The Information Super Water Cooler

By now, you've probably heard that Steven Gerrard rumour, or at least the latest incarnation of it. I'm not going to repeat it here, that would get me into a lot of trouble, but you can find it if you have 3 brain cells and access to Google.

Now, this isn't the first time a version of this rumour has surfaced, there was a similar one around the end of April too. That's probably what has made the rumour spread so fast. You heard/read the rumour and you thought 'oh, I heard something about that before, it must be true.'

Now, forgetting for a moment that the supposed third party in this particular rumour DOESN'T ACTUALLY EXIST, why is it that rumours such as this become part of the public conscience?

For a start, the rumour has spread over a variety of media. Personally, I've gotten texts, tweets and emails about it. I'd have probably read about it on Facebook too at this stage only I opted out of that particular invasion of privacy a few months back.  This, like the fact that other versions of the rumour have spread before, reinforces the idea that 'it must be true if everyone is saying it.'

This is where the Internet really lets itself down. People, including (or if I'm being honest, especially) journalists, post things online that they wouldn't stand over in court or print in their newspaper. The rush to be the first to tell the world that Gerry Ryan had died is a perfect example of this.

Breaking news, for me at least, is about making sure that you've got all your facts straight and that you've made every possible attempt you can to make sure what you're about to print is true.

People seem to forget this when they go online and turn valuable journalistic tools like Twitter into nothing more than an information super water cooler, a place to fly a flag and see if there is some truth in something you've heard in the newsroom.

That's a shame really, because the potential of a site like Twitter, providing professional journalists with the opportunity to interact with a vast range of citizen journalists, will probably never be fully realised because the site could well become the subject of a privacy case long before then.

I have no knowledge that such a case in the works, but if bloggers can be targeted, why not microbloggers and the site that allows them to test the waters with legally questionable stories?

For its part, Twitter seems to be quite good at self-censorship, but I wonder will it be enough to save them from the legal minefield it seems to have to tiptoe through everytime a contentious issue raises its head?

The World Thesis Championship

My name is Steven O'Rourke and it's been nearly 48 hours since I looked at a World Cup game.

It's been horrific, I can't sleep, can't eat, can't drink.

BUT...I've managed to do a load of work on my thesis which totally makes up for it.

I've got to talk to the people behind blogs such as Those Geese Were Stupefied, Harmless Noise, Asleep on the Compost Heap, Swear I'm Not Paul etc and the answers I've been getting back so far have made for some interesting reading.

I'm off to London this weekend but when I come back I'll be getting ready for two weeks of pure thesis work by which time I hope to have over 75% of the thing finished, well ahead of schedule.

Only 8 games left in the World Cup too which should make it easier.