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showed them all published articles about Manaus and asked if they would give me some courtesy to stay there so I could write about the jungle, about that way of experiencing the forest. Later I wrote the article, it was published, and the door is open for a second visit any time.

(I prayed the hotel wouldn't be doing anything wrong in the forest for I would have to report on it; turns out, they actually have nice programs directed at protecting the environment. It is a risk you run so you have to be careful!)

So as you can see, taking proper care, the byproduct of your citizen journalism experiences and actions can be very nice.

Citizen journalism is a way of getting your client's attention. I did this in Manaus. Writing about Manaus was a way of showing my clients there that I cared for the city. Manaus is in the far north. As everywhere in the world, the major news broadcasts are mainly about major cities - in Brazil, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. I really do care, you see, Manaus is very interesting. Writing as a citizen journalist about Manus helped me do it. In many of my presentations it became a great topic for conversation.

Citizen journalism is good for your status at your job. Well, the same way as for my clients, at work, people started to recognize my effort and give more credit to my actions. I have had the opportunity of writing about Software in Brazil and using Softway, the company I work for, as an example. Two of the company's directors were my interviewees and the article received massive visits. Easy to see how this was great for me, right?

Citizen journalism may become the source of life experiences you never imagined. Sometime in June, I was home reading my e-mails. I got one from OMNI. It was an invitation to the Third International Citizen Reporters' Forum in Seoul this past summer.
I don't need to say much more, do I? The trip to Korea was very, very nice, something I never dreamed about - great flying experience, great people to get to know, great country I had never even in my wildest dreams thought of getting to know. Kamsahamnida OMNI! Kamsahamnida citizen journalism! ("Kamsahamnida" is "thank you" in Korean.)

This was an experience made possible by writing regularly.

So writing as a citizen journalist can a fun, enriching and adventurous experience; I strongly recommend it. Start right now. God only knows where you will find yourself next year. Good luck citizen journalist!

Final note:
If you would like to see what I wrote up until now at OMNI all you have to do is go to OMNI and in the search box, choose author, then input "Rix" and press "go." I hope you like it! I have texts and photos published in many places like BBC World and WordPress but the majority is at OMNI.

Please, while at OMNI, be sure to check out Rajen Nair from India, Ana Maria Brambilla from Brazil, Na-young Han from Korea and who lives in the U.S., Prakash Luitel from Nepal and Yehonathan Tommer from Israel, just to name a few. You will see if you look around, what we mean when we talk about voices of the word.

Write and have fun!

Learn more about this author, Antonio Carlos Rix.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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