ALLVOICES: Why It's Now Part of my Morning Ritual

ALLVOICES is now part of my morning ritual. It actually replaces my newspaper reading habit which I developed since I was in high school. Now, instead of reading traditional newspapers e.g. the Philippine Daily Inquirer, I start reading ALLVOICES news first. I guess, it is so because of the following reasons:

(a) I like the fact that I get to know where the readers are from. Well, knowing that my article can reach as far as the Caribbean makes me think that we are indeed in a global village as what McLuhan calls it;

(b) The interactive features of ALLVOICES also make news/feature writing more challenging;

(c) The categorization of the articles, e.g. `popular,' `breaking,' `this just in,' `most buzz,' `most views,' and `most comments' makes the site reader-friendly. I mean, a reader doesn't have to scan all the stories to find something that would interest him or her. This is what traditional newspapers don't have -- they're just arranged according to sections, e.g. health, science, entertainment, business, etc., which ALLVOICES also have;

(d) It's good to know that writers get to appreciate each other's articles. For example, I write but I don't just expect other people to read my articles. Instead, I also look forward to reading other people's articles. This is one reason I become a fan of some writers -- for me to instantly go to their pages and read their posts for the day. In traditional newspapers, only the reporters get a chance to be read. Readers are most likely to just become readers. Here, we're all writers and readers at the same time!

(e) The best part of this site, I guess, is the instant feedback that writers get from the readers. Imagine in traditional newspapers, feedback takes a few days to reach the writer. But with online news site as this, feedback can reach writers in just a matter of seconds. Feedback in ALLVOICES comes in the form of comments from readers, global reach, and profile views. You get them instantly!;

(f) This site breaks the `great divide' that separates mainstream media from citizen journalist/ plain writers. A person who wishes to post articles here does not need a degree in Journalism (which I have) or years of experience in newspaper/media outlet (which technically, I don't have) to be read. Indeed, the site speaks for itself:ALL VOICES. Yes, it's where you hear practically ALL VOICES -- no barrier at all -- no editor, no gatekeeper, no proofreader, etc. ALLVOICES promotes learning from people from ALL WALKS OF LIFE who wish to share their thoughts and insights to the rest of the readers from around the globe.

With all these reasons, ALLVOICES become part of my morning ritual -- news reading with my favorite coffee :-)