We have crossed long way from “writing” in the stone till we reached reading books with Kindle. And by the way countless times we have changed form of messages we deliver.
When you think about our life now, can you describe one day in 2010. for most internet users? Besides standard surf beginning, inevitable parts are email, blogs, social networks or search.
So, is it time to change whole essence of information transfer?
We must face it and accept that strength and power which lie in information and their distribution have migrated. Traditional forms of publishing have lost their reputation and importance in which they enjoyed, and key role in the world of transfer of information took individuals. Consumers of this product, readers and listeners, become distant of brands and go towards alternatives which offer incomparably smaller players on media field. Tech development at start gave opportunity to individuals to achieve success.
There are some more facts about information on Internet. Searching is free! So, why should anyone buy newspaper when you can find every news on Internet for free? So in this so called battle with Internet media, printed media, in long term, has no chance. Their domination is fading away.
And to be honest everyone knows that printed media already used some part of citizen journalism by giving space people to leave comments, ask for advice or now send pictures or video. And it helped them. Gave them popularity.
People of modern age want to make an impact. Want to leave some mark. And it is important. No more passive reading. Involving people in process of making news will make better quality and variety of news and thoughts. In a good way. We should encourage it.
In my opinion one of tactics that could save traditional media is letting citizen journalism in. Give it a chance to prove its value. And learn by the way. Because big group of people in one place can make many things, great fun and party but also some significant things.
Now, although this type of journalism has lot of problems like lack of style and literacy or verification of information, yet citizen journalism is present and has its own importance and influence.
Citizen journalism has certainly taken hold. I think much of it gained momentum during the last presidential election when youth became engaged and active. There is a lot out there of worth and some…not so much. You just need to separate the wheat from the chaff and find reliable sources. Many are opinion blogs which differ in nature from news blogs, but there are many interesting insights we never got in traditional journalism. Citizen journalism is here to stay!
Thank you for your comment and I must say I’m glad that you share opinion about citizen journalism. This is just beginning and we will all see its growth.