'Citizen Journalism' required reading: MediaShift from 2006

Is my goal with this little blog to encourage nontraditional journalists and reporters with information and connections to others having the same conversations. That includes making sure everyone is familiar with the big minds behind this field, including university professors Dan Gillmor, Jay Rosen and more.

So, if you are a passionate individual creating your own media platform where are your voice can be heard, Mark Glaser's long but engaging 2006 essay on MediaShift about the basics of citizen journalism, including a thumbnail history of the industry, is a must–read.

For all those people I meet who are thinking about creating an indy media platform but know little about the economy and politics of it -- this essay lays out the current terrain, how we got here and potentially what role you might play.

Glaser weaves together Dan Gillmore and his book "We the Media," with the emergence of IndyMedia, analysis by NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen and much more. Even if you are simply trying to set up marketing lists for your small company on Twitter, this history is going to be useful to you.