The global web is "shrinking" and linking the world together. Everything seems to be connected in every way. We would be notified in spilt seconds in whatever tremendous things that happened at the other end of the world. In no time, everyone will be talking about it, be it on the internet, or in a random cafe where you sip coffee and chit chat. Have you ever wonder why gossips tend to spread so fast? This is why! People talk about everything and comment on things that not even their concern. However, some opinions and suggestions of random people are good and that's the reason why citizen journalism existed.
As quoted by Shayne Bowman and Chris Willis, "Citizen Journalism is the act of citizens playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information" (Citizen Journalism, 2007). This is when citizens take action by acting as part of the media. People showed their participation and concern to a certain issue by providing the media with extra news or valuable opinions that could be taken into serious consideration.
In Singapore, our freedom of speech is pretty limited. A front page news could happen anywhere at anytime, but that does not mean our professional journalists, reporters or photographers would be at the right place and right time to film everything down. Thus, the Straits Times came up with STOMP(Straits Times Online Mobile Print) which allow our citizens to participate actively with the media. It integrates content and activities in the three platforms of print, online and mobile. These three platforms will enable STOMP to interact and engage with Singaporeans in exciting new ways (STOMP, 2006). Straits Times Editor Mr. Han Fook Kwang hoped that readers had found a place whereby they could express themselves, to interact with the news media and among themselves through STOMP (STOMP, 2006).
As you can see from the picture, the website contains many interesting news and hot topics. The topics discussed can ranged from serious news issue to where you can eat the best bak chor mee. At the same time, it also organizes different contests and so on for STOMP users to get together and know each other. After exploring the website, I found out that there is actually a STOMP ebay! I guess that is an interesting fact because not only it allows you to voice out whatever you think of a certain issue, it also allows you to sell your stuff and given the popularity of the website, there will definitely be other users out there who would check out your item. You can judged that STOMP could really be an ideal form of citizen journalism in Singapore. However, if you noticed, this website seemed to be catered for a younger generation. Serious issues like the wellness of Singapore or Politics are seldom touched on. It can't be blamed because an average Singaporean is only interested in coffeeshop debates, not the weighty national issues.
Besides that, Singapore is too strict with its freedom of speech. Everyone who writes about serious issues that evolves around the country wellness and government are careful with the words they used and the content they write. We never know when we'd get sued for blogging a random post about such issue with no evidence to support our content. Thus, it is hard to really bond the citizens and the media together because many people are held back in whatever they want to say.
Another thing to worry about is how trust is managed between the media and the citizens. Technology is so advanced these days that it has given us a world in which almost anyone can publish a credible-looking web page. Anyone with a computer or a cell phone can post in online forums. Anyone with a moderate amount of skill with Photoshop or other image manipulation software can distort reality. Special effects make even videos untrustworthy (Dan Gillmor, 2004). If all these are possible, who's to say that news cannot be distorted and do we believe whatever we read even if it's coming from a credible source?
I personally feel that Blogs, STOMP, Global Voices etc are the first steps towards the freedom of speech. The boundaries to voice out whatever you want to say still exist though. One may feel strongly about a certain political issue but was being deprived to voice out his thoughts due to the risk of being sued. His comments and opinions may be valuable and considerable, who knows, it might contribute to the wellness of Singapore. I think there should be an understanding between the Singapore government and its citizens. Of course, when we are given the space and freedom, it does not mean we can abuse it. It is important that we compromise and voice out only whatever that's appropriate. Lastly, to increase more national and political news in STOMP, I feel that Global Voices (which discuss about more serious issues)and STOMP could collaborate with each other. In this way, young readers could check out what's new in today's dating game, and at the same time, learn more about how other people feel about the political issues of Singapore and other national issues. The users who are more serious abut big issues could join STOMP as well and from there, they could learn about what issues are the younger generations concerned of and it would provide a better understanding between the young minds and the adults. There is definitely room for more improvement in STOMP and that we should not be restricted just by blogging to ourselves and our friends. Step up, voice out and be someone appreciated!
As you can see from the picture, the website contains many interesting news and hot topics. The topics discussed can ranged from serious news issue to where you can eat the best bak chor mee. At the same time, it also organizes different contests and so on for STOMP users to get together and know each other. After exploring the website, I found out that there is actually a STOMP ebay! I guess that is an interesting fact because not only it allows you to voice out whatever you think of a certain issue, it also allows you to sell your stuff and given the popularity of the website, there will definitely be other users out there who would check out your item. You can judged that STOMP could really be an ideal form of citizen journalism in Singapore. However, if you noticed, this website seemed to be catered for a younger generation. Serious issues like the wellness of Singapore or Politics are seldom touched on. It can't be blamed because an average Singaporean is only interested in coffeeshop debates, not the weighty national issues.
Another thing to worry about is how trust is managed between the media and the citizens. Technology is so advanced these days that it has given us a world in which almost anyone can publish a credible-looking web page. Anyone with a computer or a cell phone can post in online forums. Anyone with a moderate amount of skill with Photoshop or other image manipulation software can distort reality. Special effects make even videos untrustworthy (Dan Gillmor, 2004). If all these are possible, who's to say that news cannot be distorted and do we believe whatever we read even if it's coming from a credible source?
