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A video interview with a popular blogger/ citizen journalist fom India which focuses on the nuances of citizen reporting during a crisis situation with special emphasis on the recent Mumbai attacks.

We got a preview of how important citizen journalism is likely to become in developing countries when social media played a leading role in covering the China earthquake and the Mumbai terror attack.

Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives examines the spontaneous actions of ordinary people, caught up in extraordinary events, who felt compelled to adopt the role of a news reporter. This collection draws together 21 original, thought-provoking chapters. It investigates citizen journalism in the West, including the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia, as well as its development in a variety of other national contexts around the globe, including Brazil, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Palestine, South Korea, Vietnam, and even Antarctica. It engages with several of the most significant topics for this important area of inquiry from fresh, challenging perspectives. Its aim is to assess the contribution of citizen journalism to crisis reporting, and to encourage new forms of dialogue and debate about how it may be improved in future.

Connecting people in repressed societies by using new technologies that encourage education, communication and participation. D2 puts information into the hands of people who are most in need. While censored information places communities and individuals at risk, advances in mobile and internet technologies are reshaping societies around the world. Every day these technologies become cheaper, simpler and more reliable. D2 is developing information and communication tools to address the needs of the vulnerable and disempowered communities with whom we have been working. Our work strengthens social bonds within and among communities, fostering networking and civic participation to improve lives, expose tyranny and strengthen democracy. We have been working for two years with the Burmese community in Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and China as well as with resettled Burmese populations in Indiana, Washington, DC and New York. D2 staff have published and presented research on Burma with an emphasis on technology use by displaced Burmese groups. In addition to Burmaʼs borders, we have conducted research in Cuba, Armenia, Mali, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Israel.

"Recent events in the world have again raised the issue of citizen journalism, especially for recording events in the "global war on terror". The events in Mumbai, India, have demonstrated that citizen journalism is now an established way to relate events, such as acts of terror, to the mainstream media-consuming public. This is certainly not the first time that citizen journalists have recorded an act of terrorism. It is unlikely to be the last time. When discussing an issue like citizen journalism, initial clarifications need to be made. The first question that comes to mind: What is citizen journalism? This needs to be broached before anything else in order to bring clarity of understanding and to ensure readers have a common understanding about this key element. There are some who object to the use of the term 'citizen journalist', dismissing it as inadequate in correctly describing what is really happening. "

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