Indymedia is a a composite of many organizations and journalists working together to bring democratic, sans corporate influence stories to the public. Founded in November of 1999, it’s a donation run site to which articles from writers all over the world was featured. Though all articles and blog entires submitted are on the page, a select few would be put up on the front as headlines. The public could recommend articles and blogs to others on the site and to others outside on discussion forums, through comments and blogs. The site has over 150 outlets, mostly in the States and Europe and articles can be found in a verity of languages such as English, Hebrew, Russian and Chinese. The site was revolutionary in because of the fact people could so easily share news they thought was relevant and discuss it with others. It was also an important step to the creation of citizen journalism as literally anyone could submit their articles and opinions to the site. Due to the accessibility of information this site was very important to to the awareness of many global and local issues. It provided information on why protests, events, issues, etc. were happening, not only focussing on the violence at certain events like the mainstream media. It created a platform for transnational activism. The main issues with the site had been the questions of the reliability of stories. Though most articles were fact checked, they could still be biased – and the front page with its selective stories, was also deemed subsequently biased. regardless the site gets about 2 million views a day and is still an important source of news for many people.

However, with the development of social media, blogs and online news, the site is becoming obsolete in many ways. It now has to compete with Twitter, which is far more effective and is becoming used for activism as much as Indymedia once was. One example is the AnonNews feed – the Twitter of Anonymous, who are leading the fight for internet freedom (despite mixed reviews on their tactics). It provides instant coverage of important events in legislation and other related topics. The feed is uncensored, provides links, images and it can all be retweeted to followers – much like the recommend button on Indymedia. There are also discussions happening on the comments of many of the posts. Another plus of Twitter is accessibility, it’s been built to function on all mobile electronics so location has become irrelevant to people getting the news at all times. Blogs in general are also taking a bite out of Indy, as they are now highly accessible to anyone, anywhere. They are also written and moderated by their owners – meaning they provide individual perspectives and are uncensored. The readers are there because they want to read the person’s opinions, not because it’s the featured opinion on a page. Sites like Tumblr are also becoming a tool in activism as people can reblog things they find interesting or relevant and add their own commentary. Petitions are often circulated though all of these sites, and because they are also the places we use for our regular social lives – ideas are transmitted faster and more effectively.

Social media and blogs won’t be the end of Indymedia – it still provides us with checked, relevant coverage of many topics. However, it’s traffic will reduce unless more and more adjustments for the other platforms are made.

K. A. Zazubovits