10/27/2006

join me to give MSM a run for their money

Cyberspace is more than just a venue for venting frustrations. It has a very vital role to provide an alternative view, a citizen's view of what is important to the people. The things that netizens discussed are matters that they choose to discuss, spontaneous and unfettered, not imposed by anyone or subject to anyone's approval. It is the people's platform. We have seen how MSM present their news, very selective and with a high dosage of self censorship. The way MSM are going about their roles, they are, yes, many of you have said it, losing their credibility and influence on their readers. In redbeanforum and mysingaporenews, there are hundreds of you fellas out there, all very well educated, concerned, opinionated, articulate and well read. All of you have your own interests and your own views of things. If we can share all these in Cyberspace, we will be a very important platform for people, Singaporeans and international readers, to come here to hear us out. Our strength is our free spirit and freedom of expression. We decide what we want to say or discuss. This will put us well ahead of all MSMs. And we are the pioneers in Cyberspace. We should not miss this opportunity to craft out a niche of what Cyberspace and citizen reporting are all about. Our time is precious. Our effort is precious. We should use these constructively and meaningfully. We can be as creative as we want. Say whatever we want. But we need to develop our own netiquette and professional conduct to be respectable and taken seriously. All of us have different views and opposing views. But as long as we respect each other and discuss on issues, we cannot get too far wrong. Just stay away from attacking people personally or libels and scandals. This is our country, our space. Make it counts. Make our views heard and be taken seriously. For those who are posting in mysingaporenews blog, there is a limitation in that you cannot initiate new topics. Use the forum to tell your story. Talk about things that are close to your heart. We can talk about them passionately, sensibly and sincerely. If we can do that, our effort will not be in vain. The fact that all of you are here is that we share some common values and approaches to what posting and discussion in cyberspace should be like. Let us be the beacon for others who will come after us. Let us show our way. As a first world nation, we must be confident of ourselves and our voice, and be prepared to take a stand on domestic or international issues. Redbean

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