Web 2.0 articles

Six questions about the media and participation

The professor at Loughborough  University claims that the advent of social media has brought a much broader media revolution. He says that before the media use to be controlled by specific people but now that happen anymore, everyone has power of the media. He says that online blogs and forums give an opportunities to ordinary people to give their views about the people in power. Everything which happens online is done by ordinary people, which people could have access to it anytime, anywhere. It is all created by user generated content and there are much more citizen journalists out there. Everything on the internet do not depend on editors or gatekeepers, its all user generated content.
The new technology could be dangerous for everyone because its not controlled by one person, its not being under the control of a gatekeeper. The impact of it depends on who uses it. He says that the most richest money making online corporations are Google and Facebook. Loads of people are debating that will media 2.0 save democracy. The professor himself thinks that it is good to debate about this because he believes everything has changed.

Key information:
* Everything has changed because of the new technology
* Ordinary people are in control of the internet
* There are no more editors or gatekeepers in control
* People get to say their view on internet to millions on people
* Google and Facebook are the most money making corporation online
* People make their own videos which could be accessed everywhere around the world
* Much more user generated content on the internet

Participation debates

One of the most biggest debates at the moment is that has Web 2.0 and the explosion in social networking really opened the opportunity for democracy? Democracy is simple a form of government in which all eligible people have an equal say in the decision making. The way that this relates to the debate is because people are now getting the chance to give their equal say online. People are debating that will this change the democracy because then everyone will be able to give their say as social networking lets them. Before people had to do loads of things to give their view, but the new media revolution has given the opportunity to people who use to be the audience of the internet the right to give their views globally through social networking site.
Some commentators have claimed that the uprisings in Egypt and Libya couldn't have happened without the use of Twitter and Facebook.  The internet has empowered its user by giving them instant access to news from a wide range of sources.  The questions which are raising is that is traditional journalism dead? Is citizen journalism the future?

Key information:
* Most of the news before being aired on News channels is on social networking sites because of      citizen journalism, people are providing eyewitness of the incident taking place.
* Are normal people empowered fully with the internet?

precipitation or hegemony? 

Nick Lacey explored the issue that has Web 2.0 been really democratised our access to the media and has it switched the power from producers to the audience. She says that Web 2.0 allows the audience to become producers of media texts, they can use blogs, YouTube channels and other aspects of the internet to do so. People these days do not need to rely on professional organisations to act as the gatekeepers. Most people find this very beneficial because know they don't have to pay for certain things which they use to because they are relying on thousands of individuals to do so.

Key information:
* No more gatekeepers
* Audience's have become producers
* Individuals relying on individuals