     
|  The Pink PatronusDecoding hand-coding by Kimberly Jane Tan They say that the boom of new media is something to watch out for. I couldn�t agree more. For this semester, I took my last journalism elective as a senior journalism major. After taking up electives in advertising and public relations, I decided to go into one which is actually of my own personal interest, online journalism. I was specifically interested in building websites and I was quite surprised that we were required to build them through HTML formatting by the use of Notepad. Honestly, I used to use Notepad for unimportant matters and I never thought that I would be hand-coding websites in it. Many have asked me why we were doing this (using Notepad to build websites) since it can prove to be a difficult task. Most of the time, I�ve been tempted to answer them with �Why not?� but that would have been taking the easy way out, not to mention being postmodern.  I am actually very proud of the fact that my website is hand-coded. I did not use Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage or any other What You See Is What You Get (WYSISYG) software. Now, it still boils down to the question �Why?� I guess the only answer that I can give is that because it�s worth it.Building websites is just like driving. You can either learn the manual or automatic way. But in the end, you will realize how it is better to learn things manually first. Only when you immerse yourself in the roots of something will you be able to understand it better. And it is only after that can one expand his/her knowledge through the use of other methods. This applies to all matters online like blogs and websites. I believe that having to experience the travails of manually building such things can make a person more responsible. In this case, one could become a more responsible blogger or website moderator. Now, you�d ask, why is it important to be responsible online? Because we have gone past the tri-media time. Internet, the new media, could become as pervasive as television. Just like all forms of media, the internet is used for information propagation. And as everyone should know, information is not something which should be handled lightly. To feed your reader with wrong information should be considered a sin. For the more responsible beings, they use the internet, specifically blogs and websites for worthwhile things like serving as news sources. Since this form of media is open to everyone who has access to a computer and the internet, even normal people become journalists in their own regard. Some might call this citizen journalism but as long as it�s responsibly practiced, it doesn�t matter what it�s called. It is contestable that online sources may seem less biased than mainstream media. Some would back this up by merely saying that those online write on their own will and merit. They are, should I say, supposed to be free from corporate ties. It should be noted that internet users are just given a choice as to what to believe and not given something to automatically believe in. Truth be told, traditional journalists do not often consider bloggers to be journalists. Actually, you can't actually blame them for thinking such. With the kind of speed that online journalism deals with, it could somehow bypass th ethics practiced in journalism. Another thing that bothers me is the problem with intellectual property. In countries like the Philippines, there are no laws concerning the violation of such laws specifically in the online industry. Access to the internet is also a problem for all users. And somehow, it all boils down to the question of credibility. The overwhelming fact of anonymity being always present in online sources makes it even harder for users. Take for example Wikipedia, we are discouraged to use such sources for academic purposes. Sources like that make it easy for information to be manufactured or manipulated. Also, one can never tell if online sources really are from corporate influences. Advertisers today have recognized the potential of the internet in reaching niche targets. Somewhere along the way, the targets of these giants are based more than on mere geography. But, I think it is not right to blame the internet for faults that is generated by the users themselves. Having said all that, I think what New York Times columnist Frank Rich said is very appropriate. He said that �It's past time to retire the Internet as a scapegoat for journalistic ills. It's a medium, not a message, and it can be used as irresponsibly or as honorably as a printing press or a TV network can.� * This column is named �The Pink Patronus� in reference to the author�s favorite color (pink) and a magic spell which may be cast only when the person thinks of the happiest thoughts (Patronus Charm from the book series Harry Potter). |