I was worried Google was gonna go with H.246, but they seem to understand that youtube has become an essential part the web, and the web should stay open!
It's a good question:
Which is better for developing well rounded, informed views: traditional media, or the internet?
The internet has the advantage of an extremely low bar of entry, i.e., anybody can post an article or even create a website at virtually no cost. Plus, with the Article/Comment structure, there is constant opportunity to throw in a dissenting opinion. There's also the factor that you can look up and cite information on any of the topics discussed right away; you can't do that with television or newspaper, unless you have your laptop handy. On the other hand, the internet allows you, to an extreme degree, to choose which site to listen to, so you can marginalize your opinions by only listening to people you agree with.
The advantage of traditional media, I suppose, is that it doesn't allow you to choose which viewpoints to pay attention to... to some extent. Keep in mind, there is still a heft dose of bias; for example, Fox is much more conservative, and MSNBC is well known to be liberal, so you can still choose which opinions to pay attention to and marginalize your opinion.
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder if there will someday be an illegal market for this sort of thing, for criminals who want to disguise themselves.
I was worried Google was gonna go with H.246, but they seem to understand that youtube has become an essential part the web, and the web should stay open!
I mean seriously, DAMN, this is like, Star Trek level shit. Seriously. Spray on skin? What next? I love the 21st century.
It's a good question: Which is better for developing well rounded, informed views: traditional media, or the internet? The internet has the advantage of an extremely low bar of entry, i.e., anybody can post an article or even create a website at virtually no cost. Plus, with the Article/Comment structure, there is constant opportunity to throw in a dissenting opinion. There's also the factor that you can look up and cite information on any of the topics discussed right away; you can't do that with television or newspaper, unless you have your laptop handy. On the other hand, the internet allows you, to an extreme degree, to choose which site to listen to, so you can marginalize your opinions by only listening to people you agree with. The advantage of traditional media, I suppose, is that it doesn't allow you to choose which viewpoints to pay attention to... to some extent. Keep in mind, there is still a heft dose of bias; for example, Fox is much more conservative, and MSNBC is well known to be liberal, so you can still choose which opinions to pay attention to and marginalize your opinion.