Great piece by Howard Rheingold in Online Journalism Review on the rise of “peer-to-peer” journalism. Rheingold has been one of my cyber-heros from the start. His book “The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Virtual Frontier” had a profound effect on me back in the day. I remember being mesmerized by the Electric Minds community he started in the mid-90s. I’d spend hours on there talking to people and interacting.
His latest is “Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.” Haven’t read it yet, but it’s on the list. His article in OJR raises some fascinating ideas. I’m generally dubious that the masses can rise up and commit journalism. But it does seem to be happening. Blogging is an interesting example, and as we become more mobile, less tethered to a T1 line and desktop computer, the possibilities become endless. But there are plenty of obstacles that can emerge, too.
To quote Rheingold:
“As I write this, the world is in transition from … a moment when it is obvious that a new social phenomenon is emerging but it is not yet clear whether we are seeing a fad that is destined to be assimilated, commoditized, and/or disinformated, or whether we are witnessing the emergence of a powerful new medium for collective action, like the literacy that was enabled by the printing press and Internet.
“Because the winners and losers of the era of mobile media aren’t decided yet and the boundaries between domains have not been negotiated, the uncertainty of the situation presents an opportunity: Informed action in the near future could influence the way this nascent media culture develops — or fails to develop — for decades to come.”