RIP Newspapers

After reading the article, “Newspapers: Stabilizing, but Still Threatened,” I have decided that I do not feel that the traditional newspaper will make it. I feel like an online newspaper is completely different than a physical newspaper. Newspapers making the switch to online, is not surviving in my opinion. It is completely changing their ways, so that they are a completely different version of their former shape and feel. The problem with trying to make a newspaper company work in the traditional sense is that it goes against everything people are working for. It is not green in anyway. It takes tons of trees to make paper newspapers, and then those newspapers are sometimes wrapped in plastic bags, all to be delivered in a gas guzzling vehicle. The entire process does not make sense for our world today.

In addition to all of these environmentally unfriendly issues, the newspaper then has to find a target audience willing to pay for stories, information, and news. Most of these stories, information, and news can be found on the internet for free. Making their job of getting and keeping loyal customers even harder, especially when the target newspaper audience is of an older generation and, sorry to say, dying off.

I do believe there is a niche for newspapers. Local, small town newspapers are probably still going to make it because they offer news and information not available other places. These local newspapers are the only ones running stories about local folks getting married, graduating, and obituaries. They also tell very local stories, like how old farmer Bob’s crop didn’t come in this year. This local focus will ensure that small town newspapers will be around for years to come.

The outlook for traditional newspapers is not good. They will most certainly have to change their business model if they want to succeed. They also need to give consumers a reason to pay for information and stories that are available on the internet for free. The key to making that transition successful is going to be in the hands of the journalists. If the writing is good enough and new enough, then people will pay to read it. However, if they simply spew the same information available in a hundred different places from a simple Google search, they do not stand a chance. I actually feel like this is a good thing because it will make journalists work harder, giving us new and interesting stories to learn and grow from.

Response to “Google: Let Us Opt Out of Your Data Mining Machine”

The article, “Google: Let Us Opt Out of Your Data Mining Machine” is about Google’s information mining practices. It explains how Google uses its customer’s information to improve its advertising results to make more money for themselves. The criticism in this article is that customers have no way of opting out of this mining, forcing them to share their private information whether they want to or not, and that it has no value to the customer.

The author of this article states that readers should, “pay attention.” It wants the readers to stand up to Google and demand that users have a choice whether or not their information is shared. However, this article does not explain to the reader what the benefits are to the information mining that Google does.  They never once suggest that Google’s mining could benefit the users in anyway at all, completely ignoring any benefits – like links to sales, events, and information relevant to what the users was already looking for.

As an avid reader, I like it when Google shows me new book releases in the same genera of books I was just looking at. I have found many new and interesting adventures to read about because of their mining.

The author of this article needs to study exactly how the information gained from mining is used. It seems to only talk about what information is taken and that users cannot opt out of this mining. However, it never goes into detail about what is done with the information. Or, how the information is collected. How are we expected to make a stand if we are not certain where our personal information is going to and what it is used for?

The information in this article does not seem to be out dated, mainly because it is so vague. It never gives exact information or examples of Google’s privacy policy.

I personally do not feel like this article matters at all. So what if Google is using our information to better their targeted advertising? It is natural human behavior to make things all about us and that is exactly what Google is doing – using our information to make our internet experience all about us. Plus, the internet has never been a place we should expect complete and total privacy. As long as no one is sharing my banking information or my social security number, I could care less. With that said, I have no idea what the meaning of this article is. After all, it is not telling us anything we have not known for years. Honestly, I do not care about any of the points made in this article.

I feel like the purpose of this article was to scare people. It is an attempt to make people afraid of losing their privacy on the internet, although, privacy on the internet has never been anything but an illusion.  The attempt at scaring people probably does not work because this article never gives any examples of the negative aspects of information mining.

To add to this discussion I would suggest paying attention to what happens the longer Google is used. The more we use Google the more the content and advertising is customized to our own personal preferences. Taking a few extra minutes to click on some of the ads or links that are generated by the information mined, may lead the user down a path never traveled before. Like Robert Frost said in his poem, The Road Not Taken, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that had made all the difference.” Who knows, Google may give us the road less traveled.