2 articles

#32Has social media ruined the web?http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/dec/31/has-social-media-ruined-the-web

Has the web lost its power to drive social change? This is the conclusion of Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan, imprisoned by the regime in 2008 and released and pardoned in 2014.  

The rise of smartphones and apps had changed the online world. Blogging and independent websites had been overtaken by social media networks, with the likes* of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram dominating the market.

• "Nearly every social network now treats a link as just the same as it treats any other object – the same as a photo, or a piece of text. You’re encouraged to post one single hyperlink and expose it to a quasi-democratic process of liking and plussing and hearting. But links are not objects, they are relations between objects. This objectivisation has stripped hyperlinks of their immense powers"

#31 Telegraph criticised by watchdog for 'misleading' Michelin advertorial

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/dec/30/telegraph-criticised-asa-watchdog-michelin-advertorial

The Telegraph has been reprimanded by the advertising watchdog for failing to adequately label an online advertorial for Michelin tyres. The Advertising Standards Authority said the article and video on Telegraph.co.uk, which compared Michelin tyres with an unnamed budget brand, were misleading and did not make it clear they had been paid for.The Telegraph argued that visual and written cues, such as the words “in association with Michelin” indicated there was a financial arrangement. However, the ASA said the labelling was “insufficient to identify the content specifically as an ad” rather than sponsored editorial, over which the newspaper retained control.

• Labelling of sponsored and paid-for articles is becoming an increasingly thorny issue for publishers, which have turned to “native” advertising that looks like editorial to compensate for falling revenues from traditional print and display advertising online.
• Online-only publishers such as BuzzFeed have focused heavily on paid-for articles and many have strict guidelines on how to ensure readers are aware they are seeing an ad.