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The Power of People-Powered News services
Sep 7, 2006

In the seven months since we launched the Care2 News Network (C2NN), I've been amazed at the power of this service - and my admiration is growing by the day.  Members from all over the world are submitting stories and voting to determine which make the front page.  A couple of recent events have made me even more convinced of its potential.

1) Recently I've noticed I'm tiring of reading the NY Times and/or watching the morning news, as I've already seen almost all the stories already on C2NN.  It seems members typically submit similar stories between a day to three days before they appear in the NY Times or make the morning news on TV.

Then, last Sunday night, I learned of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's death within minutes of it hitting the Australian news sites because one of our Australian members posted the story on C2NN. I was so shocked to read the headline I actually visited CNN.com and turned on CNN TV to see if it was true - but the story hadn't even hit CNN yet.  That's pretty incredible for such a "hot story" that nearly every news organization wanted to be the first to announce.

It took about 5 hours for the story to make it to the Care2 News Network front page, as it occurred late at night US time and stories only hit the C2NN front page after receiving enough votes... but anyone reviewing the C2NN "Newly Submitted" story area would have seen it before then.  I've never thought of C2NN being a "headline news" type service - I've thought of it more as a place to find and discuss "particularly interesting progressive news" that is complementary, not competitive, to the headline news, but with this example I can see how even headline news organizations might want to rethink their models.

The other fascinating thing to watch with this story was the outpouring of emotions by Care2 members who posted comments to the story.  You can't do that while reading the paper or watching TV, yet it gave me a much deeper appreciation for how Steve Irwin touched the world.

I have to say, I was really sad when I learned of his death, despite my belief that I'm pretty jaded these days. My kids loved watching his video with the Wiggles, and there was something about his energy, enthusiasm and love for wildlife that was exceptional... and I didn't even realize I felt that way until I heard he was gone.  But it was when I saw the comments coming in on the C2NN post that I realized how many others felt that way too - and that turned the story from something very sad, into something very powerful - even inspirational - to see how this man inspired so many and did so much for wildlife.

2) The other reason I'm more excited about C2NN than ever is that I've been reading the updated The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.  The author talks quite a bit about why some societies adjust better to a flattening world than others, and how the poorest societies can be lifted up.   Part of the answer is that societies need a stable political and economic environment to facilitate transactions - and transparency and accountability at a local level is key to establishing the stability needed to build trust.  Obviously, giving individuals the tools and resources they need to hold their local officials accountable is a big part of what Care2 is all about... but now I'm seeing C2NN has far more potential to support this than even I had realized.

Just more evidence that when you give people the tools they need to make a difference, amazing things will happen.
Visibility: Everyone
Posted: Thursday September 7, 2006, 9:26 am
Tags: news c2nn [add/edit tags]

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Past Member (0) 		Sunday September 10, 2006, 4:01 pm
The C2NN always had amazing potential. How could it not, when it's a global service? :)When news of Steve Irwin's death hit the groups, many people went into mourning (and many people are still mourning the loss of this amazing human being), and many were, indeed, inspired in one way or another to really commit to the causes they're supporting. One member even converted what began as an Australian politics group into what is now the Steve Irwin Conservation Group.The group is dedicated to working to carry on the Crocodile Hunter's legacy of education about and promotion of wildlife and the planet - and this might not have happened had it not been for an Australian member's foresight in posting the story before it hit the other newswires.The C2NN is one of the greatest features this site has created, and I for one am proud to be a part of it, just like I'm proud to be helping with the efforts being made in the Steve Irwin Conservation Group.Thankyou for giving us something so critically important. Sometimes, we don't realize just how important something is until the world loses someone like Steve Irwin.

Annaelizabeth Wooten (10) 		Wednesday September 13, 2006, 2:58 pm
Peace begin with all of us. Even Steave irwin was a peace maker.
I say to myself everyday, I am not at war with myself, or do I allow terror inside my self. I am enough I have anough, I would do only what love would do. I can talk to the animals we can to just as he did. He showed us, we do not have to fear anything , no matter what it is. We do not have to numb ourselves. We can release all hate. And we are healed. Unconditonal love, he had unconditional love for his animals. We just have to develop our own truths. This is my truth, it maynot be your truth. Mr. Irwin knew his truth.
It is wounderful to see people who know what thwir truth is, his passion for life.

Past Member (0) 		Sunday September 17, 2006, 7:25 am
I think it can go even further, from information to action, registering and promoting the tools for personal actions that make a difference in response to the news that is being reported. Some ideas I discuss in my first blog http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/178424

Charlene N. (41) 		Tuesday September 19, 2006, 4:51 pm
Enjoyed your observations and agree with too. :-)

Past Member (0) 		Sunday September 24, 2006, 12:40 am
That's how we see Care2..as part of our People's Network 4 Peaceful Media, which is developing as we speak. We use blog redirection from here to support this communities right to know.

http://inbusinessforgood.blogspot.com

Aloha from Hanalei, HI

Patrick Michaels
Chief Encouragement Officer
HarmonyNet Media Group

Summerannie Moon (77) 		Friday October 20, 2006, 5:10 am
Gosh I havent read the home page before of Suggestions and Feedback before till now. I was the first person to alert C2NN within seconds as it arrived while i was reading...breaking news while i was reading our local news online. I was equally as shocked reading it as I was uploading it. It was a shock which effected us all here, world wide. The saddest for us all here was 3 celebrities of Steve's Calibre all died of serious and sudden accidents. You will see Steve's daughter Bindi following in her father's footsteps. She loves it and understands completely what he did, even at this very young age. Its a huge ask of a child, but I believe further down the track, Bindi will become an even better advocate and Peace worker of Conservation and the liberty of allowing animals to live in safe habititate's. Now after his death many now realize just what good he did in teaching Conservation and teaching us all about animals and endangered species. He certainly earned wings when on Earth. How you saw Steve Irwin was what you got. He was a typical Aussie and thats why he was so well liked. I just saw that that Steve Irwins death was noted 159 times or so. Amazing. Thanks I am glad I noted it as I am an Australian but even more that you realized just how good your C2CNN is and fast. Summerannie

Past Member (0) 		Sunday October 22, 2006, 9:38 am
What might be interesting is when the News postings are integrated with the Share Network, the personal blogs, and also, reposting outside the care2 community(such as links to blogger.com, myspace, etc) so that the C2NN news items will express outside the community, and bring much needed new blood into the matrix here.

Linda X Martinez (8) 		Thursday November 23, 2006, 7:17 pm
Thanks for the post, Steve Irwin's life and sudden death truly impacted the World and he was a great example of empowering people to believe in themselves and their ability to make a difference by allowing us to see the amazing things he made happen! Thank you for the reminder, thank Steve for the tools, Happy Thanksgiving to All! I Am, Linda X

Past Member (0) 		Sunday May 17, 2009, 11:33 pm
It was a good research and I really agree with you Randy. thanks
Laure

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