Democracy Gets a Boost with Bloggers
For the first time ever, global voices were shared live from an International Summit. The Bloggers of G20Voice and their audience shared first hand accounts of Summit news with streaming live video, instantly uploaded photos and audio and timely blog posts.
In most cases, international events such as the G20 garner little attention from people around the world. We open our papers the day after the event, see the photo of global leaders and gloss over headlines of the news. For their part, the mainstream news industry provides limited space and scope for the stories barely scratching the surface on what has happened.
Bloggers from around the world aren’t bound by the same time and space requirements of traditional media.
- The musings of a diverse group of bloggers bring a wide range of reflections and ideas to the fore.
- Bloggers can write about events before, during and long after an event has concluded – in both long and short form stories.
- Significantly richer stories can be produced by each blogger, each in the level of depth and detail that is most relevant for their audience.
- Multimedia streams of content make following a blogger a multimedia extravaganza:
- twitter streams,
- live blogs with up to the minute musings
- streaming live video
- video reports
- audio reports
- blog posts
- photo libraries
With Bloggers Communication is a Two Way Street
Most bloggers listen to their audience and respond. I was able to send messages back and forth with the outside world in real time. I had audience suggestions coming in via qik video and twitter while attending press conferences and briefings. As well, a bloggers audience can comment on blog posts, video posts and the like and get involved in the debates that are happening.
Inside Access vs Apathy
When global summits normally take place it is little surprise that average citizens feel disengaged with traditional conference and media reporting schemes. Feeling shut out of the debate, people either turn off interest – because they don’t feel their ideas can be included in the debate, or they head to the streets as activists to protest and get their side of the story out.
Giving Global Voices access to “Inside Information” and accrediting bloggers as journalists gives ordinary citizens reason to be engaged and diffuses the urgency to take to the streets. Instead they can channel their voice right into the summit via someone just like them.
As a blogger at the summit, I had extraordinary opportunities to participate in the event as credentialed media, thanks to Oxfam Great Britain, Save the Children, ONE, Blue State Digital, Global Voices, Comic Relief and the UK Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office via G20voice.org. I received attended a full day of briefings the day before the summit with other bloggers and participated in briefings from delegates to the conference, interviewed people like Bob Geldof – outspoken activist for third world relief, Ed Miliband (UK Energy and Investment Secretary), Douglas Alexander (UK Secretary of State for International Development) and sat in the front row at press conferences with world leaders including UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and American President Barack Obama and our own Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.
I also had access to the same G20 background information that all media attending the summit had.
I was interviewed for CBC Radio in Canada
and BBC Turkey (I come in at 3:30 – dubbed in Turkish) as well as Voice of America’s Russian Video Broadcast. (I come in at 4:38 dubbed in Russian)
A formula for bridging the democratic digital divide
- Recruit respected bloggers from around the world
- Provide credentialed media access for bloggers at global summits
- Train bloggers and provide social networking opportunities to enhance understanding of the issues from both a political perspective, as well, as a socially conscious citizen.
- Provide technical training where necessary to give NGO’s access to emerging social media Web sites, online broadcast and handheld technologies, and information on sound journalistic principles to grow blogging skills within their organizations.
- Provide a one stop distribution point for all stories the bloggers produce. See G20 Voice. The bloggers channel should include video, audio, photos, blog posts and live blogs (including twitter feeds).
I extend my sincere thanks to my readers and followers who nominated me to attend this important global event and look forward to helping bloggers from around the world to be in attendance at similar events.
photo credit: Todd with Ed Miliband (Dhamaka_for_G20Voice)
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