Social Media Revolution

As someone who makes his living in journalism, it's been tough to see so many local daily newspapers either stop publishing, lay off workers or go all online. It happens almost every day now. There's a danger that one of the most important roles of the media is being severely weakened. The media is supposed to act as a watchdog--asking important questions of powerful people, covering tough issues and offering the opportunity for readers to make their voices known as well.

The decline of newspapers is due in part to the number of people getting their news online--from traditional and non-traditional sources. Everyone can be a journalist now. Hit "add a blog post" in this section and you can have your voice heard on any hobby topic you like. Maybe instead of having only a few selected 'watch dogs', we have thousands of people willing to share information. The online revolution has brought us specialized forums where collectors have gathered to dispense their knowledge. For game-worn uniform and game-used equipment collectors, there are sources like MEARS and Game Used Universe. For card collectors, there are any number of message boards and, of course, Sports Collectors Daily for news (sorry, we've got to toot the horn whenever possible).

It's not always responsible, of course. I don't necessarily like the anonymity of message boards, but usually those who hide behind them are weeded out. Social networks can be overwhelmingly positive forces. They let you share not just words, but pictures and video. You can carry on a dialogue--live via chat or just by posting messages. Never before has so much potential information joined with such a fun concept.

The Sports Collectors Social Network is still young--and barely developed-- but we hope if you're visiting that you'll take time to sign up, visit regularly and start contributing. Take advantage of the features here; start a dialogue and take your hobby to the next level.