We the Media is a book written by Dan Gillmor, published in 2004 by O'Reilly (ISBN 0596007337).
Gillmor discusses how the proliferation of grassroots internet journalists (bloggers) has changed the way news is handled.
Gillmor believes the aggressive use of copyrighting in America is a cause for the lack of creativity and innovation in the states.
"Big Media's" only strength is its depleting stocks of financial resources and their powerful presence during copyright investigations.
David Winer developed user friendly software that would allow most people with a computer to be able to write on the web.
People no longer needed an ISP account or be an expert with HTML to create web pages.
There is no reliance on limited sources because the public can access information and receive events in real time.
The power of big Media’s ability to advertise and conceal news or information with the rest of the world is dwindling on the brink of a new era.
The days of big media are numbered due to this expanding movement of writing individually for the people.
The largest part of Gillmor’s focus lies in the way the current political community has yet to embrace the notion of social media.
The chapter focuses on the usage of microblogging as a more personal form of democratic interaction between the electors and the elected.
Both Howard Dean and John McCain are both credited with pioneering and perfecting this grassroots medium utilization.
Ironically, the chapter predicts microblogging reaching its apex during the 2008 elections, which would feature none other than John McCain.
Obama's successful implementation of strategic targeted microblogging resulted in his election to the presidency over McCain.
[9] Gillmor discusses Moore's Law, which he mentions will have a large influence on changing new media for the better.
[12] Gillmor believes this program's influence can control new media, rather than erode businesses.
These explain the distortions of perception, discuss the misleading practice of image manipulations, and the effect of anonymity on the credibility of sourcing in internet-based media.
He poses the question of whether the media, influenced by the weight of the prevalent false information, will implode from the effect of lost credibility.
In a society where "anything goes," Gillmor warns of legal ramifications that may befall bloggers and online journalists.
Legal ramifications include libel, defamation, plagiarism, forbidden links, and copyright infringement.
Gillmor makes the point that a writer cannot libel a public figure unless he publishes with "malice."
However, as technology advanced, governments, telecommunication companies and big businesses would try to stop progress.
Phone and cable companies monopolized pipe lines, not wanting to provide inter-communications to competitors.