Just looking for a little input from readers. Currently I have the topics “Internet,” “blogging,” and “WordPress” indexed under Media/Comm. Every time I write something to be filed under one of these, I hesitate and wonder if readers would more naturally look for them under Sci/Tech, where they used to be. What do you think? Does Internet-related subject matter belong under Media/Comm or Sci/Tech?
Both. It depends on what kind of “Internet” story you’re writing. There were two stories recently — New York State Sen. Thomas F. O’Mara “wants to make anonymous commenting illegal”, while “the FBI has opened a new $54 million Domestic Communications Assistance Center (DCAC) in Quantico, Virginia” — I’d consider those Media/Comm stories.
But if you were to write about the technology behind the initiatives, the actual implementation, where the servers would be, what kind if operating systems, those sort of things, I’d consider that story to be a Sci/Tech story.
Hmm, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to put it under both, or either, depending on the focus. I guess I was just thinking in terms of someone clicking on the “Internet” category to up every post discussing it. I’m inclined to think most readers come here looking for a specific post anyway and don’t run topic searches while they are here. But I could be wrong.
One of my “beats” for a long time was “the Internet”, but when I told friends in the Tech sector I always had to add “privacy issues” because I knew (and continue to know) nada about the nuts and bolts of the tech involved. I could tell you the list of companies responsible for building the Web, or the name of the guy who invented the Web (the Web, for example, is not the Internet), and I know Linux is an operating system, but RAM / ROM still messes me up.
Carnivore, for example, was an FBI pre-911 domestic spy program. I could tell you how it worked, but how was it programmed? Not a clue. Basically, I know the architecture, but not the engineering. Which, if he ever read that, would make my grandfather very sad.
If I were making the list, I think I’d include “Internet Issues” or “Internet Politics” under the Media/Comm tab.
That’s where it is now, since so often I’m focusing on the political aspects, or regulation. And I think of blogging, WordPress, etc., as mass comm, too. Guess I’ll leave it as it.
I agree with Gabriel. Depends upon the content. Like you mentioned, though, can always post under both. But if you do that for all posting, why have two categories?
Trying to be consistent gets complicated. With a search form readily available, it hardly seems worth the effort.