subject: Democratizing The News With 4g Wireless [print this page] From newscasts to newspapers, the media has control over the representation and release of different events both major and minor. They cover presidential elections, mass demonstrations, murders, celebrity news, and practically anything of political, social, economic, and entertainment purpose. However, with the internet, news has become significantly more democratized with everyday citizens able to post blogs, photos, and opinions about the ongoing events of the world. And with 4G wireless internet, this trend is becoming increasingly popular.
Previously, with 3G mobile network, smart phone users were able to access the internet in a convenient, mobile way. Email, social media, and search engines were accessible within seconds with a simple click of a button. Even while you were commuting to work, you remained connected to the worldwide web. However, with the improved technology of 4G wireless internet, mobile internet usage on the computer is now possible by simply inserting your mobile air card into your laptop. With this technology, you now have broadband quality high speed internet anywhere throughout your metropolitan coverage zone. Rather than only simply emailing, you are able to do much more on the internet, such as upload and download at a much faster speed. Because 4G wireless operates at a much higher data transfer rate, you can do a lot more than you could not have with its predecessor. You can stream videos, video chat, and even play online gamesall completely mobile, virtually anywhere in the city.
With this new high-speed mobile internet technology, the dissemination of news is becoming even more democratizing than when the internet first became popular. Smart phones give ordinary people the technology they need to spread information quickly. For instance, if a mass demonstration protesting student fee hikes or ethically questionable mass deportations were occurring, photographs taken with camera phonesnow with comparable quality to some digital camerascan be instantly uploaded onto any of the social media networks. Within seconds, those photographs can become viral. Another example of how such mobile internet technology is democratizing the way news is being disseminated is beyond just photographs, but also through video recording technology. Many smart phones now have video recording capabilities and thus, events such as police brutality, fights, political speeches, or rallies can be recorded and spread rather quickly. A simple upload onto your laptop and you can post it on your blog, your Twitter account, or even your Facebook.
With these technological advances, mobile internet is not only making our work and personal lives easier through useful features of these nifty gadgets, but also making news become more democratic. New perspectives other than that of the official major news networks can bring alternative versions of events. The media is often seen as a watchdog of the political machine; however, sometimes, that watchdog needs some oversight as well. And who better for that job than ordinary citizens? By posting often first-hand footage or photographs, it holds the media to pursuing the truth. With 4G wireless network, people are able to document events and share their account and opinions through various outlets provided by the internet.
