Citizen Journalism and Social Media

Interviewer: Sarah Helen Mageean, third year journalism student at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.

Interviewee: Chiara Bolognini
Social Media Manager, Online Journalist, Professional Marketer & Communicator, founder of Blomap.com and owner at Swissite International

Sarah: What is your opinion on citizen journalism?

Chiara: I am launching an international social network for citizen journalists www.blomap.com

I think this answers your question.

Sarah: How reliable do you feel it is?

Chiara: It is much more reliable than mainstream journalism. Its key success factor is being first hand information. In fact, citizen journalists do not have to filter information according to internal or external politics and policy.

Sarah: How do you think citizen reporting contributes to journalism?

Chiara: I think this is the future of journalism. Mainstream journalists will gradually have to forget to be an untouchable lobby if they want to reach people who are or are attracted most by the citizen journalists.

Definitely the citizen reporting contribute is enormous because citizen journalists can be everywhere and just a mobile phone enables them to cover unpredictable events they could happen to attend.

Sarah: What impact do you think it has on traditional journalism and media organisations?

Chiara: The impact on traditional journalism and media organisation is evident, thus both organizations are trying to engage in citizen journalism and establish conversations with the citizen journalism’s audience. The alternative to this is a progressive disappearing.

Sarah: Can you tell me what your experience has been with citizen journalism?

Chiara: As I mentioned above I am launching an International Community and Online Global Journal which is a mash up of blogs and maps. It aims at hosting citizen journalists from all over the world. Citizen journalists in Blomap are called Blomappers and have the possibility to post geo-localised content, to interact, to establish new networks on a local and global basis.

Sarah: What do you feel social media brings to citizen journalism?

Chiara: Social media brings the tools to aggregate, interact and share information.

Sarah: In what ways do you use social media?

Chiara: As I mentioned above I am a Social Media Manager, so this is my work even if it could still sound unusual to many people, but not to citizen journalists.

Sarah: What do you think the future holds for citizen journalism and social media?

Chiara: My answer is reversing the question: what citizen journalism and social media holds for the future?

It means that citizen journalism and social media are the future.

According to that the social media tools are continuously improving, though much more according to quick and simple interaction needs than to sophisticated technological inventions.
Actually, the human history teaches that progress is made up of many little steps, which gradually lead to revolutions and people are often unaware of leading revolutions.

Although my project Blomap is innovative, it is partially based on tools people know, such as Google Maps and basic form to post content.

Nevertheless there is a learning time to consider which can find its foundation in other well known social media. This implies the mentioned concept of a step by step revolution.

Sarah: Any additional comments welcome!

Chiara: Good questions, Sarah. These are concepts to spread. People like me, too involved in the social media world can forget that part of the social media folk is unaware of what it is.

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