New media blog launched by PBS
and
January 24, 2006
Last week marked PBS's first major foray into the wonderful world of blogging with the launch of their MediaShift blog, helmed by digital media commentator and critic Mark Glaser. From the About page:
MediaShift is a weblog that will track how digital media technologies and techniques such as weblogs, RSS, podcasting, citizen journalism, wikis, news aggregators and video repositories are changing our world. It will tell stories of how the shifting media landscape is changing the way we get our news and information, while also providing a place for public participation and feedback.
Quite the undertaking, for sure, and certainly necessary. Other sites focus on one or two of the elements mentioned above from angles that range from technophile to politicophile, but I can't think of a single one off the top of my head that's taking them all on, largely from what seems like a cultural point of view. (Know of a site that does? Tell me here.)
Large undertakings are certain to have critics like me poking at them from the get go, so here's some initial thoughts. The "top 5 trends" for the week is a great idea; it's a quick overview of interesting topics floating around digital media. The glossary is a bit simplistic for my tastes, but I fall more on the "geek" end of the spectrum than most; it's probably a good introduction for the newcomer. As much of a fan of irreverent evangelicals testifyin' as I am, I don't think the Preacherman column works on the page (or screen, if you will). Glaser's writing style is friendly and non-intimidating overall, though, so I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.
