Comments on: Episode 040 Paul Levinson

By: Paul Levinson

Paul Levinson — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 04:05:50 +0000

Hi Matthew – One of the issues I talk about in New New Media is whether there is any loss of accuracy in media which are not gate-kept or edited in traditional ways. A now classic study by Nature Mag found there was no significant difference in error levels in Wikipedia vs the Encyclopedia Britannica. And when you consider the poor job the traditional media did in reporting the lack of WMD in Iraq prior the Iraq War, non-gate-kept new new media couldn’t have done any worse.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:03:57 +0000

I have one comment that seems to have been skipped by Levinson. The “old media” (ONM) that required some sort of vetting service before a book could be printed, or an album could be sold in record stores served a very important function that is now being left unfilled by “new new media” (NNM). That of editing. I think that Wikipedia is an example of NNM failing the public through a lack of editing and review. A world where textbooks, encyclopedias, news stories, etc aren’t edited by anyone.

I’m not addressing the idea of quality in fiction, music, or some other creative endeavor, I mean that the same thing that is great for creative expression is absolutely horrible for science, journalism, and history.

By: Tweets that mention Episode 040 Paul Levinson -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Episode 040 Paul Levinson -- Topsy.com — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 07:37:26 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Charles Tan. Charles Tan said: RT @atfmb: New from the Functional Nerds: Episode 040 Paul Levinson http://functionalnerds.com/2011/01/episode-040-paul-levinson/ [...]