Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Why People Are Scared?

Last October, in a span of 10 minutes, Apple's stocks fell 10%. It rebounded again only to close 3% lower for the day. What caused such sharp drop? An internet rumor posted in Cable News Network's iReport (CNN iReport).

iReport is a journalism project by CNN that encourages people from anywhere in the world to provide pictures and videos of breaking news. It is a form of pulic journalism that allows people without professional journalism training to help spread news by tapping modern technology, using the internet as its main distribution engine.

What was the news about? The news headlined that Apple CEO Steve Jobs suffered a heart attack. The rumor was vehemently denied and the stocks stabilized afterwards. CNN removed the post and the US Securities and Exhange Commission (SEC) acted on the matter. Apple recovered. But it created quite a scare.

While the threat of malicious posts do not override the benefits of citizen journalism, it still cements fear on the minds of people who distrust the internet and anything technologically forward. Changing people's mindsets isn't easy especially when the system is circumvented at will or is still unregulated. Using something new starts when the person trusts the system, so long as that sense of security isn't addressed and fear is not abated, one would not dare enter the fray.

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Baguilat, Raymond Marvic "Ice" C.
06-78921

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