Fireworks. If I had to choose one word to represent MyNews24, that would be it.
Just like fireworks, articles erupt out of the darkness, draw cliched comments from spectators as they fizzle and pop briefly, and then die.
Before the haters say 'You don't have to comment if you don't like it,' I DO like it. In fact, I like fireworks just as much as the next person, and probably more.
I wonder how much thought went into the design of MyNews24, and whether it has been deliberately created as it is, or whether it was just cobbled together and is being carried along on the sheer brunt of South Africans' need to express themselves.
I say 'express themselves' and not 'read other people's views' because that's exactly what appears to happen here.
Posters of articles get a whole screen to express themselves in, and commenters are relegated to the second-tier - only too often trying to force their own perceptions and stereotypes into comments which don't bear much (if any) reference to the stories they're commenting on.
My greatest regret about 'debates' here is that they're so cyclical. The same tired horses of race, religion and politics are flogged from different angles, and each new story generates a flurry of comments before it is condemned to page 234 in the results feed.
But wait, stick with me, there is a point here somewhere.
The point is this: the majority of humans are wasting their times regurgitating other people's ideas like so many cows chewing cud, while the handful of inventors and academics work together to create fresh ideas and build on proven concepts.
What if all the creativity, intellectual capacity and rich tapestry of life experience here could be harnessed to build on specific threads and debates on an ongoing basis? If - like on a traditional web forum - all ideas were categorised, where opinions and information could be shared, archived and integrated into new discussions?
The central failing is that we tend to have short attention spans, and the problem is exacerbated by the pressured lives we live. Just as it is in lengthy forum threads, the discussion would still lose the plot as new speakers don't bother to read what's been said before they post their 2c.
Pwhoooooop. *sparkle*. Aaaaaaaaaaah.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
