Citizen Media and Contribution

Hello Hello Everyone!
So as my first blog I must say this is quite unusual for me. As someone who is heavily dependent on technology such as the Internet it amazes me (and many of my friends) that I have never had a blog. I am not one to put out my thoughts and opinions in this way but I figure why not try out this 'blog thing'. I named my blog "Curiosity Killed the Cat" because I am constantly looking to discover new things, new ideas, ask questions, and discuss different topics. My hope is that this blog will be a comfortable platform to discuss things openly in a light-hearted manner while still being respectful and mature.
Citizen media is something that this seminar (CS400) has made me become more aware of. Today everyone is able to voice their opinions with multiple platforms to do so. I find it interesting how not only citizen media but citizen participation/contribution is effecting traditional journalism. Reflecting on past news headlines such as the July 7th London bombings, Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11 we were able to experience these incidents in an exceptional way due to citizen contribution. Videos and pictures contributed by ordinary citizens really enriched the content of reporting and journalism. Today we see that this kind of content is now expected in journalism. During the inauguration of President Barack Obama CNN was asking viewers to send their personal pictures and video footage of the inauguration. The fact that we are all able to contribute to news and information circulation and it is being valued speaks highly to our democratic practices of our society.