Gatewatchers and Citizen Jouralism - What does it all mean?!

There are a lot of buzzwords and key terms flying around the Creative Industries Faculty at any given time, and although i can make sense of both 'Gatewatching' and 'Citizen Journalism' contextually, I found it hard to clearly define them for my own study purposes! So whilst clearing up any confusion for myself, I thought I may as well blog about it, and bring anyone else reading up to speed.

Basically, I figure, citizen journalists, as the name suggests, are normal everyday citizens who work to disseminate information to the masses. To quote Lisa Williams, Founder of H2OTOWN.INFO, from the embedded video, Citizen Journalists are "People who are non-journalists committing random acts of journalism".

What better place to further source an in-depth definition of the term than wikipedia, home to an abundance of Citizen Journalism itself?! Wikipedia cites Bowman and Willis in claiming that "the intent of this participation [citizen journalism] is to provide independent, reliable, accurate, wide-ranging and relevant information that a democracy requires." (2008). It allows individuals with no formal media training the opportunity create and disseminate news content, and correct fallacies stated in professional media content via comment and blogs, either in an individual manner or, in collaboration with other users. Today's technologies including Web 2.0. camera phones, digital still and video cameras, and easy-format publishing programs have allowed this phenomenon to flourish world wide.

It is in this light, that citizen Journalism may also be viewed as a form of produsage, enabling those who were formally just end users, consuming journalistic content to now participate fully in the entire meaning making process.

An interesting look at Citizen Journalism at work can be seen in the article "Citizen journalism continues to surge" (Marshall, 2005). It describes how Citizen Journalism came into action in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, whereby everyday citizens came together to deliver and disseminate amateur news, pictures and videos describing the devastation that had been dealt.

Another example of Citizen Journalism at work is articulated by Soat (2005). The author is referring to the London Underground bombings of 2005, labeling the images taken both during the attacks and in the aftermath the followed as “dramatic”, and promising to “...rewrite the rules of journalism, from the bottom up”.

Essentially, in gathering up such information in the events of both occurrences, consumers were acting as produsers, and more importantly, in this case, gatewatchers. Gatewatching allows for "...the publicizing of whatever relevant content is available anywhere on the web" (Bruns, 2005, p.2) Bruns further claims that it is an inherent characteristic of the net to eliminate any obstructions such as editorial interventions and access restrictions to the free flow of information. This should in turn result in the consequent balanced and uncensored news coverage that arises from gatewatching, and subsequent Citizen Journalism.


Bruns, A. (2005) Introduction: Gatewatching: Collaborative Online News Production Available: http://snurb.info/files/Gatewatching-Introduction.pdf (accessed May 3, 2008)

Citizen Jounalism. (2008) Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Journalism#What_is_citizen_journalism.3F (accessed May 4, 2008)

Marshall, J (2005,). Citizen journalism continues to surge. The Quill, 93(8), 14-16. http://proquest.umi.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=31&did=924591201&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1193941272&clientId=14394 (accessed 31/10/2007)

Soat, J. (2005) Privacy is a tale told by an idiot. Information Week, iss.1607, 16. http://proquest.umi.com.ezp02.library.qut.edu.au/pqdweb?index=28&did=942697611&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=4&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1193940415&clientId=14394 (accessed 31/10/2007)

Open Source Software [NERDS NEED ONLY APPLY?!]

According to Leadbeater (2000), Open Source software allows internet based companies to co-evolve with their consumers, allowing them the opportunity to devise and upgrade, hence making them more desirable in the new economy (p.4). opensource.org also contends that benefits for the consumer that characterise such software development methods include -

• Updates released immediately
• Lower Cost
  
• Higher Reliability
  
• More flexibility - ability to explore multiple options simultaneously
• Better Quality
  
• Power of distributed peer review
  
• Transparency of process
• An end to predatory vendor lock-in

Considering that I am also an advertising student, and always hungry to assess what implications, if any, stand for the industry inherent with the development of new media technology, I instead found myself, this time, considering what kinds of people actually participate in and benefit from such collaboration.

