VinnieK Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 I fail to see what's so "Bizarre" about this approach - on any other day, the bizarre people that post here appear to be good enough to deliver the origins of many a news story.. It's "bizarre" because it needs to be, otherwise Adrian Darbyshire wouldn't have nearly as good a hook for his story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 I fail to see what's so "Bizarre" about this approach - on any other day, the bizarre people that post here appear to be good enough to deliver the origins of many a news story.. What I find bizarre is the attitude the papers appear to adopted towards the forum. - They say it is "bizarre" for John Wright to elicit the views of the public via the internet, but every week has a section that publishes the views of the public that have been made on their website. - They can lift a story, like the King David one, directly from the forum, but not mention their source. - Am I right in thinking they've managed a front page story on the Steam Packet petition this week, which mentions a Facebook group but not the forum. Is it that they are afraid people will come here for news rather than buy their paper. Have we become a competitor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 I actually disagree and I think that some views have been (rightly or wrongly) coloured by a general mistrust of newspapers. I got the impression that it was reporting on a way of canvassing research that has not been so openly used before. Yes, a way of canvassing research that was apparently bizarre, resulted in "interesting" (his quotation marks) conclusions that would in all likelyhood "raise eyebrows", and concentrated on a "band" of forum posters. I don't really distrust the media, although I don't hold it in much regard either, but I'd say the article's tone was unambiguously sneering. John hasn't been portrayed as an innovater, he's been portrayed as an eccentric who babbles on about ancient greek custom and consults internet nerds with unusual nicknames when working on government reports. Note that, in the bullet point quotes, John clearly states that he interviewed Government staff and received submissions from both the public and MHK's, and yet the main body of the article concentrates on the use of the forums, firmly setting an incredulous tone with the facetious introduction: "Looking to find out what happened to 12,000 voters? - just ask 'The Original Munchkin'". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 I suspect John hit a much more informed stratum than most journalists tap - ok there are some apparently uneducated posters here but I've now grown used to expect several highly knowedgeable replies to most sensible questions - I suspect this is not uncommon on many specialist web forums (eg I regularly lurk on BBC R3 boards where sometimes it becomes possible to determine that the poster is actually highly positioned within their field of expertise) - the journalist showed his own lack of understanding (or possibly rightful concern over his own job security) and forgets that the over 50's are now one of the largest users of the web. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinnieK Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Just to confirm the impression given by the print version of the article, the online version appears under the headline 'Bizarre aproach by probe into electoral registration problems'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 You can't just scan one page.. where's the rest of the paper? Unfortunately there's bollocks-all you can do about the subjective fluff that is presented with the news besides not buying it, but as it's one of the only major advertising outlets I wouldn't expect that to hit them much. Start an unruly petition if you don't like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Godfather of Manx House Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 All I can add on the matter, and I'm not even sure if this is actually relevant, is that I'd much rather rely on MF for comment and opinion on all things Manx than IOM Newspapers. Although, thinking on, that isn't saying much... ...GOMH*... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooahhdoo Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 I suspect John hit a much more informed stratum than most journalists tap - ok there are some apparently uneducated posters here but I've now grown used to expect several highly knowedgeable replies to most sensible questions - I suspect this is not uncommon on many specialist web forums (eg I regularly lurk on BBC R3 boards where sometimes it becomes possible to determine that the poster is actually highly positioned within their field of expertise) - the journalist showed his own lack of understanding (or possibly rightful concern over his own job security) and forgets that the over 50's are now one of the largest users of the web. Source of that info please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 'Silver surfers' spend most time online Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Damn, that makes me over 65 and female then. Better book myself in for that blue rinse next week... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooahhdoo Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 New research from Lifestyle60.com has revealed that 64% of people over the age of 60 are interested in joining an online 'networking' community 64% are interested. not quite the same as "the over 50's are now one of the largest users of the web" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 according to research by Nielsen/Netratings, the over 65s now spend more time online than any other age group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooahhdoo Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Only because they fall asleep at the keyboard for hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Others have beaten me to the links - my original source was that mine of mis-information - Slashdot - which reported on I think the Nielsen figures - there were also some reports (in the Economist I think, or at least one of the heavies) that the over-50's were heavy users of email (the younger generations apparently used IM'ing for which their inability to construct an understandable sentence in English was no handicap) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 according to research by Nielsen/Netratings, the over 65s now spend more time online than any other age group. That's because they are looking for the enter key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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