Technology and citizen journalism

Presented by Tonyo Cruz tothe Pinoy Citizen Journalism SeminarNov. 29, 2009, NIGS Building, UP Diliman

Citizens and citizen groups are already using tech tools

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 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

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5

10

15

20

25

'00 '05 '06 '08

Users

No. of Filipino netizens: DigitalFilipino.com

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 33 million Smart 23 million Globe 7 million Sun

Unlimited texting ‘Cheap’ mobile

broadband

Mobile internet in RP

‘Cheap’ internet access 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

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 Text, video, audio, photo

Build and develop your community 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 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

• 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

• 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

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

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

Tools for Citizen Journalists http://is.gd/9nWx

Message in-a-box http://is.gd/7KMS

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

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

Personal Media Learning Ctrhttp://is.gd/9nYy

DIY Communications for Citizen Journalistshttp://is.gd/9nZo

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

Free Podcast Coursehttp://is.gd/9p7K

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

Ubroadcast http://tinyurl.com/2vd2nb

Thank you

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