Undoubtedly, the greatest piece of technology we could hope to achieve during this era of journalism is a holographic, extremely perceptive answer-bot channeling the theories of Marshal McLuhan whenever a new communication medium makes its way to the public.

Or you could just remember his memorable words: “the medium is the message.”

1) Does the newspaper really need a Myspace page? What about a twitter account?
Adapting to new technology is essential for the survival of any medium, not just journalism. But, when converging your organization to new forms of communication, channel your inner Marshal McLuhan. Myspace is a site largely used by individuals who want to meet people in close proximity— at least initially. To a lesser degree, it has become a directory of sorts but I don’t know anyone who consults myspace when looking up contact information for businesses. Yet, I see all sorts of newspapers signing up and attempting to participate as if they were a single person who lives down the street and likes all the same bands as you. This medium is not necessarily good for Newspapers. Twitter on the other hand is an excellent social network since it allows for somewhat frequent and short news updates (similar to RSS feed) and an instant reaction from those who read it. Know your medium and what people expect of it.

2) Am I a journalist or blogger? AND ALSO Are bloggers journalists?
If an organization/individual is using their medium responsibly and maintains a code of ethics then…does it matter?

3) Early Adopters Vs. Veteran Reporters
The convergence of new communication technology has spawned the term “early adopter,” which is simply a buzzword when referring to journalism. We simply need new language for this area of transition because the current labels divide and confuse a news staff more than it helps. Everyone on every staff has had areas of expertise that were exploited by editors and valued by peers. Forcing everyone to learn something they don’t see the value in (or don’t quite understand) produces blogs for the sake of having blogs and unnecessary time wasted on unnecessary myspace pages. Instead, there needs to be more people in a news room asking “how can we enhance this coverage?” without explicit instructions on how to do so (and helping to educate when asked). Convergence will come when its ready —- and it will definitely happen.

4) Thinking about a redesign?
Every newspaper is different and it would be foolish of me to presume a “one size fits all” approach is the answer to effective web design. But, what I do see value in is trends. Spend some time looking at web sites that have plenty of information yet have little to nothing to do with newspaper journalism. How do you navigate through the page? How many elements do you see immediately after typing the URL? Try some of the sites you frequent in your spare time. Newspaper Web site blogger Ryan Sholin’s site is a great resource for identifying trends. If you’ve ever thought about a redesign, it’s worth checking out.