Click, click, news.

In class, we have learned so much about online media communications such as using programs like Audacity (not to be confused with Audacity.com janitorial services) and GarageBand to record podcasts for RSS feeds. It’s amazing to see how technology can create and edit news with the click of a mouse or iPod. With some work, we could collaborate those ideas with Flickr and upload cool features to our Mason “tilda” accounts.

Rob Curley, who calls himself an Internet punk, spoke about the importance of local news and the evolution of traditional media. Curley may be flying high off of Mountain Dew, but has a point when it comes down to breaking news and the audience. The New York Times called the Lawrence Journal-World, “the newspaper of the future.”

Not too shabby for the little newspaper that could.

The majority of us gather our news for free from the Internet. Unless you have the time to enjoy the print edition, there is no need to grab the soggy newspaper from the driveway every morning. A team constantly updates online newspaper editions with specific details and extra information.

It’s that extra information that gets to people. Maybe we feel bombarded with unnecessary details or want to protect our privacy. I wonder what privacy means anymore. Just go Google yourself, you may be surprised at what you find. It’s also interesting when you find another person with your exact name on the other side of the globe. Either way, something that may be unnecessary to you, may be fascinating news to someone else.

According to Helen Thomas, “every [blogger] with a laptop thinks they’re a journalist.” I do agree with that but there are pros and cons to every situation. At the moment, I feel like everyone with a cell phone camera thinks they’re a member of the paparazzi. Watch out, now.

Photos courtesy of Naplesnews.com, Google.com and the iDevil Skin for iPod Nano (also available at Five Below for well, five bucks).