CitizOn

In the late 1960’s, The U.S. Defense Department lays the foundation for what is to be known as the Internet.

In 1971, microprocessors are created, laying the foundation for PCs (Personal Computers.)

In the early 1970s, email is invented.

In 1982, the National Science Foundation (NSF) makes it possible for computers to connect across the nation.

By 1993, Web browsers are available to the public.

In 1999, Blogging software initiates the blogging revolution.

By 2005, Broadband’s popularity all but quashes the now-antiquated process of dial-up Internet connection.

By 2010, Most people get internet on their phones. Texting is the new phone call. Blogs are like phone numbers: everybody’s got one. Social networking is a must – you’re either on Facebook or MySpace or you’re homeless. YouTube is the new star-finder. Almost no one purchases CDs – they merely download music from the internet and either burn it or rip it onto their digital device of choice. However, bots and spammers have inundated the major chatrooms; the only way to make friends with a live stranger online is to join a fantasy world. World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, AION and many other MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) offer participants the opportunity to chat with human beings on the internet – with the additional bonus of seeing a visual depiction of the person’s fantasy role play character.

In 2015, All of the rules have changed.

Television news – all but the shocking, witty, humorous and entertaining commentaries – is essentially obsolete. Instead of newspapers, local stations or radio, consumers are spider-webbed together in a never-ending, ping-pong exchange of hearsay, rumors and occasional information. A networking system called CitizOn – which functions on mobile phone apps and the internet – connects everyone to one hub. Citizen journalism rules in this world; consumers prefer to hear news – however inaccurate – from the source. Everyone is a contributer. Everyone is a consumer. Contributers can enter newsbits by text, email, phone call or at the site itself. Consumers can sort news by selecting personal preferences at the site, voice searching terms, texting keywords and various other methods.

The gatekeepers are left behind for a setting that resembles a loose gathering of the community for the passing down of campfire folklore. The public cries out less for information and much more for entertainment. Television is primarily utilized for images worthy of shock-value; anything less results in minimal ratings at best – consumers prefer the medium of the internet to television. In order to get viewers to purchase cable, let alone plunk themselves down in front of the tube at specified times of day, is a nearly impossible task. It is the enormous undertaking of the television networks to grab the attention of the masses… which doesn’t always work.

Very few journalists are paid for what they do; it is a dying art. Certainly no one is impressed by the quality, vocabulary or content of the messages; therefore, craftspeople of the written word are unnecessary and obsolete.