T ERMS

1.3.1 Social media

There is no unequivocal definition of social media. In its most basic sense it refers to the fragmentation of the production of media contents, where users or citizens produce various contents spontaneously (Karvala 2014, 30). Social media is mostly used to refer to various Internet or mobile phone-based applications and tools that are used to share information. Social media include popular social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, microblogging services such as Twitter, open content online encyclopedias such as Wikis, and many more.

According to the Financial Times Lexicon social media refers to the “internet and mobile technology based channels of communication in which people share content with each other” (Financial Times, n.d.)

For an application or site to be considered social media, it must allow users to

communicate with each other and share content among each other. Therefore the video-sharing site YouTube has not always been accepted as social media as originally it was only a video-sharing site without any direct communication among users. These features have however been added afterwards, and now YouTube is quite clearly accepted as social media like others.

1.3.2 Participatory journalism

There are many ways of referring to news and news-related content provided by sources other than traditional media and professional journalists: citizen journalism, networked journalism, participatory journalism user-generated content, among others. These are often used interchangeably, but may also encompass distinct meanings depending on the role, activity, and level of influence attributed to the audience or citizens providing the information or, for example, the images.

An often quoted and rather simple definition of citizen journalism came from media critic Jay Rosen (2008): “When the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another, that’s citizen

journalism.” (Rosen in PressThink)

Bowman and Willis (2003, 9) used the term participatory journalism to describe the new forms of participation that have emerged through new technologies. They defined it as “the act of a citizen, or group of citizens, playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information”.

The term participatory journalism is often used to stress the active and participatory role of citizens in collaboration with professional media organizations, whereas citizen journalism is often described as something that happens rather independently and without collaborating with professional media. Andén-Papadopoulos and Pantti (2011) pointed out that in contrast to citizen journalism, where the news-making process is removed from the hands of journalists and is controlled by citizens, in so-called participatory journalism, citizen involvement takes place within the framework and control of professional journalism.

A similar view was expressed by Singer et al. (2008, paragraph 1.1) who preferred using the term participatory journalism because it according to them captures the idea of collaborative and collective—not simply parallel—action. In participatory journalism journalists and citizens (or users) communicate not only to, but also with one another.

User-generated content (UGC), also called user-created content (UCC), refers to the content produced on social media. The shortest and most simple definition is that UGC refers to content generated by users on social media platforms on the Internet (Financial Times, n.d.).

According to Moens, Li, and Chua (2014, 7-8), UGC comes from numerous sources, including social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, microblog sites like Twitter, mobile sharing sites like Instagram, information-sharing sites like forums and blogs, image and video sharing sites like Flickr and YouTube, among others. The definition goes on the state that the content is created by users of an online system or service and it is often made available via social media websites.

A widely quoted definition of user-created content is from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2007). According to the OECD, content must fulfil three conditions to be considered UCC: 1) it must be made publicly available to large audiences or to a select group of people over the Internet, 2) it must reflect a certain amount of creative effort, and 3) it must be created outside of

professional routines and practices. The first condition, publicity, means that emails and short messages are not thus included. A certain amount of creative effort means that users must add their own value to the work. According to the definition by the OECD copying something and posting it with no alterations would then not be considered user-generated content. At the same time the OECD admits that it is hard to establish a minimum amount of creative effort (OECD, 2007). The third point regarding non-professional routines and practices is probably the most difficult requirement to maintain, which the OECD report also acknowledges. In the seven years since the publication of the OECD report there has been an explosion of various players trying to profit from UCC by reaching out to end users. As the report pointed out, what began as a grassroots movement has largely become less grassroots and much more commercial.

In my study I will often use the term UGC because it incorporates a broad arsenal of content without taking any specific ideological stance on those who have produced it. It simply refers to the immense and myriad content that is produced each and every second of each and every day on the Internet. In my study, UGC often refers more specifically to content produced by various actors (media activists, NGOs, citizen journalists, etc.) with regard to the war in Syria.

1.3.3 Amateur images

The simplest definition of amateur images is that amateur images are pictures or videos taken by non-professionals. In the context of journalism, these images can originate

directly from the audiences (e.g., images sent directly to a newsroom) or they can originate from some social media platforms, for example, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.

Andén-Papadopoulos and Pantti (2011) used the terms non-professional images and private images as synonyms for amateur images and pointed out that they all originate from outside the professional media. They also concluded that the most important characteristic of amateur news images is that they provide content that news

organizations themselves cannot provide. With this, they referred to the fact that it is mostly ordinary citizens, not journalists or professional photographers, who are the first on the ground where there is breaking news. By the time journalists finally arrive, the most dramatic news events have already taken place. According to

Andén-Papadopoulos and Pantti, journalists as well as audiences value amateur images for their perceived immediacy, authenticity, and proximity. Being grainy and shaky and out-of-focus only make amateur images seem more authenthic. (Andén-Papadopoulos

& Pantti, 2011, 11-12)