Saturday, November 12, 2005

10 Web moments that changed the world


Via SciAn's Selva: The Webby Awards are out. Usually, these awards are meant for "honoring excellence in web design, creativity, usability and functionality"; but this, the 10th, year, the awards recognize the 10 great web moments that "changed the world".

In addition to the usual "internet boom and bust", the role played by bloggers and others using the net during the Asian Tsunami is also recognized as a 'web moment'. This is what the Webby Awards said about the Asian Tsunami:

Citizens Journalists Are the First on the Scene to Document the Tsunami

With news agencies racing to reach the hardest hit areas, the first accounts of the disaster were largely provided by ordinary people armed only with digital cameras and internet access. The 7/7 London terror attacks and Hurricane Katrina, further spurred the ascension of "citizen journalism" which can sometimes be more immediate, passionate, and illuminating than professional reporting.

2 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...

    these past years internet have been very helpful on fact finding and updates on the events that happen like the tsunami, the recent Katrina..they have the latest update on what's going on and the help on the donations and charities worldwide.

  2. Abi said...

    pwds: yes, indeed! I completely agree with you.

    This trend has happened so fast, and the momentum is so strong that many believe that this is going to become the dominant mode of disseminating information at times of disasters. Their ability to mobilize donations for charity and aid organizations is also quite immense, as you rightly pointed out.