The basis behind citizen journalism is writing to share your opinion and inform others. Now, although at some point this practice may turn out a profit -in the beginning stages it is all for free. This is where the theories of the gift economy , and the economics of abundance come into play.
The idea that links citizen journalism with the gift economy is the notion that once information is put out there; someone can read it, grow from it, come to their own conclusions, and offer a response -thus continuing the chain of awareness. As is mentioned in the reading, “The Gift,” by Tara Hunt, “A gift is not, in fact, a gift unless it continues circulating.” Therefore, citizen journalists must come prepared to embrace the social duty that the gift economy grants them-they are not just writing in a diary-in fact a citizen journalist holds an extreme amount of power; they are able to reach people from all walks of life, who will be able to engage them in argument, conversations, agreement, etc. So, while the citizen journalist is churning out information for free, they are always receiving a form of payment through the enlightenment and dialogue from which they are able to contribute to and through which feedback is handed back to them from various people of different perspectives, and different walks of life.
Both theories boil down to one main point. The sharing of knowledge is the most important defining aspect of modern society. Traditional journalism of the past only allowed for certain biased versions of knowledge to be presented, therefore, before the creation of the World Wide Web, and consequently, citizen journalism- truth was a non-existent word. However, even though people will never change- because it is virtually impossible to develop an opinion which is not biased by one aspect or another-the fact that so many opinions are available at our fingertips allows us to be able to search for our own truth, without having to have one be forced fed to us.
Sometimes the sheer abundance of the knowledge available can be overwhelming, but that is the beauty of the economy of abundance-now, more than ever before, the people are in control. This control has also developed through the emergence of the trust economy . If people are able to trust in the content of a particular blog, or a particular writer-then the power of that writer will spread.
The idea that links citizen journalism with the gift economy is the notion that once information is put out there; someone can read it, grow from it, come to their own conclusions, and offer a response -thus continuing the chain of awareness. As is mentioned in the reading, “The Gift,” by Tara Hunt, “A gift is not, in fact, a gift unless it continues circulating.” Therefore, citizen journalists must come prepared to embrace the social duty that the gift economy grants them-they are not just writing in a diary-in fact a citizen journalist holds an extreme amount of power; they are able to reach people from all walks of life, who will be able to engage them in argument, conversations, agreement, etc. So, while the citizen journalist is churning out information for free, they are always receiving a form of payment through the enlightenment and dialogue from which they are able to contribute to and through which feedback is handed back to them from various people of different perspectives, and different walks of life.
Both theories boil down to one main point. The sharing of knowledge is the most important defining aspect of modern society. Traditional journalism of the past only allowed for certain biased versions of knowledge to be presented, therefore, before the creation of the World Wide Web, and consequently, citizen journalism- truth was a non-existent word. However, even though people will never change- because it is virtually impossible to develop an opinion which is not biased by one aspect or another-the fact that so many opinions are available at our fingertips allows us to be able to search for our own truth, without having to have one be forced fed to us.
Sometimes the sheer abundance of the knowledge available can be overwhelming, but that is the beauty of the economy of abundance-now, more than ever before, the people are in control. This control has also developed through the emergence of the trust economy . If people are able to trust in the content of a particular blog, or a particular writer-then the power of that writer will spread.
Citizen journalism represents the unification of humans; we don’t need mainstream media to communicate for us any longer. Anyone can give the gift that keeps on giving-the gift of knowledge.
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