Wired is diving into citizen journalism and crowdsourcing once again. A new project called Assignment Zero offers: “…any willing contributor the chance to do the work of a reporter, writer, researcher or editor in a joint investigation by Wired and NewAssignment.Net. When Assignment Zero ends, NewAssignment.Net will publish the results — articles, interviews and assorted… Continue reading Where Anyone Can Be a Reporter, Writer, Researcher or Editor
Journalistic Uses for Blogs
The Bivings Report gives us 16 Ways The News Media Can Use Blogs. On their list: Solicit ideas for coverage. Request feedback on how to shape an editorial product. Host public blogs. Provide ongoing coverage. Foster interaction between journalists and citizens. Cheaply report news about niche interests. Request help from the public on covering a… Continue reading Journalistic Uses for Blogs
Truly Interactive Journalism
Will Wright, the creator of videogame sensations SimCity and the Sims is slowly working on his next game: Spore. You can check out this amazing video that gives you a tour of Spore. Basically, you create life from a single spore, as it evolves into a galaxy. He recently presented at the South by Southwest… Continue reading Truly Interactive Journalism
The State of News Media
The Project for Excellence in Journalism has released their new 160,000 word report: The State of the News Media 2007. A huge amount of data here. One excerpt regarding magazines: “The year 2007 could prove pivotal to the magazine industry and news magazines specifically. After a series of down years, there is no projected upturn… Continue reading The State of News Media
MyMarketing
Marketing via social networks is on the rise. In 2007, as many as 48 percent of brand marketers will deploy marketing on social networking channels. Last year, about 38 percent were messaging on the channel. JupiterResearch analyst Emily Riley suggests the following: “Many advertisers easily understand the idea of having a MySpace profile, many will… Continue reading MyMarketing
Writing for the Web: Increasing Engagement
Online Journalism Review shares some interesting findings on writing for the web: “What if you could engage users in a story for about half the time, yet have them remember about 34 percent more of the content? That’s exactly what one test showed. Spending less than two hours rewriting and reformatting a story about New… Continue reading Writing for the Web: Increasing Engagement
The Difficulty of Breaking into the Search Engine Market
Read/Write Web and Search The Web 2.0, look at the long tail of the search engine market. The top market share is locked up with the following brands, but then drops off pretty severely after that. www.google.com www.yahoo.com www.msn.com www.ask.com www.aol.com www.digg.com http://del.icio.us Some compelling charts are also posted.
Print Readers Want to Know: “What’s in it for Me?”
CBS News reports on the changing landscape for newspapers and print editors. Some of the ways they are adapting: Pushing readers to go to their website for ‘breaking news.’ Focusing stories on how national news affects their community. Creating more articles from each topic. In terms of catering to the needs of local audiences, Samir… Continue reading Print Readers Want to Know: “What’s in it for Me?”
Twitter: Always Feel Important
Twitter is suddenly the big news for their creation of a new way to look at communicating on the web. Mashable describes Twitter this way: “…short, to-the-point messages that let your friends, family and the world know exactly where you are and what you’re doing, every second of the day.” On the speed of adoption:… Continue reading Twitter: Always Feel Important
When Your Sources Go Directly to Your Audience
Doc Searls looks at how the web has changed journalism. “The Net is a giant zero. It puts everybody zero distance from everybody and everything else. And it supports publishing and broadcasting at costs that round to zero as well. “It is essential for the mainstream media to understand that the larger information ecosystem is… Continue reading When Your Sources Go Directly to Your Audience