The Filipino Netizen in 2010

[The following is an article I submitted to the UP Law Internet Society for publication in their magazine, "DIGITAL" (Digest of Information Technology and the Law).]

The blogosphere––or the newfangled world of Web-based publishing––together with the surfeit of social networking services such as Facebook.com and Plurk.com, has virtually changed the landscape of today’s news-reading and -gathering, impacting even the ‘offline’ world of newspapers and magazines in a way that they might not even have foreseen. The upsurge in the number of blogs, and the evolution of the blog into more than merely an online journal of personal experiences, have contributed to its coming of age as a vital source of information for a growing number of people around the world.

The 44th president of the United States himself credits his victory to his campaign’s vigorous Internet-based activities. So that, even our own politicians have now begun to embrace the so-called “new media” in an attempt to benefit from the viral nature of online communications. Those who are active in the Internet’s sphere of social media might have noticed a number of high-profile politicians asking to be their “friends” on Facebook. Already, the World Wide Web is becoming cluttered with virtual campaign teasers in the guise of public service announcements.

As it has been for generations, it is the role of traditional media to be the public’s eyes and ears, to keep the voting public informed of all that needs to be known (plus a few extras thrown in) about election candidates. This role now extends to include media practitioners who exclusively, or to a certain degree, operate via the Internet; in other words, bloggers.
There are ongoing debates and heated discussions over the credibility of bloggers as media practitioners, a term that I use here quite liberally. Are bloggers journalists? And the more common retort from the more established of media personalities: Do bloggers even follow journalistic ethics?

Whether or not bloggers can be considered journalists in the strictest sense is beside the point here. The fact is, the quickening tidal wave of news readers (a.k.a. Web surfers) is rushing towards the shores of the blogosphere. Surveys and studies conducted by both traditional media companies as well as respected online publications have shown that, since the last couple of years, blog readership has grown by leaps and bounds, by megabytes and pageviews. To explain this phenomenon simply, allow me to present a theory.

Blogs, no matter that the publishing of their content might not be governed by rules of journalism, are valuable to an increasing number of readers due to their very character: honest, down-to-earth, man-on-the-street, personal. It could be ironic, because these characteristics are the very ones being attacked by newspaper publishers. But I digress. So, whether blogs (and other emerging forms of online content) are products of serious journalism or not, whether blogs are meant to supplant traditional forms of media or not… these are no longer the important questions in the fast-approaching election season. It remains that a sizable voting population rely on blogs for information, and politicians are now keenly aware of this fact.

Answering to the clamor for knowledge pertaining to the 2010 elections (and all its attendant news flashes, announcements, intrigues, controversies, etc.), there are Filipino bloggers who have taken it upon themselves to write about the major political exercise next year. Some have chosen to be non-partisan and focus on the elections from a more detached point of view, while others have dedicated entire blogs to the endorsement of particular candidates, especially those running for president of the republic. The term citizen journalism, which has been around for as long as I can remember, has never rung truer than today. The participation of average Filipinos in “the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information” (We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information, 2003) has never been more evident and pervasive than when they took up blogging.

That is, blogging for a cause. Or, blogging for advocacy. While the majority of blogs in this country still fall under the online diary category, it is important to know that there does exist a good number of “political blogs”, as they have come to be called, that serve various purposes. There are such blogs that carry discourses on issues concerning our country’s government; those that mean to influence readers to tow a political party line; those that aim to expose corruption and the not-so-unsubtle pursuits of those in power; and even blogs that intend solely to present sober (i.e., attempting to be politically uncolored) data regarding electoral candidates.

From now and ramping up to May 2010–provided the present administration does not rob us of our Constitutional right to elect more fitting leaders–blogs will be in a responsible position to contribute to an electoral process that will see better-informed voters, and even political candidates who will be somehow more available to their constituents. This is not to say that traditional forms of media performed in the past more poorly in their job of informing the public. It is to say, rather, that in this age of instant access to information, the Internet is most certainly the better medium; i.e., where people who use the Internet is concerned.

(To return–although treading lightly–to the discussion on the disparity between traditional media and new media, I would disagree that there is a dichotomy. Instead, a symbiotic partnership should evolve, and everyone will benefit from it, especially the reading public.)

In the hopes of providing voter’s education through a blog, and with the parallel objective of becoming a significant online resource on the coming elections, a group of politically-minded bloggers have banded together to form RP2010.com, with yours truly at the helm.

Having been a Namfrel volunteer since the age of 14, back in 1986 during the presidential snap elections, I have long aspired to participate in politics without necessarily being chin-deep in it. As a long-time columnist for a local daily in Davao City, I have found my political calling in the RP2010.com blog. It is a venue upon which we are able to express our views on the various aspects of the 2010 elections and its myriad issues, and in so doing, contribute in our small way to a brighter political future for the Philippines.

All the RP2010.com bloggers are free to express their own opinion, their own analyses, etc., but none are allowed to campaign for any candidate or political party. The purpose of this blog is to be a source of information. It will also eventually become a forum, which will welcome dissenting views, debates and the like. But, in order to gain the trust of our readers and the credibility as a repository of fair news and honest opinion, it will remain staunchly non-partisan.
Future sections in the pipeline for RP2010.com, the Election WatchBlog, include dedicated pages listing official candidates for national positions (president, vice-president, senators, congressmen), and pages detailing the platforms of the various political parties are also being considered. More contributors and authors are welcome to join this community blog.

What does it take to be a citizen journalist for the May 2010 Elections?

First, you would have to determine how you intend to participate in the whole political process. And, how involved you plan to be. Leading up to early next year, one way would be for you to play the role of educator (voter’s ed) or activist (encouraging eligible voters to go out and vote). Plenty of young, first-time voters are apparently unaware of how to go about being participatory citizens, so encouraging them and informing them could be a worthy advocacy for your blogging efforts.

Approaching the elections, and during the entire exercise, the more adventurous and brave among bloggers could opt to report on anomalies, corruption and fraud, the occurrence of which is unfortunately not far-fetched.

Of course, blogs could also become Namfrel clones, acting as early reporters of quick-count results. In the event that the Commission on Elections is not able to fully computerize the voting and canvassing of next year’s general elections, blogs could very well act as safeguards against dirty tricks against the honest conduct of elections. Where there is a dearth in information, blogs and the other tools afforded us by the Internet could fill in the gaps, thereby ensuring cleaner elections (or at least making it more difficult for unscrupulous politicians to perpetuate their filth).

The role of citizen journalism covers all of the above-mentioned potentialities (some of which are already realities). Bloggers as citizen journalists may not be considered full-fledged journalists by certain sectors of society, but they will be serious contributors to our nation’s political health in the foreseeable future.

Bloggers have proven their mettle several times in the Philippine social arena, by breaking the news, and leading public opinion, on certain issues in the past. Let us hope that, for 2010 and beyond, more and more bloggers will be part of a bigger service to the nation.