Britney Spears vs. Christina Aquilera, Green Peace vs. Japanese Fishermen,  The Broncos vs. The Titans, Michael Jackson vs. Jesus Juice, Amateur Bloggers vs. Professional Journalists. It is a new rivalry, it is a battle, it is the Pro/AM divide.
 
Cast your mind back to the PI period, also known as the  pre-internet period. When libraries and newspapers thrived,  and information we read was at academic standards. The information we relied on was collaborated by professionals with qualifications and big heads. Compare it to now. Today we can just open our internet explorer, go to google and access information we require in just a few short clicks. With so many produsers out there, the world of creative writing and expression has shifted. 
 
Bruns discusses there are two different online contributors, ‘experts and dilettantes’ however there is no precise way of distinguishing these two different contributors apart, especially on sites such as Wikipedia as discussed in my previous post. But at the same time, raises concern regarding how the two different categories are defined. Especially with people such as myself. Undergraduate students who are studying media in Creative Industries. Is my contribution academic? Or is it still on an amateur level? This is where the pro/AM divide becomes very ambiguous.
 
What I found fitting to this topic was a Blog titled : ‘Amateur Video Blogs vs. Professional Media Blogs’. In this article Alex describes in the new media world the style of writing and appeal has changed. Instead, in order to develop an online quota your writing should contain a ‘sense of humor, 1 in 3 quality posts per day and use of various media types ie. A video camera.’  Many serious online geeks often go and read other posts on the topics and compare notes and comments. However, this raises concern, if Bloggers are getting their Blog information from other amateur Blogs, how organic is the post in the end?
 
Bruns explains that Sanger one of the co-founder of Wikipedia is trying to reinstate professionalism on Wikipedia. The steps followed to do so are as follows:
 

1. Open content License
2. Focus on the encyclopedia
3. Openness
4. Ease of editing
5. Collaborate radically; don’t sign articles
6. Offer unedited , unapproved content for further development
7. neutrally
8. start with a core of good people
9. enjoy the google effect

 
But is this enough?
 
With so many networks online and websites, while this may enhance Wikipedia’s authenticity, in distinguishing the ‘Pro’s’ from the ‘AM’s ‘other sites will still remain vague.
 
Is shift in media a burden, or a blessing, for future generation’s education and knowledge.
 
Stay tuned for next weeks blog on ‘DIY design to Production’!
 
 
Reference List
 
Bruns A (2008) Folks and Experts. In Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond. Ed Jones S, p 199-224. Peter Lang Publishing. New York
 
Alex. April 2008. Amuseline: Amateur Video Bloggers vs. Professional Media Blogs. (http://www.amuseline.com/amateur-video-blogs-vs-professional-media-bloggers) accessed May 19 2009