Brilliant ideas change the space in which they operate. The newspaper business is quite literally being turned upside down as we speak by a whopper of an idea. The launch of Bluffton Today on April Fool's Day heralds the arrival of citizen journalism to a community of 15,000 in South Carolina, USA. But the impact space is both greater and more abstract than one of the great golfing destinations of the American southwest. Here's what makes citizen journalism so brilliant:
- All stories are sourced from blog postings by members of the community. Everyone in the community gets a free blog and photo gallery. So the actual newspaper content is a reflection of the voices of the readers.
- Editors review blog postings and choose stories for publication in the weekly hard-copy
- If for example, a local baker publishes a story about how to make Christmas cookies, the editor can follow-up to shape the story for publication.
In some ways it is incredible that it has taken so long to arrive at this concept in newspapers - written by the readers. Anyone who is getting some of their content these days from blogs knows the inherent value of a variety of voices speaking from a variety of knowledge spaces. The unique feature of this site is that they are generating an actual newspaper from the postings, offering alternatives on both sides of the digital divide. The possibilities are endless.
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