The users’ side of the bargain

Immediacy is another mixed blessing in the news Web site world, where the speed of the medium can make the accuracy v. speed battle dangerous, but there is a certain amount of responsibility expected from users, the fellows suggested today.

Users no longer pick up one, or even two or three, newspapers and call it a day. They aren’t even watching the evening news at 6 p.m. and catching the follow-up five hours later. On the internet a user will look at your site, and check that information against a handful of other sites, at least.

Especially on “breaking” news stories, the discussion suggested that readers are expected to understand that there is a difference between “breaking” news and regular news - they will recognize that the information is new, perhaps incomplete, and subject to change as more reports become available.

Users are also expected to know the difference between blogging and reporting, and not to attribute the same level of authority to a blog as they would to a news story.

So it turns out journalists are not the only ones expected to adapt for new technology - the users have to do it too. And to be honest, they are probably way ahead of all the journalists on that anyway.