Whether it's the creative whims of videographers or the revenge of the consumers, social media are making it easier and faster to spread news. Reputations are enhanced or pummeled at faster and, to some, alarming rates.
The work of citizen marketers is a stunning reflection of the democratic principle of freedom of expression. Their use of social media tools in the context of democracy is clearly "We, the people." When the people talk, it's time to listen. Not because of what they say, but because of who they represent.
The work of citizen marketers is typically defined by three commonalities:
- Personal expression. Their opinions or their journalism are their own, designed to inform, entertain or analyze in a way that builds a case. It's not unlike what a professional journalist, pundit, or analyst would do.
- Amateur status. The citizen marketers are usually volunteers and don't announce their arrival with the noisy banging of pots and pans of an expensive marketing program. They are transparent about their motives and associations. They must be, for the amateur detectives in the blogosphere will undoubtedly sniff them out and expose them.
- Freely given. Their work is not meant to steal money, time, or attention away from the company of their affiliation. It's meant to enhance or improve it. Their work is a contribution to the commons.
The citizen marketers of the world are adapting to their simultaneous roles of publisher, distributor, and syndicator. They are accelerating changes in traditional media structures, and they are spawning new forms of democratic and participatory collaboration. They're learning that what is said is as important as who says it and where it is said.
They're making authenticity and transparency their founding, democratic principles and using their considerable organizing abilities to inspire the democratization of content, processes, and marketing. They are democratizing engagement.