This is something that always happens when new technology is introduced.  As soon as something neat comes out, we as a society are ready to declare the old gone forever.  However, it is difficult to get rid of something that we have used for thousands of years.  Also, there is a reason why we have used paper for so long.  As William Powers writes in “Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal,” print will never die until the Web completely supersedes paper’s advantages in every respect.

Print is still easier to read in the form of books and newspapers.  No matter how hard Amazon.com tries with its kindle, it will never come close to replacing books, even if the kindle drops in price significantly, which it needs to do in any case.

Certainly, evidence exists that print is not even close to dead.  The solid and tangible feel of print is something the Web has not been able to match, or even come close with a reasonable alternative.  When newspapers with the story of Obama’s victory sell on ebay, it is a sign that the Internet has a ways to go until print goes six feet under.

The future of newspapers might not be in print form, or at least, not the amount of print there is now.  The future is definitely in the style of personalized news such as online content, but that does not mean that newspapers cannot adapt to the Internet.  The key is to work to the strengths that newspapers already have and then adapt to the online world.

Those strengths include credibility, name-brand recognition and reporters who are high quality writers.  Newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal seem to understand this.  By doing the things that good newspapers have always done and merging online content and personalized news the Wall Street Journal has become the only newspaper in the top ten to increase subscriptions.  By transforming from a newspaper to a news brand they deliver the best of both online and print worlds to their customers.

The doom and gloom people among traditionally print writers are the ones who do not seem to understand that the Internet is compatible with traditional print values.  Convenience and bending over backwards for customers are what most businesses do and the newspaper business is no exception.

Although the average person has trouble there are still plenty of people who contribute to making the web the one resource anyone would ever need.  “If it isn’t on the web, it doesn’t exist” is not quite applicable yet, but it seems that fairly soon the one resource anyone will ever need will be the Web.  That quote by Berners-Lee referred to not only all the resources and work that will be stored forever on the Web but just about everything ever created.

It is a move towards even more transparency then even David Weinberger imagined.  Berners-Lee wants every draft, every iteration of a work to be included and referenced as well.  Users want to know the process that led to the work they read, not just the finished product.

The people who dream about the Internet always imagine a world where everyone is involved and transperency is king.  However, we have a long way to go before the average person’s internet skill is up to the task.

The Internet, in all of its revolutionary glory, has allowed readers to skim more headlines, see more pictures and make the whole process of not actually reading articles even more efficient.

The upside to this is that there are a whole genre of websites that have embraced this way of thinking.  Aggregators have streamlined the entire process of searching for interesting or funny headlines.

The downside to aggregators and this philosophy on the Internet as a whole is that streamlining the process of not reading through articles has (gasp!) encouraged more people to not actually read through articles.  As this eye-tracking study shows, users have already adjusted to how most webpages are designed and users have also carried over their way of reading newspapers onto the Web.

The Internet has brought about freedom for users and allowed people to find their own stories and read them in their own way instead of an editor telling you what you need to know.  While Keen may hate it, this trend is going to continue.  While this freedom is something I support, it is important to consider the downside of letting everyone roam free without guidance.

One common practice by bloggers is two way communication.  Users can provide feedback and continue stories in a way that traditional media has often refused to partake in.  The new journalism is inclusive of citizen journalists as well as users who want to leave comments on a news story.

The most important habit bloggers have that traditional media should start practicing is transparency in its work.  Blogs will usually document where they picked up information and where that blogger stands on issues.  When a conservative blog writes about the news the user knows where the writer stands on issues and where the news came from.

By contrast, mainstream media types will tell you that they report news objectively.  Yet, objectivity is a hard standard to live up to, as certain networks have repeatedly proved.  Transparency, even if it reveals bias, engenders more trust than failing to maintain an objective standard.  Telling your customers who you are and what you are about will allow users to get to know your staff and feel a sense of trust towards them.

The blogger type of journalism is all about being inclusive, something traditional media is loathe to do.  However, allowing users to see and converse with the man behind the curtain will result in more interest and more trust for news organizations.

