MY REACTION TO: "BIG BROTHER IS READING YOUR BLOG"

I have chosen to reply to Business Week's article by Olga Kharif,  "Big Brother Is Reading Your Blog".
 
The Gist

The article "Big Brother is Reading Your Blog"  is a gruelling exposé about surveillance by authorities as well as creepy crims on blogs and social networking sites by keeping a tab on people's personal lives and invading their privacy. Specifically, it explores that social networkers not only have to protect their privacy from crims but "nosy employers and campus authorities". Futhermore, the article explores a few scenarios where university officials and their cronies, the campus popo, have violated student's right to privacy by monitoring blogs and social networks to track any misbehaviour or illegal acts. Furthermore, employees are getting dooced by voyeur bosses for merely publishing a blog post. People have responded by joining new sites, upping the privacy controls, whilst websites like tagged.com and yfly.com have implemented many new tools to evade "Big Brother" such as an authentication service, report that creep service and by allowing a group of, probably nerdy, teenage administrators determines who's legit and who is not.

My Two-Bob's

I believe everyone has the right to privacy online. FULLSTOP. Employers, university authorities and creepy crims as well as anyone else should have no right to pry, voyeur and keep tabs on people's personal lives online. It is not only a violation of trust, it is like having a stranger or an unwanted person going through your personal belongings and stealing something that is highly valuable to you. Futhermore, I think governments should implement legislation that ensures the rights of INTERNET USERS and their privacy.

However, that said, I believe that the onus is on the individual to ensure they implement privacy settings or do what they can to ensure personal privacy. Just like at home, it is up to you whether you close or open the curtains to let anyone look or not look in.

I also think that the individual should not be posting blogs or using social-networking sites during work hours as this is unethical and I support employers cracking down on bludgers. However, I think it is also up to the employer to ESTABLISH an internet user policy for employers who use the workplaces network or install a specific filter on the network that stops access to sites which may interfere with productivity. However, employers should not sack employees just because they have a personal blog or social-networking profile out of the workplace. Professionalism WITHIN THE WORKPLACE should be the only concern of employers.
 
I also think that parents are to ensure that their teenage children are playing it on safe social networking sites as well as the internet. Furthermore, I think it would be a good incentive for governments to start educating teenagers about safety on the internet and social-networking websites. Moreover, social-networking sites should implement more compulsory safety disclaimers and tutorials for newly registered users on how to use privacy settings.

In finality, I found it appalling that the article contrasts George Orwell's highly political term, "Big Brother" to denote creepy crims, employers and university authorities as some extreme totalitarian force that is violating extreme human rights and privacy. I honestly thought the article was about some conspiracy about the U.S government or C.I.A keeping tabs on everyone's online activities. It was a tad disappointing article really. Interesting but dodgy misleading title.

PEACE OUT ALL.

References
Kharif, O. 2006, 'Big Brother is Reading Your Blog', Business Week, viewed 21 November 2009,

THE PEOPLE - CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Hypothesis: 

My initial guess of what CITIZEN JOURNALISM is, is that it is the conveying of news by ordinary people that are not tied down by any corporate media company. The citizen journalist is not formally trained in the discourse of professional journalism. However,  I also think freelancers or independently qualified journalists can be citizen journalists if they are free from the journalistic constraints of a media company. A citizen journalist publish their material via internet technology such as blogs, twitter, forums and websites. A citizen journalist is, on globalised level, free to write, think, feel and speak about what they want without (usually) any bastard censorship or control from governments, media companies or the influences of news values.

That is what my initial guess of what citizen journalism is, lets see how close I am. 

Okay, well i've decided to divide my answers drawn from my research citizen journalism into the 5 Ws (and 1 H) formula used in journalism. For you folk who are not aware what the 5 Ws (and 1 H) is, it is basically the concept of answering the simple questions; Who? What? When? Where? Why? and lastly, How? All these simple answers correlated to create a larger unified answer. So yeah, it's pretty simple and dandy - and a research formula typically used in journalism but just for the sake of a red-herring, it is also used interestingly in police investigations (according to wikipedia ).

Who are Citizen Journalists?

Everyone; you, possibly your grandma and I.

Basically, anyone has POTENTIAL to be a citizen journalist, in some respects it is democratic, as generally everyone has an opportunity to have their voice heard on politics, international news or even which new underwear is ideal for big ladies. Moreover, everyone has the chance to convey their voice or perspective of news events, despite the contraints of their demographics whether they are pink or green,  a serious Sam or easy-going Greg, anorexic or obese, dirt poor or rolling-in-it wealthy, Spanglish speakers or not, an Estonian or Canadian Eskimo, a barrister or a desperate housewife, you get my point - anyone can be a citizen journalism.

