Billy Hallowell Online: American Journalist & Commentator » social media

Using Wisdom: Facebook and Twitter

J.R. Briggs — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:27:50 +0000

J.R. Briggs is a blogger, church planter and plenty more! I'll be sharing some of his insights on matters of faith here on the blog. That in mind, he published a simple, yet thoughtful list of questions we should ask before we Facebook/Tweet. Check it out (below). -- Billy Hallowell

Here are 10 questions to keep in mind before you send out that next FB update or Tweet: Hopefully these questions will keep you out of trouble.

What percentage of my updates/tweets about me as opposed to highlighting other people?
Are my updates/tweets blessing others or pointing out their faults?
Will this embarrass others? Or will I regret this later?
Am I angry or bored right now? (NOTE: If so, don’t send it).
How many of my updates/tweets are trivial and vain rather than meaningful and significant news?
If I trimmed down my updates/tweets by 10% what would I not be writing about? What if I trimmed it down to 50%? or 90%?
Are there other more productive ways I could be spending my time?
If I don’t share this publicly would the world suffer because of it?
Do people really need to know what I’m about to write?
What’s my motive?

Any other questions that would be good to ask?

New and Social Media Revolution

Billy Hallowell — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:31:45 +0000

New and social media truly do constitute a new American (international, in fact) revolution. This video provides some excellent insight and statistics. Check it out:

NJ Judge Issues Idiotic Ruling, Sets Terrible New Media Precedent

Billy Hallowell — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:32:58 +0000

After reading about this ruling, all I can conclude is that New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Judge Anthony J. Parrillo is inept and rarely uses new media or he has an inability to reason (perhaps a cocktail of the two). In a ruling that defies rationality, he claims that bloggers aren’t journalists.

Here’s what happened: Shellee Hale, a Washington State-based writer posted in the comments section of a blog. Apparently, she posted information about an alleged security breach at Too Much Media, a New Jersey software company.

Though the company admitted the breach, Too Much Media sued Shellee Hale for defamation and demanded that she give up her anonymous source. Unfortunately, Parrillo ruled against Hale, claiming that she is not protected by journalism’s coveted shield law (because she’s a mere “blogger”). S.T. Karnick has more:

The Garden State has a shield law for journalists, meaning the government cannot force reporters or opinion writers to reveal their sources. There is nothing more vigorously defended among journalists than the right to keep secret one’s anonymous sources in service of “the public’s right to know.

In his ruling, the judge said, “Simply put, new media should not be confused with news media.” Apparently, Parrillo’s not one for reading online news, most of which — including mainstream outlets — relies heavily on new and social media. Simply stated: This is a terrible precedent. Then again, this isn’t the first stench to come from Jersey, so I’ll withhold my surprise. Read more here.