If you've been following me for long, you know I'm a big fan of Marshall McLuhan's use of Tetrads. Combining four kinds of transitions seems more accurate than exploring any single or pair of changes. I've previously explored how Tetrads apply to gameplay learning and the synthesis of the Cynefin and TIMN frameworks. While I've been exploring Journalism 2.0 for the past couple weeks, I've once again been capturing ideas for a combination of four transitions. Here's my latest thinking on how Journalism 2.0 will amount to changing every which way.
Extends user content generation - Most user content gets generated heroically. There are, of course, collaborative wiki, websites, blogs, podcasts and videos. But these are usually single productions, rather than ongoing processes. I suspect heroics are occurring because we don't to where or when or how to jump in and help out with other's content generation. Journalism 2.0 will transition to very transparent processes which allow content generation to evolve into user content contribution and collaboration. It will become obvious how a story is coming along, what's missing, what questions need more refinement, what facts need checking, what back stories could help out, etc. It will also be apparent who's already working on what to avoid duplication of effort and what needs several different versions created to pick the best one. Previous experiences with heroic content generation will provide a hoard of skilled contributors.
Reverses profane progress - When agrarian societies became industrialized, the clock became a big deal. Things had to get done "on time", rather than "in good time" or "on their own time". This also made our collective sense of progress far more important than any sense of enjoyment with simple pleasures and any satisfaction with the current situation. This was good for business and tax supported infrastructures as people became driven to consume more goods which created more manufacturing, retail and service jobs to meet that demand. This gave a significant role to news gatherers, reporters and publishers to report on all that uneven and conflicted progress. Nearly everyone agreed until recently that you could not have too much progress, too much news or too much consumption. We've gone overboard with these excesses and poised for a reversal. I suspect we may become oriented in a medieval sense of the now moment where time is insignificant. We may become re-enchanted with the natural environment and our own physical experiences as Morris Berman has anticipated. We may even switch from profane to sacred sensibilities as Mircea Eliade perceived tribal lives to have embraced throughout human existence..
Retires hired writers - Hired writers may become perceived as mere hacks and mercenaries whose commercial interests degrade their usefulness. Their writing style may fail to meet the quality standards of "free content generation". Their latest news may no longer seem newsworthy. Their value proposition to viewers, readers and subscribers may become obsolete.
Retrieves immersive experiencing - We've all had moments of losing ourselves in an experience that fills our senses. We then "snap out of it" and get back to business as usual. Many spiritual traditions suggest we've got it backwards. They propose that we rarely "snap out of it" and mostly "stop the world". I know from personal experiences of immersing myself in the moment with "no thinking required", the colors are more vivid, the sounds and tastes more pleasing, and a peace of mind comes over me. This state of mind can be sustained so long as I do something so familiar to me that it requires no analysis, problem solving or planning. I also access this mental state when I'm writing "on the good days". This tells me the other transitions above could occur in this stress free, full-of-gratitude, state-of-mind too.
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