Moreover, my research has concluded that citizen journalists are typically freelancers who are not connected to a media company, government or political party. THEY ARE INDEPENDENT. They usually work for themselves or voluntary participate in citizen journalism without any intention to attain of money or capital.

Where are Citizen Journalists from?

Everywhere; Sydney, Timbuktu and Mongolia.

Citizen Journalists are from all over the WORLD from Mexico to Madagascar. Furthermore,  citizen journalism is a form of globalisation where, for example, an Australian blog on how to be more environmentally friendly at home could help educate an American who would like to be more environmentally friendly.

How is Citizen Journalism created and conveyed?

Technology

Citizen Journalism is created and conveyed through contemporary DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY such as digital cameras, computers (obviously!), camera mobile phones and smartphones via CONTEMPORARY TELECOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY such as the INTERNET which conveys information through websites (like twitter and wikipedia), video sites (like youtube), blogs (like blogger),  podcasts, emails, online radio-stations and many more. For example, a tourist who takes photographs of the devastation of a hurricane through their mobile phone and emails them to a wire network is more of a citizen journalist than a environmentalist blogger who writes about the hurricane's devastation as an effect of global warming.

Why are people Citizen Journalists?  

Specifically, people become citizen journalists because they have an INTEREST or SUPPORT for A CAUSE OR SUBJECT they want the world or a specific audience to hear, read and see in order to persuade, inform or merely entertain them. Citizen journalists are free from the contrainst of news values and therefore are free to write what they want, like this wierd blog by a Swede on Knitting which surprisingly gets hits.

I tend to think some people are forced to be citizen journalists so that they can pass an assessment. Hint. Hint. 

On a slightly, more serious note, I found that in some extreme circumstances people are FORCED to become citizen journalists as freedom of speech does not exist in their nation or their nation's government places heavy censorship that restricts the not only an INDEPENDENT MEDIA but the flow of opinion, information and even the TRUTH. For example, the blog, Iran Election Stories From Friends and Family explores what life was like in totalitarian Iran during and after the recent controversial presidential elections last july by exploring the opinions and stories of ordinary Iranians.

However, I also found that people also become citizen journalists because they were in the WRONG PLACE at the WRONG TIME as seen with ordinary people submitting videos of the recent devastating tsunami's in American Samoa.

When is Citizen Journalism created and conveyed? 

All the time; at this present moment.

Finally... 
What is Citizen Journalism? 

Haha... For the answer just see my hypothesis above.

PEACE OUT ALL

All images in this post are from www.wikimedia.org and are all released under a CC liscense.

AN INTRODUCTION TO I, KLAUS.

Hey.
How's life?

This is officially my first post on my first blog. Anyone and that's if ANYONE ever reads this blog, you've probably and obviously gathered that this is an assessement. Therefore,  i'd like to confess that I never read blogs unless I have to or I stumble across them which is pretty pathetic seeing as i'm a communication student.

In all honesty, I find most blogs tacky (well the ones i've read!) especially when the author blurs commentary and news that borders on dodgy gonzo journalism. I think opinions are GREAT, however some people need to shut up; i.e Perez Hilton. I really don't care if Madonna has a third nipple or Chuck Norris is an alien from Mars. I doubt that information will help me in any shape or form get rid of an ingrown hair or increase my bank account or vaguely increase my intelligence. It'll probably do the opposite and turn turn me into some drooling zombie. FYI, I don't mean to insult anyone who likes celebrity gossip, I just do not find the stuff palatable or mildy interesting. Real life is more interesting! Well half the time it is.

Another thing I do not like is emo-related or life-story-whinging-related content on people's blog. I'm sorry girlie but as the cliche goes he's just not that into you so get over him and stop writng 5425543259428 word-long blog posts on how he flirts with your friends or how you want to lose weight. I'm not against a good WHINGE but within reason and not over something so trivial.  Sitting in front of a computer is not going to solve your life problems, maybe whinge on twitter or facebook - those sites are design to be therepeutic to those who want to exhibit their private lives to the public. Okay, I feel i've diverged off the topic a bit.

Enough of my cynical bullsh** for the moment, I think. 

I like to believe I have an open mind (which obviously I don't) so for the sake of not looking like a complete fool for casting aspersions on blogs, i'm going to ask you to forget the above complaint on blogs. Lets start a-fresh and i'll just clear the cookies in my mind. Okay, done!

I have no preconception or generalised prejudice towards blogs. anymore.

So that is the end of my first blog. Btw, for all those who do not know me or have failed to see me, the strikingly good-looking fellow with the Rayban Aviators is I,  Klaus (aka Luke).

PEACE OUT ALL.