Citizen Journalists
by the Million ?
" In India today, Citizen Journalists are everywhere — though
they don’t yet realize it. ”
Every day I watch TV news ( Aaj Tak / Z News etc ) for more than an hour and
come across all kinds of “ Video snippets “ ( accidents – fires – floods – landslides
– processions – crowds – animal attacks – fighting – even family quarrels taking
place in the “
privacy “ of bedrooms ! )
And I wonder :
“ Hey , these are places where there is no possibility of any CCTV camera . How
did these TV channels manage to get hold of such videos – some even
accompanied by voices of
persons involved ? “
PRESENT :
Some one present at the site , when that event was taking place, must have
captured the scene – and voice – with his Smart Phone and forwarded to Aaj Tak /
Z News anchor. If that video was accepted for broadcasting, may be the sender
got paid Rs. 500 / 1,000
Very likely . For a fraction of the cost of deploying a team of a Cameraman +
roving correspondent ,
the TV channel could get “ latest scoop “ almost instantly !
Birth of “ Citizen Journalists “ – although , at present no more than a few hundred
, covering a
few locations in a few cities / towns / villages
NEAR FUTURE :
But a Tsunami is about to disrupt, not only the TV NEWS broadcasting but a whole
lot of other industries as well !
For the past few years, AR/VR smart eye-glasses have been steadily improving
their capabilities
A few recent launches ( see news below of Meta’s just launched Ray-Ban - $ 799 )
which can capture videos and live-stream , along with “ running
commentary “
[ Meta unveils AI-powered smart glasses with display and neural wristband at
Connect
event :
Extract :
Zuckerberg continues to evangelize the glasses as the next step in human-
computer interactions—beyond keyboards,
touch screens or a mouse.
"Glasses are the only form factor where you can let AI see what you see, hear
what you hear," and eventually generate what you want to generate, such as
images or video, Zuckerberg said, speaking at the tech giant's Menlo Park,
California, headquarters. ]
That $ 799 is approx.. Rs 70,000 / - . In 5 years’ time, expect that to drop to Rs
7,000 / -
If even 1% of India’s 600 million smartphone users become active citizen
journalists, that’s 6 million live reporters—more than the combined staff of all
TV channels in the world!
It is not a
question of “ Will “ . It is a question
of “ When “
INDUSTRIES THAT WILL BE
DISRUPTED :
I have no doubt that readers of this blog will easily guess , what such cheap
eyeglasses might
do to the companies / businesses / industries engaged in :
> Movie Industry > democratized film-making
> Sports Industry >
fans as live commentators
> Entertainment Industry > replacing actors with self
> News Paper
Industry > remotely inserting advertisements
> Education Industry > classrooms without walls
> Overseas
Outsourcing Industry > eliminating H1-B visa
> E – Commerce Industry
> analyzing who viewed what
and when
> Work From Home >
creating millions of remote jobs
> Video Meetings- Interviewing > reducing traffic on city streets
> Tourism Industry
> See before you travel ……………….... etc
Talking of TOURISM
, let me go back to my following blogs :
> Tourism
: Future is getting closer ………………..
24 Sept 2021
Extract :
Coming Soon : “ Mumbai Street View “ / To boost tourism, high-end planning
The
Project
# To prepare a 3D map of the city,
with detailed aerial and STREET-LEVEL
views of every locality
# A drone with high-res cams
captured aerial images. 2-5 cm is the
pictorial data resolution,
thus making the renderings
realistic
# In parallel, specialized
camera-mounted vehicles captured views of
STREET-LEVEL infrastructure
.
3,600 high
definition STREET
VIEW IMAGES were fused with aerial
pictures to create a GEOSPATIAL map of Worli
- “When every citizen wears AI-powered glasses, the line between ‘viewer’ and
- ‘reporter’ disappears. Journalism will no longer be a profession — it will be a
- habit.”
> Future
of Tourism ? .. ………………………………….22
July 2020
Extract :
It is about time the TOURISM industry asks of itself :
“ What business are we in ? “
If they do , the answer could
well be :
“ We are NOT in the business of transporting the people to the scenic / beautiful
places on the Earth .
We
are in the business of enabling people to enjoy these scenic / beautiful
places, from the comforts of their homes – without making them suffer the
problems / stresses associated with travelling – checking in – packing /
unpacking – walking – getting fatigued – eating unpalatable foods – carrying
heavy luggage – worrying about loss of passports / credit cards – struggling to
read road-signs in foreign languages – falling sick in foreign lands …etc
We are in the business of bringing inside the home of a TOURIST, all the beautiful
places of the entire World. Anytime he desires to visit / view / experience , ANY
place
on the Earth
And show him in 3D , any such place in REAL TIME ( ie: show him how exactly is
that place looking, right at THIS MOMENT / what is happening at that place, right
NOW )
Those TOURISM companies which come up with such an answer, would want to
know if TECHNOLOGY can help bring
about such a REVOLUTION / DISRUPTION
With Regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.HemenParekh.ai / www.My-Teacher.in / www.IndiaAGI.ai / 19 Sept 2025
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