New Media, Empowerment and Myself

Christiane Amanpour once said, “I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place.” As citizen journalists, we all believe that good journalism can make our community, our country, and our world a better place. The evolution of journalism from traditional to digital media results from a more effective, collaborative, and faster way of news gathering and communication. It has become more accessible and less expensive. These are the thrills that we all enjoy. Web 2.0 is not only a technology used in digital media, social media, and networking. It is a method used by the global women’s empowerment movement. These are the women who connect, collaborate, interact and create solutions to issues and problems. These are the women leaders with powerful voices to make a difference in their community and their country. These are the women with voices uprising who want to be heard. Therefore, the role of Web 2.0 is the bridge to connect these women leaders from 190 countries and bring their voices together in transforming the world. I am grateful for the birth of Web 2.0. This tool helped me to become a citizen journalist. My journey started when I launched my blog in April 2010. I’ve inspired fans with the stories I’ve written. A month later, I joined Allvoices news community as an anchor writer. I’ve authored the “Most viewed story in the Philippines at all times” and the “Top 7 most viewed world news” in 2010. I elevated myself and joined CNN as an iReporter in August 2010. I’ve written more than 800 stories, with more than a hundred stories featured on CNN. All these forms of new media, including my blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin are my tools to connect, collaborate and interact. I use them to empower myself and other people. I use them as my voice to speak and inspire. As technology develops, I continue to accelerate myself. I connect and collaborate with different organizations whose common goal is to make a difference. I involve myself with volunteer programs, and I expose them to media. I continue to write good news and share my opinion. I am working to better my voice - make it bigger and more global. My goal as a citizen journalist is to be a voice for other people and a voice to influence, inspire, and impact the world.