The Ever Important Role of Facebook

Given that I check my Facebook at least a dozen times a day, I think its safe to say that I'm an addict. The more Facebook changes and expands, the more addictive it seems to become - especially with the evolution of the news feed.

This week my professors and colleagues pointed out several examples of social media, particularly Facebook, playing a role in how hard news stories are reported. I think it is definitely safe to say that Facebook is another tool in a reporter's arsenal to get the scoop on a story, or even just to get a good feel for a situation.

One article that I found particularly jarring because of the way it used Facebook is Ian Shapira's article for The Washington Post, A Facebook story: A mother's joy and a family's sorrow.

In addition to seriously pulling on the heartstrings, I think Shapira's article also dances around the issue of what happens to your online presence after you die. The issue of "digital death" was raised by my colleague in the UW pro-track program, Marianne English in the article: Madison startup Entrustet helps people control their digital assets from The Isthmus.

Things to think about.