Month: July 2005

A New Newsroom

Jeff Jarvis writes:

There are three imperatives for change in newsrooms:

1. The input: New news gathering: Newsrooms need to redefine news and news gathering. They need to be open to new sources of news, including the reporting of the people they used to view as the audience: yes, even bloggers. To use our parlance today, newsrooms need to think of themselves — again — as aggregators, gathering — and sometimes packaging, sometimes not — the news their communities create.

2. The output: New dissemination on new schedules: We’ve said it a million times: We no longer wait for the news — for the paper to land on the doorstep or for the show to start. Now the news waits for us — when we want it (when it happens or when we are curious), where we want it (online, on mobile, or on yet-uninvented toys), and how we want (just our topics, just what we don’t know).

3. The back-and-forth: Join the conversation: And we’ve said this a million times, too: News is a conversation and that conversation is going on with or without us. We used to think the news was done, baked, finished when and only when we published it. But that’s when the news starts, when the public — who, as Dan Gilmor has repeatedly said, knows more than we do — adds its questions and facts and perspectives. The news doesn’t belong to us; we just gather and disseminate it in a world that abhors middlemen. We need to enable the conversation or get out of the way.

TECH TALK: Letter to a 2005 Baby: Advice for Life (Part 5)

Dear Abhishek,

Remember these Forget-Me-Nots

Even as weve talked about a lot of the new technologies and the world of tomorrow, there are some old world values which you must never forget. Under no situation must you every compromise on Honesty and Integrity. It is so much easier to live life in a transparent manner and not have to remember the stories one has told others. Lies and half-truths have a way of coming back and hurting oneself to the worst of times. So, keep it simple. Whatever happens, tell the truth upfront.

Respect for parents and elders is something else you must always remember. Your generation will have unprecedented freedom. But that doesnt change the traditions and culture that we have. The oldies may belong to a different era but they do have some more wisdom and experience. You may not always agree with their decisions and actions. But you must understand and listen to their thinking.

Build some good friendships and nurture them. I have been lucky to have made a few wonderful friends. There is a lot you can learn and share with good friends. It takes time and a great deal of commitment to sustain friendships that last a lifetime. Trust me, there is no better investment that you can make. Your family and your close friends will always be there for you no questions asked. And you will need them through lifes ups and downs. Choose your friends carefully and then stay with them for life.

Keep a diary. Make it your own secret world. I started writing a diary when I was 15 years. I wrote for a few years, stopped, and then re-started. A diary is good because it helps you talk to yourself. It gives you a little time to reflect about the things you are doing and the events that are happening. Writing helps you think and act better. (Some parts of your diary can be shared with others through your blog.)

Finally, take life in its stride. Life is no bed of roses and neither is it full of thorns. It is a good mix of both. Ups and downs are going to be part of your life. Stay cheerful. The good times dont always last, and the bad times also will pass. It is this rich combination that makes life so much more exciting. The taste of success is sweeter if it comes after failure. And failure helps one learn and work that much harder. The optimism about life must always be there. There is always some good in everything that happens though it may not be very apparent initially.

As you do make and work towards making living your life and making your dreams come true, also remember these words by William Penn: “I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

[PS: The full series is available here.]

Continue reading TECH TALK: Letter to a 2005 Baby: Advice for Life (Part 5)