Transcript
Ideas and stories that would once only reach a handful of people can now reverberate across the world, amplifying the power of individuals, informing our choices, and changing how we receive and react to the news. Tell Everyone explores and explains a more open, vibrant and diverse media Every day more than 500 million messages are sent on Twitter, 800 million people share four billion stories, links, photographs and videos on Facebook. Every minute, 100 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. And the flow is ever-increasing. In this new era of media saturation, what do we mean by “the news”? Is “the most trusted name in news” today a veteran anchor on television or an undergraduate tweeting from Tahrir Square in Cairo? The day before yesterday, news and information was scarce, coming from a few newspapers or broadcasters. Now, not only are we able to connect and collaborate to create our own media, but for the first time have access to a global audience. Together we can help to bring down governments or chasten international corporations. We can hasten the spread of gossip, rumour and lies. We can market our products more widely and efficiently than ever--if we take the trouble to discover why people share and to whom. In this groundbreaking work, online news pioneer and social media maven Alfred Hermida examines how our ability to create and share news is shaping the information we receive and depend on to make informed decisions, from choosing politicians to doing business. Drawing on historical examples, real-world experiences and leading research, he equips us with the knowledge and insight to navigate successfully the social streams of information that shape how we view the world.
