10 Citizens’ Tools for Affecting World News

So you want to want to be a journalist, but the New York Times is not returning your phone calls? Take matters into your own hands and utilize these 10 tips for making your impact on world news.

Participation in social media can have a huge impact on world news. One of the easiest and most popular ways to do this is through use of social media sites such as digg.com, reddit.com and newsvine.com. With about 236 million visitors in 2007 alone, it’s easy to understand how digg.com is currently one of the most influential of these sites.

Additionally, nationally and internationally syndicated news sources have begun to use digg as a place to find up-and-coming stories. It’s almost guaranteed that several stories that go popular on digg one day, will be covered in print, radio and TV news the next.

Usually, social media users merely chuckle at the fact that the mainstream media is so far behind. However, earlier this month they had a reason to laugh hysterically and to doubt the validity of the mainstream media, namely Fox News (if that wasn’t already in question).

In early May, an article entitled “13 Year Old Steals Dad’s Credit Card to Buy Hookers” was featured on many social media sites, and on most, became an instant hit. By reading the comments for this story, it is obvious that this article was made popular by a select few readers who questioned its validity and voted for it based on the author’s creativity, and the fact that a majority of readers believed it to be true. In any case, this 100% fabricated story written by Internet marketer Lyndon Antcliff, was picked up by the UK Sun tabloid, BBC’s radio station, and Fox News. You can watch the Fox report to the left, and read more about the fabricated story here.

Although the video sharing site YouTube could be included in the category above, it has had enough social impact to deserve a section of its own. In January of this year, almost 79 million users watched over 3 billion videos on the site. Taking these numbers into account, it’s easy to see how YouTube is a perfect site for the dissemination of information.

Despite the fact that most of the videos posted on the site are intended for entertainment purposes only, a good number of them are noteworthy news clips. Taking notice of YouTube’s social importance, CNN teamed up with the company to hold two Presidential debates (one Republican, and one Democratic). The debates centered around questions asked by YouTube users via personal videos and aired on CNN in late 2007. Due to the fact that questions were asked by constituents from such a wide demographic, the CNN-YouTube debates have been said by some to be the “most democratic Presidential Debates ever.”

YouTube has democratized video like never before, allowing content to become popular on the basis of merit. It has made everyone a reporter, everyone a news maker, everyone an important voice. All that is required is YOU. Capture something exciting, create something new, show off your talent, start a discussion, express your opinions, or join a conversation. There are a thousand different ways to have an impact and get noticed on YouTube. Who knows you may even become the next YouTube celebrity.

Some of the most popular videos on YouTube document supposedly private events leaked onto the Internet by individuals who captured them via cell phone video cameras. Discreet filming, at any time, is available to almost anyone who owns a cell phone. (Most cell phones are now made with the ability to capture video, or at least snap a few pictures.) The most famous cell phone footage of all time is arguably the execution of Saddam Hussein in 2006. More recently, a Virginia Tech student shot a cell phone video of police firing at an unknown gunman during the tragic school shooting at the school in 2007.

The potential to have millions of handheld video cameras capturing events that can be uploaded and shared with the world has many implications that we have just begun to realize. Cell phone cameras have given us insight into many things to which access has previously been restricted. Personal video of crimes being committed, police abuses, private information, celebrities, disasters, and exclusive video from inside places most of us can not go are just a few of these examples.

News Sources That Accept Cell Phone Submissions

When you’re one of the first to witness an event, you want to let the world know as quickly as possible. With modern technology, eyewitnesses can easily become the lead reporter of an event. Information, pictures, and even video can be sent to news sources in a matter of seconds via cell phones. CNN’s iReport was one of the first programs to accept cell phone submissions. Unfortunately, most submissions go through a fairly long review process before they are featured, if they are ever released. If you’re looking to submit to a news source with fewer restrictions, take a look at AllVoices.com, an up-and- coming online news source quickly gaining popularity for its integration of several different types of social media and ease of use. Anyone can submit new articles, opinions pieces, videos or images to either start, or continue a news thread. Everyone should be aware of the sites that accept cell phone submissions, as you never know when you’re going to be in the middle of a breaking news story, and may require immediate access to a publishing platform.

If you’re not too tech savvy, or if you just want to reach out to the offline population, you can always use the op-ed section in any newspaper. This section of the paper is usually printed opposite to the editorial page, and contains submissions from the public. When the New York Times started its op-ed in 1970, it was said to be:

“Designed to afford a greater opportunity than has heretofore existed in The Times for American and foreign writers to put forward their ideas in the form of original signed articles on subject covering the whole range of human affairs, but with specific attention to current political and social issues.”

