Reading a newspaper after my mom is a nightmare! She clips out so many articles of interest, that by the end you’re only left with the sports section in tact. Still to this day, she clips out her favourite articles and sends them to family and friends because she truly enjoys sharing information. Ok, so maybe she wasn’t the first person to tear an article out of the newspaper but this form of social bookmarking has definitely been around long before the internet! It is a natural human desire to find like minded individuals with whom we can share information. Methods for sharing information have always existed but with the growth of internet popularity, the ways of sorting information have definitely changed.

Today, online writers are producing opinionated writing at an alarming pace. Every person with a computer now has the ability to put forward their opinion online. Some individuals have bemoaned this development as the fall of journalism but not me! I look at this as an opportunity, an opportunity to develop new sorting methods to access the best possible information on whatever subject I desire. After all, I’m part of the “I want it now!” generation and I’d accept nothing less. People need to realize that there has always been an endless supply of information available, it is just easier to access online and so you need to figure out how to manage the process.

Think of the internet as the world’s greatest library. Would you ever think of going into a library and trying to read every single book there, just to find the piece of information you want? No, you ask someone to help you find what you’re looking for, until you learn how to find it for yourself. The internet has amplified information and it can be overwhelming if you try to digest every piece of it.

Thankfully, online information sharing communities are setup to solve the problem and help you find relevant information to your interests. Forums, social networks, social bookmarking, social RSS readers, blogging and micro-blogging all have one common purpose. To share opinion and information with people.

To deal with the massive volume of opinionated writing being produced today, we will begin to increasingly rely on more targeted community models of news consumption.  As more information shifts online, these communities will continue to evolve and scale to meet the demands of online information sorting.

Journalism will not be harmed by moving online. The key will be managing the overwhelming amount of information available and my advice is to not think you can do it alone. Information sharing communities are setup to filter out the online garbage and direct you to the best information. Connect with like minded individuals, explore what they have to offer, share your own insights and you will give yourself the ability to find the best information online.

Note: Not my real mom pictured above – she didn’t want to be featured on our blog, guess it was because she couldn’t clip the article out and send it to the rest of the family

Photo Credit: Grandma Picture