Citizen Media.. huh?

Now in my 4th year of communication studies, I have heard the term "the public sphere" thrown out I don't even know how many times. But the term citizen media- well that one is new for me.

So let's explore the realm of citizen media. According to everyones best friend, Wikipedia, the term citizen media refers to "forms of content produced by private citizens who are otherwise not professional journalists". In other words, you and me. It involves both participatory and democractic media.

I think that the best example of how exactly citizen media works, is through the use of the Internet. Technology has essentially taken over our lives, and hence has given us more opportunity to voice our opinion. This blog, though made for the use of a seminar class, is among just one of the many examples in which the Internet allows for citizen media.

Facebook, is also seen as a way in which we can explore citizen media. And although I can see how it serves as an example, Facebook does still restrict people from posting specific content on the open website. Facebook, has the right to remove specific photos if they are unacceptable, delete groups and events based on their content. In addition, the profile user of each Facebook account has the ability to delete any given post someone may leave on their wall (a post in which someone may be voicing their opinion) therefore sheltering the opinions of the poster.

So that's citizen media in a nutshell. And as I continue to use this blog, I will further explore and provide the example of how one can voice their opinion using a medium such as the Internet.