Social Media assistant to the Journalist

By Rose Molefe

The development of the social media is one that keeps escalating with new forms and types of technology appearing on the market daily. Prior to the development of media, people were completely reliant on face-to-face interaction. However due to the development of information, communication technology, there has been a revolution in the nature of how we relate and communicate with one another.

When we consider the world today, there is no way Journalists can rely on informing the public on the happenings of the world, through face-to-face interaction alone. It is imperative for journalists to consider the audience, that they are; heterogeneous in nature. How will information reach them, if it is not through social networks? It most likely will not. However social media is not beneficial to an audience alone, it holds great importance to journalists. In this century, we rely on the internet as the sole provider for information, and journalists need to be thoroughly informed in order to be great informers.

My parents used to share stories of how they had access to information and how limiting it was, because of the limited access to technology, television sets, radios and newspapers were shared with neighbours. They did not have access to information, but were able to have access to the little bit that was broadcast and print media. With the help of social media, our generation is exposed to a greater load of information as opposed to what they were. However, this has both negative and positive connotations. As we know being exposed to social networks becomes addictive and leads to anti-social tendencies, with the more positive aspects being; to remain updated with the happenings of the world.

As an aspiring journalist, I have a twitter, Flickr and Facebook account. This includes the particular phone I use, which is a blackberry, this device has an instant messaging application which provides me with the ability to have news and emails and notifications from the accounts I have instantly sent to my phone. It also allows for people to be able to reach me whenever they need to. Social media is not only useful for keeping informed and being update, but it also opens one up to how to be a better journalist. The more one acquires the more they know, and if one opens up to more of what is out there, they will most likely learn the do’s and don’ts of the media world.