Surely it would only be the nerdiest computer freaks, locked away with their glasses on, and way too much spare time on their hands?! This is a commonly held misconception, which I have evidenced aired in a fair few of my Tutorials and Lectures at QUT over the past two and a half years. We're all accustomed to the traditional stereotype, even me. But not just when it comes to Open Source software uptake. Consider briefly gamers, and Media Effects Theory - that games such as Grand Theft Auto are corrupting the minds of young children, setting them up for a lifetime of violence and rule abandonment. However, research showing that your average gamer is adult and well able to handle complex themes has proven the stereotypical cultural assumption wrong.

And I believe that the same can go for the identities of those who uptake open-source software.

I have two close friends who are hopelessly and completely hooked on Second Life. I don't mean they play for a couple of hours during recreation time each day, this is full blown addiction, both of them spend every spare minute hooked to the computer, playing this seemingly futile (to me) game, often even skipping mealtimes in order to continue playing. However neither of these friends embodies the characteristics we would perceive to be nerdy.

Friend number one, who I shall only refer to as D is a 17 year old male currently undertaking an electrician apprenticeship at the new Government Trade School on the Gold Coast. He has a plethora of 'real world friends' and he spends his weekends like any other well adjusted teenager; partying and having a good time. He also surfs, and skates prolifically, so definitely not your typical nerd. Friend two, M, also has a lots of 'real world' friends, however, aged 21, and not currently partaking in full time employment, he doesn't have the benefit of high level distractions to pull him away from the computer screen. Why is that M and D, two males, who until they discovered Second Life spent the bulk of their free time with mates, and partaking in less restrictive recreational pursuits, now find themselves so hooked. I believe the accessibility of open-source software has a lot to answer for in this case.

New and exciting content is constantly being released online, thanks primarily to open source. This has allowed both aforementioned players ongoing levels of excitement, and interactivity between players means that no two visits are ever the same. Obviously open source software has its own inherent huge benefits, however, its necessary to keep in mind that it also does possess some downfalls.

Leadbeater, C. (2000) Innovation: Survival of the fittest. Available: http://www.accenture.com/NR/rdonlyres/512E1B95-89C4-4195-8151-93BF49C39A4C/0/innovation22.pdf (accessed May 3, 2008)

Web 2.0. Where he who harvests user contributions, Wins!

Relatively speaking, the term Web 2.0. is a new one, however, being a third year Media and Communications student, it is a buzzword to which I am exposed almost daily. This is for a very good reason, and the hype surrounding the functionality of Web 2.0., or the “Social Web” (Leadbeater, 2007), as opposed to its predecessor, Web 1.0. shouldn’t be ignored!

The term Web 2.0. was originally coined by Tim O’Reilly as a means of describing the specific characteristics, applications and underlying ideologies of the web companies that survived the now infamous dot.com crash of late 2001. Most important of these ideologies was the ability of surviving Web 1.0. companies to embrace “...the power of the web to harness collective intelligence.” (O’Reilly, 2007, p.23)

Where Web 1.0. saw taxonomies, Web 2.0 sees Folksonomies.

Where Web 1.0. saw page views, Web 2.0. sees cost per click

Where Web 1.0. saw content management systems, Web 2.0 sees Wiki’s

Where Web 1.0. saw Britannica Online, Web 2.0. sees Wikipedia

And the list goes on. Essentially though, O’Reilly (2007. p.36) outlines seven core competencies that all Web 2.0. companies should entail -

1) services, not packaged software, with cost-effective scalability,

2) control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them,

3) trusting users as co-developers,

4) harnessing collective intelligence,

5) software above the level of a single device,

6) lightweight user interfaces, development models, AND business models.

