Appearing on my news feed today is the fact that Apple are releasing their iPhone 8 in a couple of weeks.
WTF?!?
I suppose someone might argue that it is 'tech news', but really? No other company gets such coverage for their releases, and now that iPhones already exist, do we actually need to be told whenever a current one gets adjusted slightly?
Honestly, I think we're all being manipulated. 👿
Honestly, I think we're all being manipulated.
No shit Sherlock.
SOME gullibles are being manipulated & I'm happy to say I'm not one of them.
Different wheel size/bar width/hub standard......anyone?
The prevailing culture on the interweb is that content should be free. So people won't pay for journalists to research and write news in the way we used to buy newspapers, say.
So a lot of 'news' is now basically just regurgitated press releases.
The BBC are at it all the time, funny how they have a big news story that just happens to be what that nights Panorama or whatever is about, just a bloody advert for themselves!
lots of 'news' is actuality advertising. Some of it is obvious some of it isn't. Michael Gove quoted a 'statistic' about children's abilities in relation to UK history. [url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/may/13/michael-goves-claim-teenagers-ignorance ]He was actually quoting a PR campaign for Premier Inns. [/url]But anyone who would have read the stories wouldn't really have guessed that.
Theres lots of reasons for it - firstly its cheap - giving journalists ready-written stories is cheaper than paying for advertising space - secondly theres a low bar for honesty and accuracy. Advertising is very highly regulated. You can say any old shit in a 'news' article and get away with it.
Shisters like the Nutirtionist cult/fad/marketing industry use news stories to make claims about foods and supplements that they can't make legally in an advert. So they can print adverts to say their product is 'an excellent source of antioxidants' but they have to use news stories to make claims about why antioxidants might be excellent.
But reading the papers / watching the news on any given day - count how many stories are carried across a number of news outlets but aren't actually about something that has happened today
We are better at spotting it nowadays because of the multiple platforms to receive news hence we are getting better at analysing the content; 2 sources with the same story and we compare, one with a story and we auto-sceptic until satisfied
No other company gets such coverage for their releases
Samsung do, but only because their last lot of phones started combusting.
Other examples off the top of my head (which might prove they are exceptions) from this year:
New Mini
New albums
Autonomous vehicles (lorries this week, French bus earlier in the year)
Social media companies' new features/growth or not
Thanks for the iPhone 8 update..
Been searching all,over the net for info..
Ta.
What is a "news feed" when it's at home. Suspect that may be relevant.
It's marketing 101 these days, our marketing guy is sending out 'press releases' every week, they're thinly veiled ads hoping that some media outlet needs a page filed.
The Apple thing is self-feeding though, hundreds of thousands of people are online every day salivating over ever "leak" and every rumour.
I know it goes on with big forums like Pistonheads (might have even done it myself) but poeple are posting on forums and other social media all day drawing attention the their products and services or trying to gage reaction.
I'm absolutely with peajay on the Panorama thing. There's often an awful lot of shouting round the coffee machine at BigJohn Towers on slow news mornings.
Honestly, I think we're all being manipulated.
Shirley this can't be a new realisation for you? Have you never before cast a critical eye at either news media or advertising? What did you think the purpose of news was?
What did you think the purpose of news was?
Er, to report on 'new' things. What you do with the info is up to you
FYI - I have an iPhone 5 and run 26" wheels
On the BBC Today prog this morning they had a piece about a new series starting on the BBC. There was some guff about classical Greek theatre to justify it but it was yet another BBC self-referential puff piece.
Apple stuff is apparently world news all the time.
I suppose someone might argue that it is 'tech news', but really?
Yes, really. Tech news is a thing. People like tech for its own sake. The fact that the tech is manufactured by companies is a side-effect. There's a big news section on this site for people who are similarly interested in new bikes and kit being released. It's no different.
current top news story on STW:
http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/mrp-adds-coil-spring-option-to-ribbon-fork/
it's news if people think it's news...
It'll probably be in the "most popular" box on the BBC site - iPhone stories could certainly be relied upon to get plenty of clicks when I worked in online news.
Was there not any other news more relevant to your interests?
What did you think the purpose of news was?
To summarise stuff that has happened, i.e. past tense.
To summarise stuff that has happened, i.e. past tense.
Apple announcing the iPhone 8 is something that's happened in the past. They haven't announced it tomorrow.
Other examples off the top of my head (which might prove they are exceptions) from this year:New Mini
The blend of news and advertising goes back well before the new mini...
So a lot of 'news' is now basically just regurgitated press releases.
And a lot of forum threads are just regurgitated "news"
As questionable as these stealth advertorials are, they are nowhere near as bad as the opinion pieces that pass for a good portion of the news now.
[i]We took to the streets of Blandchester to ask what shoppers there thought of the news that (insert thing) was bad for you.....[/i]
Cut to a montage of barely informed idiots mouthing their opinions off the top of their heads. Some agree, some don't. Back to the studio.
Yes. I shout at vox-pops too.
Hang on a mo - Shirely the next one is an iPhone 7s?
Hang on a mo - Shirely the next one is an iPhone 7s?
Not been paying attention to the tech news, have you; it's been common knowledge for months that there will be three new phones, updates of the 7/7+, and the 8/X/whateverthehelltheydecidetocallthedamnedthing.
It's going to be seriously expensive, but no more than the new Note 8.
This is the end of today's bulletin. 😉
"Confirmed" or baseless rumour?
I tend not to read "tech news" we get all the press releases in work.
Will there be an iphone 9? I don't watch the news so I'm out of the loop.
Thanks in advance.
As questionable as these stealth advertorials are, they are nowhere near as bad as the opinion pieces that pass for a good portion of the news now.We took to the streets of Blandchester to ask what shoppers there thought of the news that (insert thing) was bad for you.....
Cut to a montage of barely informed idiots mouthing their opinions off the top of their heads. Some agree, some don't. Back to the studio.
I've done more than my share of vox pops in my time, I never hated them as much as some of my colleagues and they could serve a purpose in local news - but I agree they are massively annoying on the national news.
Things have moved on now though, hacks don't even have to leave the office - they can just skim a few reactions off Twitter and they've got an instant follow-up story.
Like it's a story that people on Twitter are angry and opinionated!
Will there be an iphone 9? I don't watch the news so I'm out of the loop.
Thanks in advance.
Just hang on til the 10 comes out then get the box set.