Citizen Journalism as Horseless Carriage?

Where is citizen journalism going, and where might it take us? Probably somewhere we can't even imagine yet.

It occurs to me that what we call "citizen journalism" today might be the earliest stages of a new kind of news media -- something which might evolve its own purposes, style, techniques, audiences, and ethics. As it evolves, it might look less and less like traditional "journalism."

That's fine...

"Citizen journalism" probably is just a clumsy label for a type of participatory media we can't yet easily identify because it hasn't yet clearly assumed a shape or place of its own. In order to discuss it, we're still shoehorning it awkwardly into more familiar concepts.

...Kind of like when automobiles first came out. People called them "horseless carriages." That name didn't last very long, and it said more about the newness of the concept than the character of the vehicles.

I'm wondering if "citizen journalism" might reflect the same stage of evolution. And if so, then where might this vehicle be heading? More importantly, if the "journalism" part is just a convenient hook on which we're hanging familiar context, then how fair is it to set traditionally journalistic goals and standards for citizen journalism? Why not just keep an eye on what it's becoming, in its own terms?

What do you see along that road? Please comment below.