In response to 3.

In our world today there has arises a skepticism for the credibility on many sources. More than that, we have lost faith in the news sources that have been legitimate information sources for centuries. A sense of media paranoia is now plaguing our culture. We are convinced that television networks, newspapers, online media sources, etc, have become so biased that their information if unreliable. these networks have their loyalty to a certain political party, or school of thinking, and in their efforts to remain loyal that excrete a stream of extrodinarily biased information. To some, this makes them unreliable.

This is where youtube, and other like sources of information come into play. They serve as a platform for the masses, allowing anyone to get their voice heard to millions of people. It appears we now look at social media platforms like twitter, facebook, and youtube to get out information. They serve as an ear to the people, without the ulterior motives of the main networks. This “viral marketing”, as Jenkins calls it, seems to be the way of the future.

Jenkins talks about how clips from shows or interviews from programs on major networks now get more views from sites like youtube, than they do from the original network that aired the clip. A perfect example of this is Rick Perry’s “Strong” campaign. (Which can be viewed HERE.) The commercials were aired on a very right wing network, and were seen by some, but over looked by many people who didn’t care for the network’s agenda. When the video went viral, over seven million people saw it on youtube, most of which would not have seen it otherwise. I myself first saw the video on facebook with a link to youtube. There would have been no way i would have seen this political campaign if it wasn’t mocked all over the inter-webs.

Though Jenkins’ article is over five years old, I believe he portrayed a spitting image of what these sites would look like in the future. The social media explosion has been instrumental in the way we spread information in todays world. Without these things many would be left in the dark.