The Wired World: a Primer on Electronic Research, Wikipedia, Social Networking Sites, and Web Journalism
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Theses from the College of Journalism and Journalism and Mass Communications, College Mass Communications of 5-2010 The Wired World: A Primer on Electronic Research, Wikipedia, Social Networking Sites, and Web Journalism Ryan F. Love University of Nebraska at Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss Part of the Journalism Studies Commons Love, Ryan F., "The Wired World: A Primer on Electronic Research, Wikipedia, Social Networking Sites, and Web Journalism" (2010). Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. 5. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/journalismdiss/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journalism and Mass Communications, College of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. THE WIRED WORLD: A PRIMER ON ELECTRONIC RESEARCH, WIKIPEDIA, SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, AND WEB JOURNALISM by Ryan F. Love A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Major: Journalism and Mass Communications Under the Supervision of Professor Mary Kay Quinlan Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2010 THE WIRED WORLD: A PRIMER ON ELECTRONIC RESEARCH, WIKIPEDIA, SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, AND WEB JOURNALISM Ryan F. Love, M.A. University of Nebraska, 2010 Adviser: Mary Kay Quinlan The Internet initiated profound changes that are difficult to contextualize. Having grown up with the Internet, young people are particularly likely to perceive the wired world as a given condition, rather than the result of a developmental process. To understand and shape our society, people must see how the Internet has transformed it. After an introduction, this thesis contains three more chapters, focusing on electronic research and Wikipedia, social networking sites, and journalism. The text provides contextual understanding by describing the revolutionary changes that brought these areas to where they stood in May 2010. The introduction discusses various uses of the Internet, describing how major Web tools functioned at the time of writing. It also explains four principals that detail how the Internet effects change. The research chapter compares the revolution of the printing press to the Internet’s effects. The benefits and drawbacks of electronic research are explained. The chapter provides guidance for how to search for sources and evaluate their credibility. Finally, the chapter discusses Wikipedia’s evolution through peer production and its quality. The chapter on social networking sites discusses their brief history and focuses largely on Facebook and Twitter. Controversies discussed include the sites’ effects on offline communication, privacy issues, and cyberbullying. The political and marketing uses of social networking sites are also explored. The chapter about journalism explains the history of news on the Web and how the Internet has transformed journalism. Topics covered include the impact of the 24- hour news cycle, audience segmentation, blogs, news aggregation, citizen journalism, and the search for 21 st century business models that can sustain newspapers. This introductory text provides overviews of these topics. The author, a professional educator, explains complex issues in everyday language and provides concrete examples to demonstrate concepts. The text assumes no prior knowledge on the part of the reader and will prove useful for readers of any level—be they high school or graduate students. iv copyright Ryan F. Love v Dedicated to my parents, who raised me; James G. Russell, Fiona Tolhurst and Paul Strong, who taught me; and Sara Schnick Love, who put up with me. vi Table of Contents Preface..................................................................................................1 Chapter One: Introduction ....................................................................5 Growth of the World Wide Web....................................................................7 Uses of the Internet ........................................................................................11 Search Engines...................................................................................13 News ..................................................................................................16 Shopping ............................................................................................20 Social Networking .............................................................................24 Entertainment Media Online: Music, Movies, and Television..........28 Four Principles of the Internet .......................................................................32 Key Terms......................................................................................................38 Review and Discussion Questions.................................................................39 Chapter Two: Research, Credibility, and Wikipedia .............................41 Knowledge in Transition: Encyclopedias and the End of Print.....................45 Reshaping Research: What the Printing Press Tells Us of the Future...........49 Leaping Forward: The Transition from Scribal Culture....................51 Printing Press and Internet Parallels ..................................................55 Pitfalls of Electronic Research.......................................................................64 Considerations for Online Research ..............................................................75 What Sources Should I Use?..............................................................75 How Should I Search for Sources? ....................................................83 How Do I Evaluate the Credibility of Sources?.................................88 Evaluating Credibility: Examples......................................................96 Wikipedia.......................................................................................................101 The Development of Wikipedia.........................................................101 Wikipedia and the Crowd: Strengths and Weaknesses......................104 The Accuracy of Wikipedia...............................................................110 The Usefulness of Wikipedia.............................................................112 Conclusion .....................................................................................................115 Key Terms......................................................................................................118 Review and Discussion Questions.................................................................118 vii Chapter Three: Social Networking........................................................125 History of Social Networking Sites ...............................................................127 Controversy over Social Networking Sites....................................................135 Inappropriate Material and SNS ........................................................136 Friendships on SNS: Meaningful or Meaningless? ...........................137 Safety and SNS ..................................................................................144 SNS and Identity: Benefits for Teens ................................................147 SNS and Privacy ................................................................................150 Cyberbullying ....................................................................................157 Are Social Networking Sites Useful, or Just a Waste of Time? ....................160 Political Uses of SNS.........................................................................162 Marketing Uses of SNS .....................................................................167 News Uses of SNS.............................................................................172 Conclusion .....................................................................................................173 Key Terms......................................................................................................177 Review and Discussion Questions.................................................................178 Chapter Four: Journalism......................................................................180 How Newspapers Make Money.....................................................................183 The History of News on the Web ..................................................................184 The Internet Develops Trends in Journalism: The 24-Hour News Cycle and Audience Segmentation .......................................................................194 The Internet Innovates Journalism.................................................................204 News Aggregators..............................................................................205 Blogs ..................................................................................................211 Non-Professional Journalism.............................................................219 Are Bloggers, Aggregators, Citizen Journalists, and Online News Killing Newspapers?...................................................................................227 The Future of Professional