The user can upload news, photos, and videos from his community
The search giant, Google, has released Bulletin, an application designed to be the citizens themselves who contribute to the information of their community with news, photos, and videos, written and uploaded by themselves.
To register in this free application, the user only has to fill out a short form, in which he will have to specify, among other matters, his name, email address and the mobile device model through which he will upload the stories.
The user can upload photos, videos or texts directly from their mobile phone and the story will be published without having a blog or website.
At the moment, the project is in a pilot state limited to Nashville, TN, and Oakland, CA.
On its website, Google Bulletin, the searcher encourages citizens who like to take photos or post messages to use Bulletin and create their own stories
“Google has also requested the collaboration of journalists”
In addition, the company has asked for collaboration to journalists who wish to be involved in this initiative.
For the search giant, these stories will be special because they will tell stories and testimonies that are not told in other media. In addition, they will be public information and easy to discover, since they will appear in the searches that Google shows to the users. Finally, they can be shared by social networks, email, and messaging applications.
Google Bulletin promotes hyperlocal journalism
The initiative is a clear commitment to hyperlocal and citizen journalism.
The hyperlocal news that will be published in the Bulletin is a type of emerging communication that is limited to a neighborhood or small area of the city. Its vocation is to serve the community and requires the collaboration of its neighbors, which is why citizen ‘journalism’ also comes into play.
When addressing a specific population, the information provided is geared more to the social and cultural interests of the population and works to solve the problems that exist in the neighborhood or in the area.
Citizen “journalism”
On the other hand, citizen “journalism”, also called journalism 2.0, is characterized by the participation of citizens themselves in the creation and dissemination of information. This phenomenon has been encouraged by digital media, social networks, and collaborative environments.
However, this type of communication has its followers and detractors. While some maintain that to inform you must guarantee the plurality and veracity of the information, applying some codes and standards; for others like Oscar Espiritusanto, founder of citizenjournalism.com, defend that citizens can report what the media does not count, offering other points of view.
What do you think about Google Bulletin? Do you think that it will contribute to enrich the information of the neighborhoods and smaller areas or do you think that this news, photos, and videos should be written and contrasted by professional journalists?
