ways of facilitating User Generated Involvement not just in the media but in the real world that the media, and the rest of us feed on.
Max is starting a new weekly series on SARocks that me thinks is going to make for a most excellent read, go check it out.
In the meantime…
WRT seo on TheTimes. The Times is a relatively new domain and will more than likely be sandboxed for sometime before being displayed on serps. However there are already a umber of pages getting indexed, and the blogs are doing incredibly well.
of course SEO is going to play a part of the strategy, but unfortunately no one can escape the sandbox.
Its still early days. Watch this space ;-)
True true, though I was surprised that sundaytimes.co.za didn’t come up higher – but I suppose that will change :-)
Andre thank you so much for picking this up.
[So glad to have come back to your corner of the digital neighbourhood again BTW :: rocking content!]
It’s been one of the issues that truly bears us down and only serves to increase insecurity. We all know that we don’t get out of this game alive. But it’s a damn fine idea to focus a little more on those who make their lives a powerful expression of success by changing the world for good than those who’ve been conned, slaughtered or met some terrifying end.
I’m just sickened by the constant pipeline of grisly tales that are addictive because they give us social currency and an emotional/physiological rush.. but it also evokes learned helplessness; where you at at the mercies of accident and crooked leadership.
It’s like alcohol, which effectively is mild poison, but it shifts us out of our world for a little while.
Self-righteousness, shock or frustration that we get from the news fodder is the junk-food on which we’ve fed for long enough.
There are ways out of here.
There are trailblazers.
I want to hang out with, read about and celebrate the lives of those people.
So looking forward to more fun.times & coming up to the bug.bad city & hanging out with y’all. Lots of inspiring creatures toddling around the Highveld!
LOLOLOL.. Max ranting again :-P soz Andre! bit passion8 about this or what?!
Have a rockin’ weekend
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