CITIZEN MEDIA
CHAPTER TWO – CITIZEN MEDIA CONTEXT
Citizen Media serves the interests of the New Fourth Estate – citizens and their Households. Citizen Media is the source for information citizens must have to make intelligent decisions in the voting booth and in the market place.
Chapter Two further explores the three primary challenges facing Citizen Media and profiles the contemporary economic and social context in which Citizen Media must emerge, function and flourish to be an effective source of citizen information and understanding.
Chapter Two opens with an examination of why citizen understanding of human settlement patterns is critically important. The Answer is: The growing complexity of Urban society. This complexity requires a comprehensive Conceptual Framework and a robust Vocabulary to convey useful information to citizens.
A number of helpful comments were received in response to the Beta 1 version of CHAPTER ONE posted on 24 Nov at www.baconsrebellion.blogspot.com as “More on the Role of Citizens Media.” Much of the feedback focused on the three primary challenges faced by Citizen Media:
I. PROCESS – Creating a process that involves journalists and the Principles of Journalism but does not rely on the myth that a media ‘fourth Estate’ or anything like it still exists. See THE ESTATES MATRIX.
II. PARTICIPATION – Establishing a significant and continuing role of volunteer citizens. (The reasons for extensive volunteer citizen participation in Citizen Media are further articulated in the Beta 2 version Chapter One – Getting Off On the Right Foot and in this Chapter.)
III. UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY HUMAN EXISTENCE – Creating a clear understanding of the spacial context of human economic, social and physical activity. This understanding is essential so that the information citizens need to make intelligent decisions in the voting booth and in the market place is has a consistent spacial context.
There are questions about I. PROCESS and II. PARTICIPATION some of which are explored in the Beta 2 version Chapter One (Getting Off On the Right Foot). However, much more confusion revolves around Challenge III. UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY HUMAN EXISTENCE.
??Why do those concerned with citizens having information to make intelligent decisions in the voting booth and in the marketplace need to worry about UNDERSTANDING the basics of human settlement patterns??
Chapter Two addresses this question. The short answer is:
Because human settlement patterns are THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY HUMAN EXISTENCE See End Note One
1. As noted in the Beta 2 version of Chapter One (Getting Off On the Right Foot) there is a fourth major challenge. This is the challenge that many who consider Citizen Media focus on first: Who pays the bills for Citizen Media and from what revenue stream? There are answers to this challenge and to other questions but every question requires addressing the initial three challenges first. Who pays the bills and from what revenue stream and other questions will be addressed in future chapters of CITIZEN MEDIA, THE NEXT STEP.
SECTION 2.1 – WHY SPACIAL CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT (Beta 1)
In the discussion on the Beta 1 version of CHAPTER ONE, a number of commentors raised the question:
“Why is Challenge III – creating a comprehensive citizen understanding of functional human settlement patterns – so critically important to evolving Citizen Media?” See End Note Two
2. Astute readers will note that in the Beta 2 version of Chapter One, the challenge is articulated as “UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF CONTEMPORARY HUMAN EXISTENCE” replacing the language in the Beta 1 version – “understanding of functional human settlement patterns.” This is because of the controlling role of settlement patterns have on economic, social and physical human activities in contemporary advance-technology society. This is the SAME challenge stated a different way.
The reason is that:
Functional and sustainable humans settlement patterns are the sine qua non of most productive and sustainable economic, social and physical activities in Urban human societies.
The foundations for this reality are spelled out in THE SHAPE OF THE FUTURE, Vol I (PARTS ONE AND TWO).
While the focus of the work of SYNERGY is on the Fundamental Transformation to evolve functional and sustainable human settlement patterns, the Transformation of settlement patterns will NOT occur without a Fundamental Transformation of governance structure AND a Fundamental Transformation of the economic systems to support democracy and a market economy.
TRILO-G: FOUNDATIONS, BRIDGES, ACTION documents the need for these THREE Fundamental Transformations – settlement patterns, governance structure and economic system.
