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reporting opens doors, but be careful what doors you choose! The text I just mentioned tells how I managed to make the most of that event in terms of enjoying it because I was going to report about it. It also does give you some good ideas on how to use your citizen journalist status for the better. It was very nice to produce that article about that carnival. I even got Serafim Correa, the mayor of Manaus, to granted me a nice speech on video.

It is a way of making some money.
Making some extra money while you do something you like to have fun with is just fantastic. Not all collaborative media available today pay for the content you supply. But that is not the only way you can make money with it. Be creative, after a while of being published and rejected (with proper feedback) you will grow and you may start offering your stories as a freelancer. Most citizen journalists do not have a journalism diploma, but a diploma is usually necessary if you are going to be hired as a professional journalist only.

Working as a citizen journalist can be of great value to you, even bigger I think than blogging, for as a citizen journalist you will be edited, get published and be read as part of some media where you are not the only decision maker. You will vie for space and the reader's attention and thus have a far more relevant asset to you curriculum - a fantastic display of your work skills. I already heard of people getting assignments for cash.

One personal experience here might go well. There is in Manaus a very nice forest hotel, kind of expensive, called Ariau Towers. Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas, in Brazil. It is in the heart of the world's largest rain forest. Well, I got to stay free at the Ariau because I was going to write about my experience in the jungle and there. I spent a marvelous three days there sightseeing, taking pictures and talking to people. I never promised to speak well about the hotel, not necessarily; but as it turned out, it really was great. (I was even able to bring two friends along with me.)

Note on how I did it: When I started writing about Manaus I knew people all over the world wanted to know more and more about the Amazon. I had an eye on getting to know more about the jungle and believed that the Ariau Towers would be just the place to do that. But it is one of the most expensive hotels in Manaus. I went on writing and one day while I was planning my next business trip to Manaus I wrote to the hotel administration,

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