WEBSITE OF THE DAY - nowpublic.com

News. The world is obsessed with it. Dip your toe in current affairs and you're soon sucked in by the maelstrom that is the news.

Research suggests that when something big happens, people go looking to the names they trust. In the UK that's the BBC, The Times or Reuters. Elsewhere it's CNN or Al Jazeera (or in cloud cuckoo land it's Fox News).

Now Public offers a slightly different perspective, in that it's people powered.

What that means is that the stories here are either written by or recommended by it's users and far from that being a twee little collection of aimless ramblings, that means it has it's virtual finger on the collective pulse. It's simple to upload your photos, video or audio or even just let them know about what you're currently reading about.

A useful alternative news source.

www.nowpublic.com

IF YOU depend on the internet to keep track of what's happening you probably have a couple of websites that you like to visit for an update.

Perhaps you prefer The Courier-Mail's internet page, or maybe it's the ABC or the BBC.

Now there's another option with a couple of websites that are "people powered" providing a different perspective on what's happening.

NowPublic is one such page that describes itself as "a participatory news network which mobilises an army of reporters to cover the events that define our world".

"In 12 short months, the company has become one of the fastest growing news organisations with thousands of reporters in over 140 countries," the site explained.

"By harnessing the wisdom of crowds, and tapping into the news- creating potential of the hundreds of millions of Internet users, bloggers and photography enthusiasts, NowPublic is changing the way news is made and distributed."