Scribes and Scribblers: Wikistory
I felt like a scribe amongst scribes and scribblers as I carefully edited the contents of my hometown’s wikipedia page. As corny as it may sound, I felt a sense of joy as I attempted to meticulously edit and make contributions to the already existent page. Why was I so careful and so joyful about my wiki venture? Because I was actively writing facts, history, and deleting wiki vandalism- I was one with history. I am one with history. ((sigh of relief))
Let’s be real here. American history was documented by educated white men with white curly wigs and lots of land, money, and power. As for myself, I am none the latter. As I edited the wiki page, my wiki page (I feel a sense of ownership here, now), I felt like a real historical contributor. I felt the desire to be as accurate as possible. I even purchased some (expensive) books about the little known history of my hometown. I dropped a tear (well, almost) as I read about the hidden facts of my small town, which I would reveal to the wiki world.
Wikipedia is truly amazing- but, who is this master editor, I say? Who is this one-who-filters-and-disposes-of-wiki-crap? Who is this one-who-edits-all? I’ve noticed alot of errors on wikipedia pages, and I was astonishingly pissed when I saw wiki-vandalism on my hometown’s wiki page. Why did the master editor(s) miss this? I felt violated. I wondered how long the deliberate inaccuracies had been there. I wondered, who would waste their precious time jacking up wiki pages. I concluded: bored idiots- but then, I thought I was being too harsh. Instead, I’ll call these people, “the scribblers.”
The master editor(s) of Wikipedia and the genuine common folk contributors must beware of the scribblers, because they ruin the validity in open source communication. They make people laugh at the thought of wikis and they make wiki contributors look like little monkeys throwing poo at one another- no, this is not a bad analogy. Scribblers can ruin good wiki pages and they give wikis a bad rep, period.
I think I’ll give French Connection U.K. a call so they can print shirts labeled:
FCUK Scribblers
I think the scribblers will get the hint, don’t you?
Wanted: New Media Experts
As I have been perusing popular job search websites such as craigslist.com, hotjobs.com, and careerbuilder.com, I’ve noticed that many businesses and organizations are seeking “new media professionals,” “new media experts,” “social media experience,” “Facebook gurus,” or “digitally-minded people” (I swear I saw that last one!) . Think about this:
Company X is seeking new media professionals.
Company X wants Y professionals to have Z years of experience.
Z = 5+ years.
Okay, so the above examples were not needed to prove my point. However, let’s think about this, really. What does new media and experience have in common? Five years? I think not! If new media is what it is, new media, then is it really necessary to have years and years of experience on your belt? That which is new media is changing, evolving, and advancing each day, and who’s likely to know about this stuff? Likely, some tech kids sitting up their rooms right now, thinking of the next big social networking web apparatus. So, what’s my recommendation, you ask? Hire the tech kids! Just kidding. I really think some of these businesses and organizations need to take some time to reflect on the job description and the reality of the experience needed for some of these new media positions. Okay, okay so a bachelor’s degree should be required- or should it? I take that question back as I am biased to higher education and I have loans to prove it- but, you get my drift…
