Citizen Journalism

Citizen Journalism also known as public, participatory or street journalism, is a specific form of citizen media broadcasting that has been created by the public, for the public. It is the concept where members of the public who aren't qualified journalist can play an active role in the process of collecting, reporting and broadcasting news and information. The public essenitally create citizen journalism by way of user comments attached to news stories, personal blogs, sites such as twitter, facebook and flickr and numerous other avenues. Photos or video footage captured from mobile phone cameras can be sent to news organisations or simply placed in personal blogs in a matter of minutes. This helps create uncensored, raw journalism that is uncommon in mainstream media, creating a modern phenomena that is rapidly gaining in popularity. The catalyst for this recent trend in media comunication has been the internet, which has given the "average" person the ability to communicate information world wide at the touch of a button.

When the 9/11 bombings and the Victorian Bush Fires occurred it was Citizen Journalism through the form of a mobile upload and twitter that was the first means of communicating to the world what had just occurred. Media networks have seen the benefit and value of this form of journalism, with many providing areas on their websites for the public to post their own pictures, news, or views. Without citizen journalism newsworthy stories such as the Iran elections could not have been televised to the world as professional journalists were not allowed to report the events.

In closing, I too would like to express a new found appreciation for all the Citizen Journalists out there, you have been an inspiration for many people worldwide to be proactive and seek the truth. The truth is out there......

Micro Celebrities are on the rise and here to stay!

The term Micro celebrity is used to describe someone "who gains a cult or main streem following due to viral internat distribution". People use of webcams, videos, audio, blogs and social networking sites to gain and boost popularity with readers, viewers and people they're linked to online. Do It Yourself (DIY) media has become more popular and engrained deeper and deeper into part of our normal social life. Micro celebity is about establishing relationships with the public. This has seen the surface of a new breed of celebrity that has been cultivated due to a large amount of hipe with such sites as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and My Space. We are now in the age of the Micro Celebirty, where social media encourages more self-expression.

One of the most Famous Micro celebrities to surface from this craze is Perez Hilton. He is now one of the most famous American Bloggers, who's blog Perezhilton.com is known for covering gossip stories about the rich and famous celebrities. He is better known for posting his own tabloid photographs over which he adds his own captions and doodles. His blog has gained negative attention for it's negative attitues, 'outing' celebrities and for his role in increasing coverage of celebrities in all form of media.

Within the first six months of his blogging career his site was named "Hollywood's Most Hated Website" by The Insider, casuing a huge surge in its popularity which "temperarily cripped it's server" . Perez Hilton claims that on July 30, 2007 his site PerezHilton.com had over 8.82 million page views in a 24 hour period. It is safe to say he is one of the most hated in tincletown and this was most evident when an all out war brokeout bewtween Perez Hilton and the Hip Hop Band black eyed peas. Due to the mass cult following he has on such social sites as Twitter and his website, he has managed to become a fully fledged celebrity.

Perez Hilton is testament to the ever growing craze of micro-celebrities, and the power and following that they yield.

What Gets My Gullies

People wearing what they simply shouldn't.....thats right you know who you are... tops that AREN'T meant to be dresses!!!!! just because it gets there doesn't mean you should..... make-up that is 10 shades too dark... get a mirror and please make sure to use it..... memo to to earth... make-up masks were never in.... people with clothes that are too tight just because you can zip, button or pull it up or over yourself doesn't mean you subject the rest of humanity to your greasily ways.

Thats all folks....