New Media -Ashley Williams

Blogs are created by individuals on any topic of his/her choice. The bloggers, or authors of the blogs, may be “single-person operations (one to many); [or] have a community of authors (many to many)” (Gill, 2004). Collaboration is fostered through comments on posts from readers or emails. As time passed, blogging took on a participatory journalism concept. Readers and writers interact more and share their collective experiences. Blogs have no editorial oversight and have no cost barriers. Bloggers simply need access to a computer and can host the blog for free. Although a blog may start with a particular theme or topic, there is nothing stopping a blogger from venturing out to unrelated themes. This is shown in the Walmart blog “Check Out.” The blog is written by normal buyers who post on their experiences with products. It originally started as a review for tech products but has evolved to include blogger’s daily experiences such as their favorite authors or pets. A wiki ...

My project will be on “Social Media: Remolding War.” In the increasingly connected world, social media has taken on a new role in conflict. Political leaders, insurgents, protestors and normal citizens use it for communication. As a result, there has been a rise of misinformation, propaganda, and changes in the coverage of conflict. Social media allows users to search for specific topics that may not be covered in traditional news reports. Individuals in conflict zones have the ability to take videos/images of their surroundings and live tweet or post to the world what is happening. The news information cycle, in turn, is quickened and these personal accounts go viral. Traditional journalists are also depending on new media such as WhatsApp, Facebook and other services to get updates from those on the ground. Additionally, political leaders and militants have harnessed social media for different uses. Leaders have used it to control media coverage and militants have used it t...