Love the blog..keep it up, friend.
Craig

I think we’re on the same page here, just in different paragraphs. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the labels, but if we don’t know what to call something, then we seem to spend more bogged down on the “what do we call it” question, instead of the “what can we do with it” one. And the answer to the latter is almost never what we thought it would be, at least on first blush.

Of course, your live reporting the parade was news–to me at least. It was news that you were there and obviously enjoying yourself, despite yourself–if you’ll pardon that obvious logic.

But what if you were witness to one of the balloons crashing into heaven knows what? (Heaven forbid) Then you would have become an eyewitness with an instant way to communicate what you were witnessing.

You are right, it is all about personalization. I can get the news I want and care about, pretty much the same way TiVo has made the customization of the television schedule to suit my personal needs and tastes.

And speaking of tastes, everybody’s news diet is different–to be sure. I’m just not sure that everyone in the news game gets that we now must serve from a buffet bar that is open 24/7 rather than a sit-down place that serves three square meals at the same time each day.

As your intrepid man on the street at Macy’s, allow me to expand and expound.

I was live-reporting. For my friends. That’s it. Oh, sure and for any onlookers as well (and by about my 10th Tweet, I had a few.) I only regret I didn’t have the presence of mind to live stream this via Qik or Justin or Mogulus. Next time.

Those of us who occasionally find ourselves at an event don’t replace “official” coverage. We’re additive. We make comments our friends may find funny, snarky or insightful. Certainly, we’re an alternative to the saccharin. There’s no way iPhone pics replace official video. But everyone brings their own character to their own reporting.

Twitter is most certainly a news, information and entertainment source. But so what? Why do we get so caught up in the labeling stage every time a new concept comes up in media? Already people are using it in ways the inventors hadn’t considered. When the audience uses TV in ways the stations don’t like, the stations sue. When the Web audience adapts 2.0, the sites love it.

This is all part of the personalization and divergence of news and information. I got breaking news updates on what my family in Boston was having for Thanksgiving while I was in New York with my in-laws. That doesn’t matter at all to you. But it’s part of my news diet, and it’s a hell of a lot more interesting to me than a downtown fire.

And you’re right – we need Twitter teletype sound effects. When I transferred our old 8mm home movies to DVD, I was damn tempted to put in the click-click-click of a movie projector just because the silence is so odd.