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Wednesday 10 August 2011

Reflection on the news, Twitter and life in general

It has been a few weeks since I have written a blog. I'm not sure how many and I'm not going to look because it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm back and I'm blogging.

So what's been happening in my life? It has just been so busy. The first two weeks in July included a photographic commission for networking group MumsUnltd, organising the first North Somerset and Bristol tweetmeet at The George Backwell and setting myself up on Google+ .

It all seemed so simple on the face of it but it turned out to be quite a challenge and there was no time for blogging what with everything else going on. Then followed a holiday, two weeks in a very warm and sunny Portugal at this apartment, enough to relax and unwind and start to reflect.

It was the middle weekend of the fortnight that reflection kicked. Although I wasn't watching any TV news I was dipping into Twitter and that's when bad news started to filter thru. The death of Amy Winehouse, train crash in China, shooting in Norway. Opinions dashed to and fro across Twitter as to which was the most shocking of the events and which deserved most focus or attention.

I was still removed from it all so I paid no more than a passing interest but still referred to Twitter for updates.

My return from holiday prompted a bout of post holiday reflection. I didn't watch the TV news or read newspapers but the story of a polar bear attack on some students and the riots in London started to break. Even then I didn't watch TV news but referenced Twitter for updates.

So where is all this going? For a start I was interested to analyse the fact that I really wasn't interested in following the news via the TV or newspapers. Was this disinterest because of being super busy and then on holiday, I think so. But then also of interest was why I would turn to Twitter for updates.

I think because Twitter provided me with easily scannable 'throwaway headlines' and URLs to blogs and web pages with detail I was really interested in. I could find opinion and articles from people I trust and value rather than those trotted out in front of me by the news organisations. Whether it's information from a professional reporter or just a regular man or woman off the street Twitter and blogging give the perfect platforms for direct access of information from trusted sources, and thoughtful opinion from experts and laymen alike.

My reading has been varied over this time and has included the wonderful art and colour of rachomini including her blog reference to 'The Seven Deadly Sins of Indoor Photography', the thoughtful analysis from Paula White on Twitter responses to the sad weekend of the death of Amy Winehouse, the Norway shootings, etc,. and reading about life decisions on this blog from John Foster. Add to this the calm reflections on life from journalist Rachel Burden and the man who can even make the weather interesting Ian Fergusson and I wonder why I need to go anywhere else for my daily dose.

What are your thoughts?

Kevin
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4 comments:

  1. Thank you for the mention! :)
    I am not very sure what to think of the riots...it's very scary and in some ways disappointing to see people destroying the livelihoods of others...

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  2. Thanks for the mention Kevin!

    The last few weeks have been huge both personally and through the news. Just as Paula White, I was also ashamed of the responses from Twitter after the death of Amy Winehouse.

    The way people are acting in the UK at the moment makes me very sad, why do these people feel intent on destroying our country. I do not understand why the youth of today have so little respect for authority.

    I look forward to your next post!

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  3. Hi Kevin. Thanks for the mention and a thoughtful read. These are challenging times and this analysis and these reactions are happening in us all. I think we want to hide away from the bad news and yet pore over the details in the hope of making sense of it all. Like you I find Twitter a source of updating information but also at times a comfort to know that there are others out there who feel as I do.

    Welcome back to blogging!

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  4. #Londonriots was the first time I had ever 'watched' the news via Twitter. It was gripping. Engaging. Enraging. I switched to BBCNews24, but the news there didn't seem to express fully what was going on. TV news seemed shallow and flimsy. It's people I want to hear - not editors.

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