The tragic Virginia Tech shootings created change in not only gun control, but also in the way that news came from an area unreachable by the media. Twitter, Flickr, and Wikipedia’s coverage of the event together broke ground for ways in which news could be delivered.

For the first ever, Twitter was a major factor in the distribution of information during a time when there were many different rumours and facts that did not originate from Virginia Tech students. In today’s world we see a huge increase the availability of information from Twitter that has, in some cases, been responsible for the collapse of authoritarian leaders.

What struck me most about this presentation was that Twitter had a major role in the media’s coverage of the event. Back in 2007 I would have not expected Twitter to have an impact like that. Now everything is “tweetable”. Even games on the iPhone like Temple Run have an option in which you can tweet your high score. Twitter of course now is a way in which Journalist, Activists, and Presidents can issue statements and share facts about what is happening in the world today.

Flickr, which previously had been a photographer’s virtual gallery, was during the Virginia Tech, used as a form of publishing news in the way of photos. Students on the Virginia Tech campus were uploading pictures from their cameras onto Flickr and were using the website as a visual source of news that was at times presented more information than some tweets available. Flickr, which had previously not been identified as a way to gather images coming in from, a conflict area was suddenly thirsted into the spotlight.

Wikipedia which today’s is the starting point for anybody needing information on any subject was a kind of virtual battlefront of information. Being that the website can be edited by the public there was a lot of editing to do in regards to opinion being mixed in with fact.  Editors were responsible for keeping Wikipedia’s page void of any controversial opinions and published only facts about the event. The mass editing of the page was an interesting and incredible feat and is a testimony to Wikipedia’s principles.

Twitter, Flickr, and Wikipedia all influenced the flow information concerning the Virginia Tech shootings. Twitter and Flickr for the first time were used as sources of information rather than as online social hangouts. Wikipedia for the first time dealt with an outpour of information and an strive to only put out accurate unbiased facts. These sources were groundbreaking more for the future of Journalism.

-Matt Harris

Wikipedia has revolutionized the way we get facts today.  The online encyclopaedia has changed the way information is found on the Internet. Wikipedia differs from all other websites in that the public is able to edit it, it is then re-edited by a moderator and come out as a completely “unbiased” information source. Wikipedia’s unconventional way of publishing information has created a universal recognition of the website as a way of finding information.

Wikipedia’s tolerance for anybody to edit the page is not a win-win situation for Wikipedia. Most people I know my age will not question the accuracy of Wikipedia however in the academic world Wikipedia is a laughable source. This double-edged sword creates an interesting phenomenon considering Wikipedia cannot be used as an academic source and yet it’s popularity is unprecedented. Search for anything on the Internet especially on Google and one of the first result will be Wikipedia peer-edited source information. Our own Professor Taylor Owen stated “Do not use Wikipedia as a source.” This inadvertent effect has created a problematic issue for students being that many gain valuable information from this precious website.

Wikipedia also altered the way people get news being that it has such an expansive pool of information many go to Wikipedia for more in depth news. Since many people edit it to the point where the information is pure fact, and unbiased the public pool of information is shared for the benefit of anybody with Internet. Wikipedia also encourages mistakes, a value that is unique to any other aggregator of information. Even though mistakes are made a dedicated group of moderators takes out any biased words or language to ensure that the information presented is solely facts.

In my own experience Wikipedia has helped me finish countless amounts of homework and helped me understand how to complete assignments in my Exercise Science and Christian Vocations classes alike. Although countless teachers have informed me never to use Wikipedia it is still a starting point for gaining the knowledge necessary for any given project or research paper.