7) leveraging the long tail through customer self-service

Point number three is particularly interesting as it relates directly to the term produsage coined by Axel Bruns. Produsage has come about by means of technological evolution, and has only been realised as a result of the advent of Web 2.0., which provides “...technological and technosocial frameworks for produsage communities”. (Bruns, 2007, p.2)

Hence, Prousage describes “...the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing content in pursuit of further improvement” (Produsage.org) Furthermore, as the adjacent diagram would suggest, the produser is actually a hybrid of the consumer and the producer.

Such active consumption made possible by Web 2.0. has also seen the opening of more niche markets online. New technology means individuals are capable of searching deeper and further in order to find content that really meets their needs. Such an occurrence is defined as “The Long Tail”, and this is worrying for advertisers. With consumers no longer simply conceding and succumbing to mass marketing, and hit driven culture, the long tail would suggest it will be much harder to predict what will and won’t sell. Hence, although niche markets can have their benefits for advertisers, as outlined in my blog on social networking, the so called ‘length’ of the long tail is actually making targeting groups of consumers more and more difficult.

O’Reilly, Tim. 2007. What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software.Communications & Strategies, First Quarter 2007. (1) p. 17, Available: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1008839&download=yes (Accessed April 27 2008)

Leadbeater, C. 2007 Social Software for Social Change. http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/cms/xstandard/social_software.pdf (accessed May 3, 2008)

Bruns, A. 2008. Chapter One: Introduction. In Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, 1-7. Available: http://produsage.org/files/Produsage%20-%20Introduction.pdf (Accessed April 27 2008)

Living the life Online

I have a confession. As my previous blog may have indicated, I am hopelessly and totally addicted to Myspace. Same goes for Facebook, and I don't feel my time online is complete unless I'm signed in to MSN web messenger as well. I can spend hours aimlessly trawling through the many avenues of procrastination that all networks offer - viewing photos, finding new 'friends', updating my profile, blogging, creating conent, participating in forums and checking out applications (specific to facebook) such as Owned!, and U-Arcade. These sites would have to be the biggest hindrances to my online productivity today. I’m not sure how happy it makes me to admit this, but I find them wildly addictive, to borrow a line from Bachelor Girl, "They're like chocolate cake, like cigarettes, I know they're bad for me, but I just can't leave ‘em alone" (1988).

So, why is it that I and many others are so attracted to being part of a wider, virtual community? What are the inherent attributes that online social networks embody?

“The virtual community refers to a social collective, or community, that forms in the online, electronic world of computer communications known as cyberspace” (Pavlik 1996, p.311). They generally consist of people who share goals and interests, and choose to communicate electronically. (Dennis et. al. in Ridings and Gefen. 2004) Whilst traditional cultures mainly depended upon interpersonal communication (Barr 2000, p.20), virtual communities benefit from the elimination of geographical boundaries, allowing likeminded individuals to consistently connect, the world over.

These forms of communication have emerged from the existence of Web 2.0. or as Leadbeater has coined, the “Social Web”. (2007) Such technology, tools, software and business models have allowed consumers to connect, contribute and collaborate more than was ever possible before. They have also enabled new forms of social organization. Aside from connecting like minded consumers, such convergent technology has made video, music, picture and text publishing tools much more readily available, also resulting in the creation of large scale collaborations to create extensive, strong, and reliable products ranging from massively multiplayer games (eg. World of Warcraft), to compendiums of knowledge like Wikipedia. (Leadbeater, 2007).

According to Ridings and Gefen (2004), reasons for joining an online community included seeking friendship, information and literature exchange, social support networks, and finally, for recreational purposes.

Whilst such easily-accessible connections have become hugely popular, “Estimates of virtual community membership have exceeded 25 million” (Gross in Ridings and Gefen, 2004), privacy is also a concern that motivates much academic research and writing. Many individuals have access to your details once they are posted online, and although this can be scary, dangerous and sinister, it does have an upside for some industries. The most notable of which, is the advertising industry – virtual communities that focus upon shared interests allow advertisers to better target their key consumers for a particular product. Take for example MOG, a social network for music lovers; advertisers looking to promote a music related product would be speaking to a very captive audience if they were to advertise on site catering to such a specific interest. (Holahan, 2007). Niche virtual communities are emerging more and more, which means big advertising dollars, raising and important question on the behalf of academic Charles Leadbeater; Are such sites just a recipe for growing social conformity? (2007)

References:

Barr, T. (2000) Newmedia.com.au: the changing face of Australia’s media and communications, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.

