| By Martins Adegoke |
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| September 6, 2009 11:00 PM EDT |
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12,743 |
I must confess I am very new to Ulitzer as an online channel of social communication media. But I am delighted about its raison d'être.
However, I cannot but ask these questions: Is Ulitzer the beginning of a new trend or the ultimate death of journalism?
Or is it the glorification of e-journalism?
The realization of new journalism practice in the age of Web services and Internet Technology?
These series of questions are being answered everyday as the new social media moguls and barons and baronesses of the Internet Media launched another online media channel, one after another.
We must give kudos to the visionaries among us who realize the powerful role of Internet technology and quickly seized on its powerful promise by giving voice to every kind of idea and thought under the sun.
And what has technology not redefined yet? Think about it, from e-retailing to e-democracy, a la Obama for America, to e-procurement, to e-government, to e-commerce, to e-wedding: -ehm-, e-matchmaking. The Internet, yes technology, has changed the face of communication and our lifestyles forever, and isn't that what innovation is all about? And what is better to bring about these changes in lifestyles today than technology and innovative thinking. Call it "The Alternative Thinking."
It becomes pathetic when you read about other media organizations that have been in existence for years, forced to close down due to cost reasons simply because their management failed to see the promise of Internet technology early and seized on its promise to reach their target audience and drive advertising revenue and sustain their businesses. That can only be explained as lack of intuition and innovation on the part of management and media owners.
Technology as a strategic enabler of businesses will always be to the advantage of any person, government or organization that knows how to proactively and correctly use it to the advantage of their causes.
Before the advent of Google and other powerful online media channels, what happened to bankrupt media organizations and other sinking powerful media houses around the world today from correctly discerning that technology would change the faces of journalism and advertising?
Therefore, the issue is not about the lack of financing or adequate capital base as several media organizations have been proven to be very successful over the years. However, the inability of many mangement and media owners to respond proactively and their failure to timely answer to the seasons of response have been some of the reasons for the slow death march of many media organizations arising from little or no generating of advertising dollar to sustain their business model.
The fate of mass media closure as a result of failure to adapt to the new thinking in the age of technology surely awaits many enterprises, communities and governments, both in developed and in the developing world today. Especially developing nations that still hesitate to invest in technology for the acceleration of their economic development or invest in science and technology for their children and children's generation. The good news is that it is still not too late for any forward-thinking organization and responsible businesses and governments to embrace technology, even as they open their business operations and activities to transparency and accountability.
I think Ulitzer is opening our eyes again, just like Google, to the rich promise of the Internet paradigm. I wish these forward thinkers much success, a just reward for their innovation in the new channels of Communication Technology.
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