THOUGHTS ON MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WEB

Everyone, in the back of their mind, wants to be a star… Thanks to applications such as MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and LiveJournal, everyone can be!

 

This article explores the many ways in which modern technology allows everyday people to self-promote and feel significant and admired in the world.  The article claims that we live in an era of ‘micro-celebrity’ an era where everyone can have a taste of what it is like to be celebrity. I believe this is true, using applications such as facebook and MySpace myself, I have found that I have an obsession with self promotion, always updating photos of myself and of friends, excited to find photo comments on photos of myself and friend requests from interested suitors!

 

‘Mirror, Mirror On the Web’ claims that we live in a media-saturated world that constantly tells us that we should be famous, with mantras such as ‘You’re special; love yourself; follow your dreams; you can be whatever you want to be’ woven into our minds.

 

With messages like these there is no reason why wanting to be famous or the act of self promotion is a negative social tool…in fact I believe it enhances our quality of life!

THOUGHTS ON CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Citizen Journalism, in my opinion, is an attempt to move individual and alternate news reporting into the public sphere...Citizen Journalism allows the general population to report on events which may be typically propagandized or avoided by traditional media reporters. The rise of Citizen Journalism spreads different perspectives and ideas of variety of topics which may not have been revealed otherwise.

 

For example, if I were to report on my cat Tommy’s eating disorder in a blog, it may shed insight into a world of knowledge no one ever thought of before. This is an example of Citizen Journlism:

 

Tommy suffers from Bulimia, he will often binge eat when he is stressed. Tommy meows for food even when he knows that he is full and then purges himself afterwards because he feels guilty for eating so much. Perhaps the guilt has sprung from a new found empathy for all the tuna fish that have died to feed him…or maybe it is just related to his self-esteem issues after being bullied in the neighbourhood for several years.

 

This account of my cat’s eating disorder is a prime example of citizen journalism, it has given you an insight into the life of my cat- a life which you would not have known about without reading this blog.

Not only does Citizen Journalism shed light onto topics that are not typically covered by traditional media, it allows ANY person to be a journalist. Even me!