Busses and Trains by Bachelor Girl. http://www.imeem.com/angelykdragon/music/G7jtTd-f/bachelor_girl_buses_and_trains/ (accessed April 29, 2008)

Gefen, G. & Ridings, K. 2004. Virtual Community Attraction: Why People Hang Out Online Journal of Computer Mediated Communication. 10 (1):00-00 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/action/showFullText?submitFullText=Full+Text+HTML&doi=10.1111%2Fj.1083-6101.2004.tb00229.x&cookieSet=1 (accessed May 7, 2008)

Leadbeater, C. 2007 Social Software for Social Change. http://www.charlesleadbeater.net/cms/xstandard/social_software.pdf (accessed May 3, 2007)

Pavlik, J. V. (1996) New Media Technology: Cultural and Commercial Perspectives, USA: Allyn & Bacon.

Welcome to eBro's World

OK, so here goes, this is my very first blog! I'm a bit behind the eight ball, so to speak, when it comes to blogging, but i hope over the next week to get myself fully up to speed. This is actually my second attempt at blogging, as i somehow managed to "lose" my original blogger page. Hopeless, i know! I have no idea what email address or password i registered it under! Anyway, welcome to Emma's Blogs, take 2, where I will do my best to present my interpretations pertaining to key ideologies within Virtual Cultures. This is because I think blogging is an absolutely essential skill in todays convergent networked society, especially for a media studies student.

But enough about that, this blog is designed to tell you all about me. In order to do so, I've decided to cheat a bit, and lift my 'about me' section completely from my myspace profile! But this decision is entirely justified - My myspace 'about me' gives insight into my ethics, morals and values - key factors when it comes to judging suitable alliances, accomplices, friends and foes in online communities, places where income, education and material wealth are not nearly as important.

So here goes - About Me!


My Name is Emma Elise Brosnan and I'm not perfect.


I really don’t think anyone is. I'm a work in progress - growing, learning and changing everyday. I'm a very open person if you know me. If you don't, I can be very shy. I trust easily, but I find it harder to forgive and forget when you have wronged me. However I think that one of the most important qualities everyone should have is the ability to acknowledge when you're wrong, and apologise. A hug and a 'sorry' go a long way to regaining trust.

I don't believe in hate, if something bad happened to me tomorrow, then I would rather die at peace with everyone. Everyone deserves at least a second chance; people who are special to you deserve more. I believe that to be the best person you can be, you should never judge a book by its cover, and try and be pleasant and sweet to everyone, no matter what mood you're in. There is never any need to bring anyone else down to your level. I can never condone violence, and I’m not a violent person. I try to be the best person a can be everyday. As much as I try not to, there are people who I dislike, but my opinion of them is open to change. I admire people who can get along with everyone 100% of the time, regardless.

I have lived, I have loved, I have known independence, the pain of rejection, and the strength of a true friendship. I think I’m tough, but I’m really very fragile, both physically and mentally. Say a cross word to me, and if I really care about what you think of me, then I’ll probably start crying. Push me over and I’ll probably break a bone.

Some people are far too full of their own self-importance. At times I can be self-indulgent, but I try never to be self-centred. Compromise is a word and an action that I value highly.

I have goals and dreams, and I will work to try and achieve them. Set no goals, and you'll never experience failure, however, you'll also never experience success. It bothers me that people aren't willing to work to get to where they want to be, but then they whinge and whine when they can't get there. It also annoys me when you care more about someone than they seemingly care about themselves. We all have so much potential, some people just have a hard time realising there value in society. There is a beautiful person waiting to shine within everyone.