Remembering the VCR...Impact of On Demand Social Media

Yesterday I was running a workshop on Google Tools. When I returned from lunch at 12:45 I began to see tweets that Farrah Fawcett had died. She had struggled with cancer for some time, so folks new it was coming but the fact that I was sitting in a workshop and the information came to me. I announced it in my class-and the fact I had learned about it on twitter didn't seem to phase anyone...wow...Farrah Fawcett...I remember being the same age as my son heading into fourth grade and getting to stay up to watch the Angels on summer nights, WAITING for the episode to airt, hen trying reinact the scenes in my basement... Since I was teaching google tools I thought this was a great time to introduce google news to my participants. Instantaneously we were viewing thousands of news articles, video clips and pictures. Within the hour Wikipedia had been locked for editing by new users and by 5 pm even Encyclopedia Brittanica online had been updated with her life span. I was fascinated but not surprised at how quickly the news traveled. Pretty much everyone (except my husband who had been on a plane all day) knew the news before the nightly news broadcast.

As I getting ready to head home I saw this in my tweetdeck...are you KIDDING ME...Michael Jackson. I got in my car and as I listened to KYW news radio. I was intrigued that they were citing TMZ and that social media sources were getting (and reporting information about Michael's condition much faster than mainstream media sources). Wow...Michael Jackson...I remember being a sophmore in high school BEGGING my mom and dad to FINALLY get cable so we could watch the Thriller premiere. We had a VCR by now...I think I actually still have my original tape.

Then I find myself back in my basement thinking about how media and news is delivered is going to be so different for my three children.
This morning, still reflecting on yesterday's events, I was doing laundry and trying to get ready for NECC. Not easy to do when your toddler gets up at the crack of dawn so I did what all good 21st C parents do, I parked my 2 year old in front of an Elmo video. In our basement, we have have only a cable line (no fancy box for on demand) and a VCR (no DVD) on this TV (kind of like my life in the Michael Jackson era). After the Elmo's World episode we were watching was over, Emma chimed in with "watch it again mommy"...hmmm would I be able to hold my child's attending for the "rewind" process...? "watch it again mommy", watch it AGAIN mommy", watch it AGAIN MOMMY", "WATCH IT AGAIN MOMMY"- Apparently the VCR is not for her...

Social Media...On Demand...Connecting with others to process information. This post by librarybeth that Chris Lehmann retweeted makes me wonder what the impact will be one the world of media, news and broadcasting, and finding, evaluating information?

Of course the big thing *I* can't help thinking is "can't we come up with process to speed up my laundry."