It was catchy, powerful, and inspiring. “Ako ang Simula,” the theme song of the Boto Mo, iPatrol Mo: Ako ang Simula (BMPM) campaign as sung by the lead singers of ten different bands, stoked the crowd’s enthusiasm for a night of music, journalism, and election awareness at ABS-CBN’s Ako ang Simula: Himig ng Pagbabago concert Friday at the University of Santo Tomas Parade Grounds and Athletic Field.

The performance was meant to signify unity, to acknowledge that everyone has the power and responsibility to report corruption, fraud, and violence during the May 2010 elections.

The concert launched BMPM’s new user-generated content website, where Boto Patrollers (ABS-CBN citizen journalists) can upload videos, photos, and articles about newsworthy events in their communities.

“I joined because I was so inspired of the Himig ng Pagbabago concert [sic]…[I]t provoked the will of being a [B]oto [P]atroller deep inside me..” wrote a Sangguniang Kabataan chairman who registered on the website after seeing the concert on TV. “I can assure u [sic] guys that I will be vigilant in reporting whatever indecent activities during this election 2010.”

This was precisely the sentiment that the website’s launch was meant to instill: the feeling that anyone has the potential to influence the upcoming election. The website, which will be populated mostly by content created by its users, signifies ABS-CBN’s embrace of changes taking place in the media landscape.

User-generated content websites are cropping up all over the world. From francophone Africa to war-torn Sri Lanka, citizens are posting stories, commentary, and analysis on websites specifically designed to host their content. Although the affiliations and goals of these websites vary, their collective existence has a singular significance: news audiences are no longer content to be the passive recipients of information; they want to participate in information gathering and dissemination.

This trend is changing the traditional paradigm of news creation, a process that up until now had a one-directional flow from journalists and ‘newsmakers’ (for instance politicians, celebrities, corporations, among others) to the audience. But in the digital age regular citizens can have equal influence over the news. In addition to providing information and reporting stories, citizens can influence the framework of controversial issues by voicing opinions and publicly discussing ideas. In other words, citizens can influence how a story is reported.

The Philippines has already witnessed this phenomenon.

The first pictures ABS-CBN received of the Maguindanao Massacre on Nov. 23, 2009 came from a Boto Patroller. That report was only one of hundreds that poured into the BMPM office in the weeks following the massacre. Patrollers sent tips and opinions about the wealth of the Ampatuans, possible connections between that family and arms dealers, and information about the backhoe allegedly used to bury the bodies of the victims.

This information gave the ABS-CBN news team leads and ideas for stories. If you watched TV Patrol in the wake of the Maguindanao Massacre you were watching news coverage that was influenced by Boto Patrollers.

The new Patroller website is a potent idea in a politically tumultuous country that is approaching a pivotal election, as it shares the power of one the most influential Philippine institutions with the public.

Some Patrollers have already embraced the website as a tool of change. The site’s first user-generated video after the site’s launch Friday came from Ateneo de Manila University high school students, who submitted a video ‘wish list’ that consisted of a series of people stating the changes they wished to see in the Philippines in 2010. “Sana hindi lang galing at talino ang gamitin ng mananalong presidente (May the winning president use more than intelligence and competence),” said one of the interviewees. Others wished for politicians to “stand on their own” and for increase in teachers’ salaries.

The video appeared on Tuesday night’s TV Patrol. (Click here to watch video) 

The website is meant to be the online home of ABS-CBN’s Boto Patrollers, a place they can report their stories and voice their opinions in an unedited, unfiltered way. In this way, the site is meant to always be a work in progress. As users contribute content, the site will evolve, grow, and ultimately allow the audience to play an increasingly larger role in the creation of the news.

Click here to visit BMPM’s new user-generated content website