In November of 2007 Gamespot was covered with advertising from a video game called Kane & Lynch made by the company Eidos.  Then Jeff Gerstmann wrote a review for the game on Gamespot.  Gerstmann gave the game a six out of ten, which is a little low by video game review standards.  Gerstmann got fired.

Gamespot cited a couple of reasons for his firing.  Also, Gamespot did awknowledge that Eidos was displeased with the review but claimed that the Gerstmann firing had nothing to do with Eidos’ displeasure.  Later, 1up found that Gamespot has been struggling with editorial versus advertising issues just a few weeks prior to this incident.

It seems that print has had an easier time of separating finance and content or at the very least, hiding their conflicts of interest.  This can probably be attributed to the fact that websites that hope to make money depend almost exclusively on advertising.

As it stands, most game review sites and other similar websites continue the advertising model of taking anyone’s money and pretending it does not affect content.  The better solution, in terms of integrity would be to only advertise products that come recommended from the site’s work.

MMOs have been the scene of online communities and marriages before World of Warcraft(WoW) was created.  However, the incredible popularity of WoW has brought new ideas to the conversation of online community.  Marriage is already normalized in WoW, which leads people to create new problems that feel very old.

Divorce and domestic violence are very real and very serious problems in they physical world.  In the online world, these subjects are jokes and things to be done on a whim. Also, have you ever seen a wedding in real life where monsters came and killed everyone? Right.

The interaction between the two worlds has created some unique problems as well.  While WoW has become infamous for causing divorce because of addiction, there is also the strange situation of cheating on your spouse, with your spouse.

As online communities strive to become more like real world communities but without the undesirable parts, the things that do not work stick out like a sore thumb.  At least some marital issues are unique to WoW.

In an attempt to compete with online media, newspapers have cut stories shorter, reduced jumps from the front page, put more unnecessary graphics on the front page and emphasized more “irrelevant” issues like celebrities. Essentially, newspapers have tried to copy the internet as much as possible, resulting in a newspaper with as little content and depth as online media and without all of the convenience the web has.

Instead of transforming newspapers into a sad parody of online media, the print media should focus on its advantages.  Print media journalists are generally better and more credible writers than their online brethren. They also have more resources and information gathering experience.  Trying to compete with the web on the web’s terms completely nullifies what is good about print media journalists.

Newspapers should offer what online media does not.  For example, newspapers should do more multi-part feature stories, more local news (although that is already being done) and generally more depth to stories that are covered.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so please print media, stop flattering the web.

Another criticism is that mainstream media outlets will go extinct while bloggers take over the news industry.

Mainstream media outlets like CNN, the New York Times and ESPN.com are all sites that are in the top 25 most visited websites in the United States.  A comparison of the most read news stories on those sites and a blog-centric site such as Technorati are very similar.  Without news experts owning the sole rights to information, users find their way to similar news items anyway.

The popularity of blogs often relates to its merit, creating a sort of social Darwinism in the quest for page views.  The most popular blogs are often the ones that are well written, transparent and relevant.

Critics such as Andrew Keen and propenents like David Weinberger often paint in broad strokes.  Either the Internet is the best thing ever and everyone will socially network to create truth or it’s the downfall of all society as we rely only on “noble amateurs” and shun all experts.  The reality seems to be that people use the Internet to find new ways to do the things they have always done.

The older man is Buzz Bissinger, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and prominent newspaper man.

The younger man is Will Leitch, founder and former editor of Deadspin, one of the most popular sports blogs out there.  HBO threw them together for a panel on the new sports journalism.  Sparks flew.

(Warning: NFSW language.  I recommend watching at least 1:05 to 2:00, although the whole thing is compelling.)

Buzz later apologized for the way he acted but believes strongly in his anti-blog message.  In fact, most print media types agree with Bissinger.  Michael Wilbon, a well known Washington Post writer said this about blogs in an earlier panel on the same show: “What are their credentials? Where does the opinion come from, just sitting on the couch?”

This hateful reaction by print media types is inspired by the fear they will eventually become extinct, which is ridiculous as there is a place for credentialed, classically trained journalism in the future.  What scares them the most is that there is a place for blogs as well.