MOJO: The Future Is Already Here

When we see something crazy and out of the ordinary, one initial instinct we have is to capture or film it with or phones.  When something we care about becomes a current topic in the news, we can comment and report about that topic with our mobile devices.  Because of our smartphones and devices, we are able to produce reports and videos at the speed of light (or a mediocre Wifi network) and share them with the world.  This is an example of Mobile Journalism. Mobile Journalism, also known as MOJO, has transformed the way we capture, edit, share, and publish journalism today.  Wikipedia defines Mobile Journalism as the “emerging form of new media storytelling where reporters use portable electronic devices with network connectivity to gather, edit and distribute news from his or her community.”

Mobile Journalism is expanding and evolving rapidly today and has changed the style of journalism.  Mobile Journalism has made storytelling more beneficial and candid than ever before, and you don’t have to be experienced to participate in Mobile Journalism.  Anybody with a mobile device can quickly and easily report a story.  For instance, take the story of the US Airways plane that crashed into the Hudson.  One of the first known reports of the plane crash in the Hudson River in New York was a Tweet from Janis Krums.  Krums tweeted, “There’s a plane in the Hudson.  I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.”  Janis Krums was just taking the ferry, like he would any other day after work, that just so happened to witness the plane crash and help pick up the people waiting on the wings of the plane.  Krums was not a reporter or journalist, but by capturing a picture of the crash and uploading the picture to Twitter, Krum’s tweet was a form of MOJO.  Within seconds of Krum’s tweet, everyone was learning about the plane that landed in the Hudson River.  This example of Mobile Journalism demonstrates how quick and sufficient MOJO really is.  MOJO is also commonly referred to as “citizen journalism”, and African Journo recently tweeted that Toby Shapshak, a South African journalist, said, “Citizen journalism is being at the wrong place at the right time with a mobile divide in hand”.  What Toby Shapshak was trying to express here was that Citizen Journalism can happen anywhere and at anytime to anyone, it is spontaneous and out of nowhere.  Medium has also commented on how ordinary individuals are instantly transforming into mini journalists due to their access to internet on their mobile devices.

Reporters and journalists who use MOJO to distribute the  news are at an advantage.  Mobile Journalism is a fast way to distribute news, and is evolving even faster.  Whether you’re an individual reporting from your community, or an experienced journalist reporting the latest news, MOJO has made it possible to share important information to and from anyone and anywhere.  Mobile Journalism is the future, and the future is already here.