blogboat – citizen journalism: this weekend in ghent

On Sunday, I’m heading to Ghent to take part in Blog Boat 1.0 – Citizen Journalism. As the name suggests, it’s an event about blogging and journalism which will take place on a boat but, rest assured, the organisers tell me it’s not an us vs them sort of thing, nor will the boat actually move.

During the afternoon, an invitation only "meeting of the minds" will bring together journalists, academics and bloggers to discuss the future of citizen journalism and, in the evening, I’ll be moderating a free (registration required) interactive debate with Dan Gillmor and other participants from the day.

Here’s how the organisers are framing the debate:

"Over the last couple of years traditional media has
tried to formulate an answer to this development in finding a balance
between print – and online information, in keeping track with the
newest technological trends to present their information and in
figuring out how to integrate citizen journalism within their (online)
information channels.  What are workable/feasible models for the future? 

In what way technological developments
will influence the way we deal with news and information. Will they
empower us more, will new constraints appear and will the old once be
sorted in time? Is there a possible role for guides/filters and who
would these filters be (newspapers, well known bloggers … ? And in line
with the later, is there a possible role for guides/curators guiding
non-expert users through the information in an open way build on trust
and reputation? What are the possible ways forward for mainstream media in working with citizen journalists?"

Having met Dan and several of the other participants previously, I’m looking forward to a thoughtful, challenging and wide ranging debate.

Although over 100 people have already signed up, registration is still open so if you want to attend, make sure you get your name on the list. See you aboard!