Comments on: Model Citizen

By: Alex Greenbaum

Alex Greenbaum — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:49:42 +0000

The statistics you included in your post are amazing — excellent research on your part. I hope that the “citizen journalism” trend spreads to other nations on the continent who are experiencing social or political unrest. The images that came from Indians’ cell phones were so much more powerful than the images filmed by CNN.

By: starla stiles

starla stiles — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:37:55 +0000

I agree that the potential for social media and citizen journalism in India is limitless. India is on the precipice of a social media explosion and as more citizens gain access to cellular phones and the technology to provide information in real-time as events occur they will begin to serves a a source for traditional media.

By: mintybeth

mintybeth — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:46:52 +0000

I enjoyed reading this post because I did not remember the prominence of Twitter in the Mumbai attacks. I thought most people used traditional SMS messaging (person-to-person) or sent photos through e-mail. What I find most interesting is that Twitter really has made a name for itself as a service to turn to in times of emergency. In the future, I wonder what issues Twitter might encounter with privacy issues, for example citizens taking photos of a crime scene before police have notified family. And what about the issue of credentials? Will Twitter users consider themselves citizen journalists and want access to areas for press-only? These will all need to be considered as our newsgathering evolves.

By: Shayla Gibson

Shayla Gibson — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:54:31 +0000

I think you made a really good point about how you a new world of citizen journalist exist in India. This has been such a big issue in the U.S. about considering bloggers as members of the press. In this evolution it would definitely be beneficial to connect through social media.

By: Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:48:51 +0000

Like many of your fellow classmates this week, you chose to start with the example of the terrorist attack in Mumbai and how that sparked a lot of attention in how Indians were using social media tools. You go beyond that one case, though, to share a few other ideas for how this use of social media can help people talk about the brands, products and services that they believe in. Your last point about the potential for using these tools is a good one, but to complete the thought, sharing a few examples of HOW you think that a brand might actually do this would round out your post and make it great. (3)