Tweet others how you want to be tweeted.

Over the years we have seen the power of online journalism increase, but did we ever think that it would go this far?

Charlotte Dawson, a well-known television personality and model was attacked by ‘twitter trolls’ and as a result was rushed to hospital after being overwhelmed with the abuse. People tweeting comments such as, ‘go hang yourself’ and ‘go die’ has proven to be too much for the celeb who is now recovering in hospital. This story has hit news websites and news channels all over Australia. (http://cleo.com.au/whats-with-all-the-hate.htm)

Wow. This is pretty much the first word that comes to mind when thinking about this. I was quite shocked when I first heard this story. It is hard to think that Charlotte Dawson was hospitalised due to words. Just words. And they are just words.

I guess this shows the amount of power that ‘just words’ can have on society. 

 Sunrise and The Morning Show had a panel of people talking it, along with B105, ninemsn and multiple news channels. 

We also sometimes here of unfortunate cases involving people who have taken their own life due to online bullying.

But people are forgetting one thing. Once something is on the Internet, it is there forever.

It has also been released that Dawson’s ‘twitter trolls’ may be charged and with the evidence plastered all over the Internet, it is impossible to remove.

This also brings be to another story of a teen that tweeted about being stalked days before she was murdered. This horrific story may have a happy ending however, due to the power of online journalism. Police believe they might be able to solve the case due to these tweets. (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8523275/murdered-teen-tweeted-about-being-stalked)

Wow. This is the first thing that comes to mind again when thinking about this. If it had not been for the young girl’s tweets her case may have gone cold.

I guess it is safe to say that I have underestimated the power of online journalism. The world has come a long way in this area. 10 years ago, this type of thing would never have been thought possible, but due to the growth in online journalism it has enabled us to do things, solve things and act on things never thought possible.

I guess that is just the power of online journalism.

Lets tweet the day away...

I was introduced to the world of Twitter only a couple of weeks ago. I know, I’m a late bloomer and this wasn’t a voluntary decision either. My online journalism tutor encouraged me to enter the world of twitter sphere. I’ve now been a member of the craze for just over two weeks and look back and think, gee I must have been living in a hole.

I am now constantly checking morning, lunch and night. I’m following all the major news reporters, stations and sites and manage to find out breaking news BEFORE it hits the news sites on the internet. That’s right BEFORE! I must admit I have been oblivious to the power of tweeting. I would first hear of any breaking news either on television or news sites in which the information would state that it was discovered on twitter. I am now one of the people that discover breaking news the same time as news reporters do!

Talk about power of online journalism.

My lecturer stated this week that, ‘you are what you tweet’. These are words which I have found to be very wise.

The people that I follow (majority are celebrities) I have discovered things about them that 1) I didn’t know and 2) I didn’t want to know. For example, Rihanna – a celebrity that I once admired and found inspiring, but after following her on twitter, my perception has somewhat changed.

One of her recent posts: ‘So much dick riding that my cock hurt!’, ‘Suck my cockine’ and ‘My bitch thick az phuck’ (http://twitter.com/rihanna). Tweets that have been seen by all of her 24,000,000 twitter followers. Now I don’t know about them, but I can sure say that I do not understand any of these and do not enjoy reading them. It is because of these tweets that my perception of the superstar Rihanna has now changed.

This however is the total opposite for A-list celebrity Mila Kunis. I didn’t think too much of the actress until I decided to follow her on twitter. Her tweets are inspiring, feel good tweets that have the power to change your mood. Some of her tweets: ‘It’s ok to have flaws, that’s what makes you real’, ‘Live without boundaries, experience it all’ and ‘Fight for today, live for tomorrow’ (http://twitter.com/MilaKunisOnline) . These tweets have totally changed my perception of the actress to a more positive one.

This illustrates the power of online journalism, not just in the way of the perception of celebrities, but also the reputation of politicians, news sites, stations and reporters. Their credibility is on the line every time they tweet. Their reputation is on the line every time they tweet. How people perceive them is on the line every time they tweet.

It is true - you are what you tweet.

Oh how the times have changed!

When I was 13, boys had cooties, make-up was for grownups and it was cool to wear knitted Christmas jumpers. But oh how the times have changed. Last Thursday night I had to do a bit of shopping and drove to what I thought was my local Westfield shopping centre, but was rather confused when I walked in as it looked like a primary school cross stripper joint. I was standing there on a cold winter’s night in my jeans and jumper watching 100’s and 100’s of primary school aged children walk around in very revealing clothing. Gee they must’ve been cold!

The girls dressed in short skirts or shorts with crop tops and the boys in jeans with singlets and flat brimmed hats. It was rather late on a school night, late enough that I was looking for dinner, but as I walked into the food court, my hunger suddenly turned to sickness. All these younger children were crowded around the food court, blasting music from their phones, sitting on top of one another, basically mauling each other’s faces.

Not a good look and will definitely make you lose your appetite!

So I stood there thinking how did it change this much? How did it get so bad? What does this mean for future generations?

Maybe it is today’s music that has influenced them to act like this or maybe it’s the celebrities and how they dress which have influenced today’s society. Stars such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry are all very raunchy celebs when it comes to how they are perceived in the world. http://rihannadaily.com/  -  http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/  -  http://www.katyperry.com/home/

Or maybe it’s social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook that have influenced children to grow up 10 years too quick. People are able to do whatever they want, say whatever they want and find out whatever they want because of these sites. The biggest scandals are found on the web and the biggest news stories are posted on the web for the main reason that everyone uses them and everyone will find out in a matter of minutes.

And I guess it’s not just me that is noticing this change.

Thousands of angry parents have attacked Target for selling clothes that make little girls look like ‘tramps’. Target’s Facebook pages has received over 50,000 likes and over 2,500 comments complaining that the clothes line made for girls between the ages of 7 to 14 make them look ‘inappropriate’ and ‘like little hookers’.

It’s amazing to think that all this attention circulated after primary school teacher Ana Amini complained about the retailer’s sexualised clothing by posting, “Dear Target, Could you possibly make a range of clothing for girls 7-14 years that doesn't make them look like tramps … You have lost me as a customer when buying apparel for my daughter as I don't want her thinking shorts up her backside are the norm or fashionable.”

This is just one recent example of the impact that social media has on the world. This story went national last night, appearing on channel 7, 9 and 10 news.

When I was 13 this type of thing would never have happened. If someone posted a negative comment online about something, I don’t think anyone would have cared. Nowadays all it takes is a click of a button to gain widespread attention, potentially damage someone’s reputation and initiate action.

Oh how the times have changed!

Online Journalism – the good, the bad and the ugly!

If there is one thing that we can all agree on, it is that the Internet is an amazing thing. It has changed the way we live. But is it all good?

Yes we can use it as a great tool for research, communication, entertainment and so on, but there is still a risk to all of this. The information that we read, may not be correct, credible or trustworthy. Particular internet sites that you click on may be a virus, which can affect your whole computer system. Hackers are becoming a serious issue as more and more people are getting ripped off.

BUT the good outweighs the bad when it comes to the internet. You can do almost anything, so the risk is definitely worth it.

Online journalism is vastly growing with even more people turning to the internet for news instead of the TV or newspaper.

Take the Olympics for example; when I’m not watching the sports at home, I am constantly checking my phone, computer and Ipad for updates and stories of the latest wins, losses and all the drama that comes with it.

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are very popular when it comes to spreading the word. So if a major news story breaks, there is no doubt that the whole world would know about it in minutes.

https://twitter.com/

www.facebook.com/

That is just the power of the Internet!