This post is by Michael Pollock, the original owner of Small Business Branding. Yaro Starak now owns and produces the latest content for this blog.
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Citizen journalism, from Wikipedia:
"also known as ‘participatory journalism,’ is
the act of citizens ‘playing an active role in the process of
collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and
information,’ according to the seminal report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information,
by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis. They say, ‘The intent of this
participation is to provide independent, reliable, accurate,
wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires."
Much has been said about how technology advances (i.e. blogs, RSS, podcasts, etc.) have placed the power of mass communication into the hands of every-day citizens like you and me. And it’s interesting to watch as we learn how to play with that power and use it responsibly.
It’s probably not new, but what I’m starting to notice is how we are beginning to create and/or articulate an ethical foundation to support this new power. One person (among many) I see leading the way in that regard is Doc Searls:
"Here’s a question: Would you pass along
unsubstantiated ‘news’ that is clearly a rumor? Say, about a company’s
new product, or somebody’s new job, or the sale of one company to
another …"So I’m thinking again, not just about fact-checking
to avoid mistakes, but fact-checking to avoid the temptation to spin
stories one way or another."That temptation is one that faces all journalists: amateurs as well as professionals.
"Following that temptation isn’t so bad if it meets the Hippocratic standard: First, do no harm.
"But is that what we’re trying to do when we run or point to unsubstantiated rumors?
"Just wondering."
What you say to 1 or 2 people has little importance outside the the circle of those 1 or 2 people. But when hundreds or thousands of people start listening to what you have to say – as your influence grows – a whole new level of responsibility comes with it.
BTW, I’m not meaning to preach or lecture here.
Just sort of thinking out-loud …
Collectively, as we grow and mature, we’re moving away from a society being controlled, filtered and influenced by the traditional power brokers (i.e. government, big corps, big media). And I suppose for that growth to continue, we must police ourselves. We must create/articluate our own standards and ethical foundation.
It’s fun to watch it happen, and I wonder where we’ll be in 10, 20, 30 years … globally, where will we be?