Was just reading a recent study by Pew Research Centre which states that 30% of US adults receive their daily news via Facebook. That made me reflect on my own pattern of news consumption. Apart from Arnab Goswami's histrionics at 9 PM on TV and Bachi Karkaria's wit in TOI, there is very little that attracts me to the traditional news sources.
Equipped with the NDTV app on my smartphone which gives me a minute by minute update on everything - be it matters of national importance such as Sachin's retirement to the latest stats on Mumbai potholes - I get it all instantly. Sans the dreadful ad breaks.
I am a self confessed social media junky. Much before smartphones and NDTV apps, it was Twitter that made me experience the joy of being updated constantly. Power to the 140 characters! Facebook makes for an interesting news source as its peppered with comments from friends. Takes me back to the days in college when no news was worth its value without the vishesh tipanni from friends.
In recent times, every new ad worth watching has caught my eyes only because friends posted them of Facebook. And of course YouTube. While it is a tad irritating, I quite enjoy the ads on YouTube even if they are involuntarily thrust on my face when I log in to watch the latest discourses on Indian politics by Feku or Pappu. The knowledge that I have the power to skip the ad in 5 seconds if I don't want to watch it, makes me appreciate them a lot more.
Old news today is no longer yesterday's. It is 20 updates old. Only constant innovations in content delivery to suit the needs of the digital savvy nation will keep the traditional news channels from going the way Ambassadors and black telephones went.
Equipped with the NDTV app on my smartphone which gives me a minute by minute update on everything - be it matters of national importance such as Sachin's retirement to the latest stats on Mumbai potholes - I get it all instantly. Sans the dreadful ad breaks.
I am a self confessed social media junky. Much before smartphones and NDTV apps, it was Twitter that made me experience the joy of being updated constantly. Power to the 140 characters! Facebook makes for an interesting news source as its peppered with comments from friends. Takes me back to the days in college when no news was worth its value without the vishesh tipanni from friends.
In recent times, every new ad worth watching has caught my eyes only because friends posted them of Facebook. And of course YouTube. While it is a tad irritating, I quite enjoy the ads on YouTube even if they are involuntarily thrust on my face when I log in to watch the latest discourses on Indian politics by Feku or Pappu. The knowledge that I have the power to skip the ad in 5 seconds if I don't want to watch it, makes me appreciate them a lot more.
Old news today is no longer yesterday's. It is 20 updates old. Only constant innovations in content delivery to suit the needs of the digital savvy nation will keep the traditional news channels from going the way Ambassadors and black telephones went.