Although any op-ed in any newspaper has the potential to inform readers, the most influential sections in the U.S. are those found in The New York Times, The LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

What do the Enron Scandal, Watergate, the Tuskegee Experiments, and the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal all have in common? The news stories all broke as the result of a whistle blower. If you want to be heard by millions, all you have to do is tell a big secret. Unfortunately, many people in the position to uncover corrupt businesses or government officials are too scared to speak. It’s important to be aware that if you reasonably believe that a crime is being committed, you will be protected by the government as a whistle blower. If you lie, or knowingly exaggerate a situation, it can be considered libel and you will have no protection from the government. Fortunately, the Internet has made it a bit easier for whistle blowers to get the word out by providing anonymity and a publishing platform on which to be heard.

The web site wikileaks.com is a new service that provides a safe venue for whistle blowers to leak information. In the past year several secret documents have been released on the site by insiders including the following:

The "Standard Operating Procedures for Camp Delta" which documents the protocol of the U.S. Army at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp

All of the top secret Scientology OT Levels

Inside information on supposed illegal practices of Bank Julius Baer in the Cayman Islands

If you don’t have a big secret to disclose, but still want to make the news, try something controversial. How do you think Ann Coulter got so big? However, before you follow in the footsteps of Ann, be warned that controversy can have its downfalls. Take for example the actions of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Although he has always been a well-known pastor in and beyond his community, he is now a household name. Unfortunately, the same controversy that brought turned Wright into a celebrity, may hinder the election of a former member of his church, Barack Obama, as the first non-white president of the United States.

Many times this can be accomplished successfully by speaking out against a commonly held beliefs. Find something you are passionate about, and don't be afraid to make a express your opinion.

Bloggers such as Adrianna Huffington and Perez Hilton have much more social impact than any regular journalist. PerezHilton.com and HuffingtonPost.com get about 1.5 million and 1.8 million visitors each month, respectively. How did they get where they are? Doing what they love. When Adrianna Huffington, a former conservative, was re-born as a liberal, she wanted nothing more than to share her new point of view with the world. She started a progressive blog called the HuffingtonPost.com, which is now one of the most read news sources on the Internet. Similarly, Perez Hilton has always been a gossip queen, writing daily celeb-bashing posts long before he became famous. Unfortunately (or not), most blogs never see the light of day. Becoming a power blogger takes work, You have to find a niche you're passionate about and dedicate countless hours to posting and networking. But for everyone, it is an unprecedented way to get your voice heard.

The voice of many is almost always stronger than the voice of one. If you really want to be heard and make a difference, start or join an activist group. By joining forces and talents with people that have common goals, change will come much more quickly than it would for an individual struggling on his or her own. Some of our nation's most celebrated agents of change have been leaders of activist groups. Be inspirational, set a new example. Be courageous. Make your voice heard.

If you’re lucky enough to have hacking skills, getting yourself, your work, or your opinions noticed is much easier for you than the average person. Denial-of service attacks, web site defacements, and redirects, are just a few ways hackers get noticed. The ability to manipulate millions through these techniques makes hacking an extremely effective and insidious method for influencing the masses.

Anonymous, a group of hackers and activists, is currently using these techniques in Project Chanology, an attack on Scientology. The Anonymous group began its attack in early 2008 with several Denial-of-service attacks that successfully took down major Scientology web sites, making them temporarily inaccessible. Additionally, they launched a broad based viral campaign, taking advantage of YouTube and social media sites like Digg.com to grow their base of support against Scientology. They also manipulated Google search results with a technique known as "Google bombing" to temporarily make major Scientology web sites rank for keywords like "dangerous cult" and "brainwashing cult."

While not everyone can be a Tay Zonday, Chris Crocker, or Star Wars Kid, creating a new Internet meme or piece of viral content can be a great way for an individual to get noticed by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of viewers around the world. So what goes into creating something viral? First, it has to be unique- the more strange and unique, the better. Second, it has to appeal to a mass audience. Viral adoption relies on a large percentage of viewers to think that the content is worthy of sharing. Third, it has to be memorable. Whether this is because it is bizarre, funny, scary, or outrageous, virility depends on something being memorable. So get out there, do something strange, funny, or unique, and maybe you could be the next viral hit.