I've followed UBC Journalism professor Alfred Hermida, who's known as a "news pioneer, digital media scholar and journalism educator," for a number of years. So when his latest book Tell Everyone: Why We Share and Why It Matters came out, I couldn't resist from taking a look look at this title. Indeed, it is packed with progeny of insight about the different angles of social media. Hermida is often quoted in the media and cited in academic circles for his research about the evolution of digital journalism. The book certainly doesn't disappoint in its analysis of the transforming media landscape - one where citizen journalists and bloggers blur the line between what is reporting and rumour. Audiences have become editors and emotion often drives the primeval urge to share and be social. As Hermida puts it, social media
. . . requires a different mindset from the way we approached things like the newspaper. The daily paper was finite. It had a set number of pages, column inches and words. And even then, most didn't read every single story and perhaps ignored some sections altogether. Social media is the ambient music of the every day. Much of what is shared consists of the mundane details of life, the small talk and casual exchanges that are important in fostering societal bonds. It is flowing in attention. Like ambient music, we know it is there, but it is unobtrusive.
This book is a real game changer - it's no coincidence it's on best sellers lists and at the front of bookstores.
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