New and old media are not mutually exclusive

Bill Ives has an interesting post this week on the FastForward blog about new versus old media. One of the points he makes is that each new medium gets layered on top of the old one, it doesn't replace it. Ives argues, for example, that even recent additions to media such as Twitter won't replace its most recent antecedent, blogging. It may replace parts of blogging, but blogging will still have a place. I agree with his assertion, especially where Twitter is concerned.

Twitter is a great service, which I love. It provides a way to communicate with a variety of people, but it only allows 140 characters. While there is a certain beauty in that limit, there are many times where you want to expand those ideas. Further, blogs provide a more accurate record and a way to follow a conversation through comments.

Twitter is not threaded, so there is no way to follow a conversation as it happens. So while Twitter is a new means of communicating, it won't replace blogging. Just as blogging did not replace print publications, and television news didn't replace newspapers and magazines, and video didn't really kill the radio star.

For more information:
- Ives' FastForward blog post

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