Profile of "Blogscapes" (2)

Profile of “Blogscapes: Blogging about Blogging and New Media”

The blog is about the use of new media and the role of “citizen journalists” and bloggers in society. It is unclear who writes the blog, but it seems to be a compilation of blogs based on a set keywords related to "new media" It doesn’t say which exact sites the posts come from. There have been two recent posts and the site archives back to October 2006. Based on a search on Technorati, not many blog link here.

The blog posts also relate to the use of "new media" and its direct effect on society. One post discusses the need for responsibility when people post sometime on YouTube:

"Don’t they ever learn? A British supermarket chain has started investigations into the posting of video clips on Youtube showing people perfomring stunts while wearing the company’s uniforms. The staff were shown to be fooling around and skiving from work. They were also reportedly shown giving management “the finger”. Not a smart move. Now, it seems that cyberspace is also used for cyber-bullying. In the past, bullies were more or less confined to a particular space, like school or work, but now, it’s taken on a new global spin, with cyber bullies taunting their victims 24/7, transcending time and also space!"

This relates to the topic of my blog and raises similar questions. Are people posting violent videos an the internet because they want their viewers to realize that the violence happened, possibly spurring a bigger story (investigation)? Or are they simply posting them because they think it is a “cool” video? Could it even be like this author suggests--Is there a certain "mocking or bullying" involved in the posting of violent videos.

In another post titled "Using New Media Responsibly" the author brings up yet another instance of violence on YouTube and once again questions the poster's motive for shooting the clip:

"In a separate incident overseas, a beating of a girl was posted online. It’s not sure if this is another case of happy slapping. Or if the person who caught it on camera simply wanted to show it to the world instead of helping the victim. Or is this a new form of citizen journalism where the citizen journalist goes round looking for a story, not unlike traditional journalists. And not unlike traditional journalists, they face the dilemma: do they interfere or intervene in an event, or do they simply act as the recorders of the event?"

When the author says that it is a "dilemma" whether to intervene or shoot the clip, it is completely true and something that I had not really considered before. A person is shooting a violent act, but perhaps they don't feel like they could possibly help stop the violence. They might feel that they are doing a service toward stopping future violence by posting the clip. There could be fear involved with not wanting to immediatety jump in and break up a fight. Should the journalist or the citizen journalist be an integral part in the story"


As noted above, this site raises many interesting questions. The site offers other perspectives and perhaps some of new topics that I, too, could discuss. My site will also focus on "new media" (YouTube, Blogs) and regular news media (broadcast, print) and the influence on a person's perception of a story.