J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

I’m graduating from Brigham Young University – Idaho at the beginning of next month. Naturally, I’m a little anxious and skeptical of all that will come next, this great void of additional living I have to somehow get through. J.K. Rowling’s commencement speech was a much needed insight into life. I recommend it to anyone going through any period of life. It has reminded me what is really important in this life.

“As is a tale, so is life–not how long it is but how good it is is what matters.” Senecca (Quoted by J.K. Rowling)

I wasn’t too surprised to learn that offering a monetary award for increased production in skillful mental work didn’t motivate workers to produce better results. At a certain point, which Daniel Pink mentions, people are comfortable with the amount they earn, and although allured by the idea of gaining more money, hardly react to the prospect increase. It’s actually because of autonomy, mastrey and purpose that influence us to produce our best work. I’m really interested by his discussion of purpose and find I’m convinced by his theory. I do want to better myself and work for a cause larger than just me. If there is meaning behind a given project I work harder than I would on a project where I don’t see the big idea.

Daisy, the host of TWIM, started a discussion on a TWIM podcast a while ago on the change in how people want to get their information and updates. In a recent poll the majority of participants determined that the Internet was their number one source on information. One person on the show said that this is completely understandable because media consumers want to know what is happening when it is happening. However, there was somewhat of a rebuttal, another guest said that sure people do want know get information fast, but would they prefer it were more accurate or complete?

The answer is both. But do I think that online sites like Twitter can give as accurate or complete of information on a news topic as the newspaper can? No. Is that a sacrifice people are willing to make? Yes. I do agree with Daisy when she suggests that people participating in “citizen journalism” through social networking sites do need to be wary of spreading information that could very well be gossip. It’s essential to fact check, and to also go to sources that would have more information. As the newspaper moves more toward the Internet, those sites will become more viable and factual than sites that use the grapevine to send news.

As you scan through your twitter feed, the Facebook updates and other new media resources, realize when news is reliable and valid and when it might not be. Each of us can make adjustments to make to the information we generate and share to make it more reliable and accurate.

“Today, when the world is awash in information, the role of the press becomes different. When information is abundant and available all the time everywhere, a new relationship between the press and the public needs to be formed. And just as the values of journalism do not change in this new competitive atmosphere, the role does not change much, either. Where once the role was simply providing information as a tool of self-governance, it now becomes a role to provide citizens with the tools they need to extract knowledge for themselves from the undifferentiated flood of rumor, propaganda, gossip, fact, assertion, and allegation the communications system now produces. Thus the journalist must not only make sense of the world but also make sense of the flood of information as it is being delivered to citizens.”

What should journalists do? Be Transparent.
What should the public do? Use journalistic principles in their interactions and distribution of news.

Who doesn’t love a good soul search after all? I still need to get my hands on the book to really know what all the fuss is about. But this Eat, Pray, Love story has certainly exploded across the nation. Maybe even across the world. I don’t know. It’s intriguing. Why is this story so incredibly amazing? Yes it’s good. But it really resonated with people.

Without getting to the book, I think I’ve discovered it’s intriguing quality, described by Elizabeth Gilbert herself in a very interesting exploration of the creative genius, or a glimpse of God.