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Citizen Journalism – What A Perfect Way Top Spread A Rumor! --- Philip Stone October 6, 2008
Remember a few years back when citizen journalism started coming into its own and how it was damned for its amateurism and there was little or no way of checking out what those citizen journalists wrote or videoed. But then they started filing from breaking news events where the professionals just plain didn’t have people on the ground, and it wasn’t long before the 24-hour cable news networks and other news outlets begged their viewers across the globe in every newscast to contribute. But as CNN learned last week the original fear is still very much with us.

So much for Skoeps --- Michael Hedges May 4, 2008
Talpa Digital and PCM Media turned off the lights at citizen journalism website Skoeps. It just couldn’t find that “sustainable business model,” said Reuters. In other words: welcome to the web!

Digital Anxiety in Amsterdam --- Michael Hedges September 11, 2007
Anybody who is anybody in the broadcast technology biz was in Amsterdam for the IBC. The International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) opened with more mobile (everything) and HD (anything) buzz than the casual geek can capture on a memory stick.

Want Podcast. Ask Wizzard. And if you think podcasts aren’t big…think again! --- Michael Hedges May 2, 2007
Wizzard Media is a podcast hosting network. Last year they distributed 360 million episodes, individual podcasts. And you think podcasts are but a tiny grain in the great media content desert. In March this year Wizzard distributed 70 million podcasts.

Citizen Journalists Help Tell The Virginia Tech Story --- Philip Stone April 17, 2007
Watching the tragedy at Virginia Tech unfurl via CNNI has brought home how important civilian journalists have become to the telling of breaking news on television.

Reuters Embraces Citizen Photojournalism, But Is This Just A Way Of Getting Those Exclusives Without Having To Pay A Fortune? Don’t Outfits Like Scoopt Offer A Better Deal? --- Philip Stone December 5, 2006
The official pronouncements about the Yahoo/Reuters’ new citizen photojournalist project contain all the right buzzwords about encouraging user generated content and getting those efforts out to the wide world, which is swell, but cut to the bottom line and who could make out like a bandit? Hint: It’s not the citizen photojournalist who probably does not really understand the value of the pictures produced, or how to get them marketed exclusively.

The Web Turns Professional On Purpose --- Michael Hedges April 17, 2017 Follow on Twitter
A notable force in the rise of the World Wide Web has been its facility to engage people. Part of that is due to the ubiquity of internet and now mobile access. But people also just like to share their thoughts, personal and otherwise, and those of others in a rather non-binding way. Anybody can have a blog, website or pages on social media portals and invite others to their world, except in China and a few other places. Some of these are silly, some serious, a few actually become famous and make money. All of this could be coming to an end.

Tied, Bound And Handcuffed --- Michael Hedges April 23, 2012 - Follow on Twitter
Absent a digital correction of copyright rules, rights holders will continue to pick away at Web service providers and portals through the courts. An open internet openly flaunts those 'ancient, pre-digital rules' seeking sustainable business models. But rights holders want business models, too. The Web and content providers are tied, bound and, maybe, handcuffed together.