Technology And Citizen Journalism

Technology and citizen journalism Presented by Tonyo Cruz to the Pinoy Citizen Journalism Seminar Nov. 29, 2009, NIGS Building, UP Diliman

Citizens and citizen groups are already using tech tools 

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14 million Filipinos use the internet or roughly 15.1 percent of the population Asia-wide, RP ranks 10th Worldwide, RP ranks 26th

Internet penetration rate: IWS

Philippines to have 24 million web users in 2008: ACNielsen 

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Up from 14m (2006), 7.82m (2005) and 2m (2000) Sharp growth due to the large number of Internet cafes and the availability of low-cost computers Forward, figures to go up by 50 percent every two years

25 20 15 Users

10 5 0

'00 '05 '06 '08

No. of Filipino netizens: DigitalFilipino.com 

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19.2 million in mid-2005 (IDC). 4 million Internet gamers in 2006, 16 million by 2010 (IPVG) 600,000 fixed broadband subscribers. One million by 2009 (Siemens)

Internet users by region: DigitalFilipino.com          

NCR - 9,000,000 Region 4 - 5,250,000 Region 3 - 1,800,000 Region 6 - 1,800,000 Region 7 - 1,800,000 Region 5 - 900,000 Region 11 - 900,000 Region 1 - 750,000 Region 10 - 600,000 Region 8 - 450,000

Internet users by region: DigitalFilipino.com

What do Filipinos do online? 

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Power to the People: Social Media Tracker (WAVE 3) by Universal McCann This study is very useful in finding out what potential tools for citizen journalists

WAVE 3: World and RP 

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475 million people worldwide use the internet (16 to 54 years old) 15.5 percent of Filipinos use the internet regularly (roughly 3.7 million)

WAVE 3: Reading blogs  

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RP SECOND TO SOUTH KOREA 90.3 percent of Filipino internet users READ BLOGS (previously 33 percent in 2006 and 64 percent June 2007) 3.3 million people, 6.6 percent of total population

WAVE 3: Writing blogs  

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RP IS FOURTH WORLDWIDE 65.8 percent of Filipino internet users WRITE BLOGS (up from 14.1 percent in 2006 and 41 percent in 2007) 2.3 million people, 4.8 percent of population

WAVE 3: Social networking  

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RP IS LEADER 83.1 percent of Filipino internet users CREATED A PROFILE ON A SOCIAL NETWORK 3 million people, 6 percent of population Friendster rules RP; RP dominates Friendster (close to 40 percent)

WAVE 3: Sharing photos  

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RP IS LEADER 86.4 percent of Filipino internet users UPLOADED PHOTOS TO A PHOTO SHARING SITE 3.14 million people, 6.3 percent of population “Picture-picture, post natin sa Friendster!”

WAVE 3: Uploading videos  

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RP IS SECOND TO BRAZIL 60.5 percent of Filipino internet users UPLOADED VIDEOS TO A VIDEO SHARING SITE 2.2 million people, 4.5 percent of population

WAVE 3: Watching videos  

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RP IS KING! 98.7 percent of Filipino internet users WATCHED VIDEO CLIPS ONLINE (up from 39.9 percent in 2006 and 60.7 percent in 2007) 3.6 million people, 10.4 percent of the population

WAVE 3: Podcast downloads  

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RP is fifth worldwide 61.8 percent of Filipino internet users DOWNLOADED A PODCAST (up from 8.3 percent in 2006 and 26.4 percent in 2007) 2.3 million people, 4.5 percent of the population

WAVE 3: RSS subscriptions  

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RP RANKS 6TH WORLDWIDE 45.2 percent of Filipino internet users SUBSCRIBED TO AN RSS FEED 1.6 million people, 3.3 percent of the population

Filipino cellphone users 

As of 2008, about 63 million Filipinos   

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33 million Smart 23 million Globe 7 million Sun

Unlimited texting ‘Cheap’ mobile broadband

Mobile internet in RP

‘Cheap’ internet access 

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We can be connected to the internet through a wide variety of cheap access points, some free P899 DSL P5/15 mins Internet cafes Free WIFI

What do we do now 

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Citizen journalists should tap all these tools! Setup individual or group blogs Use your phone as a camera, recorder and internet access point Take advantage of cheap or free internet

Checklist        

Pen and paper Computer Phone Camera Voice recorder Internet connection Basic skills Commitment

Blog 

Set up a blog at wordpress.com or blogger.com 

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Build and develop your community 

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Text, video, audio, photo Be open to discussions and debate

Expand your reach by bloghopping and joining blog events and groups Study demographics of your visitors

Microblogging   

Twitter, Jaiku and Plurk Quick 150-character updates May be sent through an internet-connected computer or a phone

Social networking 

Maximize your Friendster, Facebook and other social networking profiles as platforms for your citizen journalism projects  

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Expand and develop audience Build network of sources, friends

Try to set up your own social network through ning.com

Your own TV channel

Live mobile TV broadcasts 

Using your camera phone and a 3G or WIFI connection, you can broadcast live video over the internet    

http://www.flixwagon.com/ http://www.kyte.tv/ http://qik.com/ http://www.livecast.com/

Traditional forms     

Polyeto Newsletter Peryodikit/Wall News Community newspapers Student publications

Some ideas • •

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Your publications can go online Your organization can target the middle class, youth, professionals, OFWs who are now online You can form a group blog focusing on news and commentary important to you Go for convergence of traditional and new media

Organizations •

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Cause-oriented groups should use new media tools because they are there, people use them and we are now being prevented from doing so Involve leaders and members in developing your media plan. – –

Role of leaders and members “User-generated” content in the context of an organization

Can one person do citizen journalism  

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Yes But better if you have a partner or a team Training is crucial. Obtain and improve skills both in journalism and technological tools

Important links 

RP’s Top 100 Blogs for 2008 http://is.gd/9ovQ

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Tools for citizen journalism http://is.gd/9nWr

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DIY Communications for Citizen Journalists http://is.gd/9nZo

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Mobile Internet Tools for the Citizen Journalist http://is.gd/9o05

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Free Podcast Course http://is.gd/9p7K

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Make Your Own Internet Radio Station: ubroadcast http://is.gd/9p7Y

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Ubroadcast http://tinyurl.com/2vd2nb

Tools for Citizen Journalists http://is.gd/9nWx Message in-a-box http://is.gd/7KMS

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List of citizen journ websites http://is.gd/1oAk

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Rising Voices http://is.gd/9nXC

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Personal Media Learning Ctr http://is.gd/9nYy

Thank you This presentation will be posted at: http://tonyocruz.com