International aspirations: Citizenside launches iPhone application in English

Posted by Helena Deards on March 30, 2009 at 11:35 AM

French citizen journalism portal Citizenside has announced the launch of its iPhone application in English. Version 1.1, in French, was launched at the end of January. Citizenside co-founder Matthieu Stefani explains that the English version of the application should help the company to extend its already global reach, as the "international application market is over 20 times larger than the French one".

The platform, which was launched in 2006, acts as an agent between amateur photographers and publications, as well as helping other publications to set up their own citizen photo sites. Citizenside has also developed technology which allows detailed authentication of the origin of the images it receives, and helps avoid the pitfalls of photos which aren't what their owners say they are.

Stefani points out that the Citizenside iPhone application is 'white label', allowing media outlets that purchase it to apply their own brand and identity to it. As an example of how mobile technology in particular helps the site, he describes how the company "recently received live coverage from French students during demonstrations". Stefani explains that they are "now waiting for our growing international 'News Witness' community to use this application and share more news with Citizenside and its clients."

Source: Citizenside