Citizen Media Watch

Citizen Media Watch was established in November 2006 by Lotta Holmström. Since November 2008, Gitta Wilén is a partner in this project. A few words from Lotta and Gitta:

Lotta Holmström

What is called web2.0 today is merely the fulfillment of the web’s initial promises of communication, collaboration and creation. Now web technology is ready, and what’s happening online today is quite exciting, especially the development of journalism from its traditional top-down megaphone structure to a platform for communication and exchange of knowledge, news and opinion.

From my days of journalism studies back in the mid-90’s I was set on working on a news site, and when the time came to do practical studies I became the first ever JMK student to do them at a web department. Aftonbladet, which at the time was way ahead of its competitors online, opened up a special spot for me, and after my months at aftonbladet.se they wanted to keep me on. As it happened I remained with them for eleven years, working and building parts of what became the success story of Scandinavia’s largest daily’s online edition.

My focus was always on interactivity and on inviting the site’s visitors to contribute more. In that spirit I built the first poll function, a much appreciated feature that evolved into something that articles could be built upon. Over the years there have been countless headlines stating the readers opinions on different issues.

I was responsible for the reader material channelled into its own sub-site, the Aftonbladet Reader Daily. There anyone could get their stories, photos, film clips or opinions published.

Today I am web editor at Lärarnas Nyheter, a website under development where Lärarförbundet’s 16 magazines will have their home on the web. It’s focus is on news and feature stories for teachers. There will also be daily news updates, social media features and all the other things that make up good web journalism. It’s a challenge and a lot of fun.

My projects on the side include a creative writing blog in Swedish, skriva.net, and several other websites. You can find me on Twitter as araneida Jaiku at araneida.jaiku.com and on my personal blog at lotta.skriva.net

Gitta Wilén

The web is like the kitchen at a party and the camp fire during a rest, where I find myself happily communicating and looking for information. I started out as a radio journalist back in the eighties, but as soon as the web started to take off in Sweden, around 1997, I was on the train to a future and brighter way of communication.

I am a journalist and scriptwriter who loves databases and interactive media. Some projects and companies that I have been working at: Telia: Gulasidorna.se, Icon Medialab Singapore, Metronome Film & Television, UR (Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company), Aftonbladet New Media: promoting reader interactivity, Houdini: online education and scriptwriting for interactive media.

I believe that you should tell your story and tag it well. Combining good transparent storytelling and a careful, sincere listening is a deadly combination. It is web 2.0.

I have a black book on line:
My Second Black book