http://www.editorsweblog.org/ en Copyright 2008 Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:37:21 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification San Diego Union-Tribune has launched a social networking platform dubbed sdBackyard.com.

Users can perform all the basic functions, including creating profiles, sharing with friends, uploading multimedia content and creating blogs.

However, unlike many previous newspaper experiments with social networks, the site seems to have thought of two key aspects:
- how to use the user-generated content within editorial packages
- how to make advertising revenues from this venture

The community print publications, which will compile content submitted by users, will be distributed on Fridays by home delivery (along with the daily). They will also be available for free at some retail outlets starting in June.

Users of the social network are required to register according to geographic location, which helps to put them automatically in touch with locally relevant content - and to serve them with targeted advertising.

"The unique geographic targeting allows small businesses, nonprofit organizations, clubs, and other community groups opportunities to promote themselves in print and online," said George Bonaros, marketing director for the Union-Tribune.

Source: Editor & Publisher

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/us_san_diego_uniontrib_launches_social_n.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/us_san_diego_uniontrib_launches_social_n.php Web 2.0 convergence social networks US user-generated content Wed, 14 May 2008 08:53:03 +0000
The Post will be running a live blog throughout the whole day, until next morning's edition goes the presses.

Thanks to technology from Bambuser and Qik, the Post's journalists will stream video of themselves via their mobile phones, as they conduct interviews or work in the office.

The day's main editorial conference was also streamed online.

Readers of the live blog can submit ideas for stories and questions for journalists, about editorial decisions, design and more, both for the print and online editions.

"The success of the live blog during our local election coverage proved that our readers enjoy being a part of the newsgathering process, asking questions and sharing information," said Mark Thomas, Liverpool Daily Post editor.

"Now we want to take this a stage further and invite people to get involved in the production of their newspaper."

Congratulations to the Post for this innovative way of engaging the audience in the news process and behind the scenes.

Go take a look!

Source: journalism.co.uk

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_liverpool_daily_post_invites_readers.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_liverpool_daily_post_invites_readers.php Web 2.0 blog innovation Tue, 13 May 2008 13:53:30 +0000 The Guardian reports that more than 10% of UK mobile phone users have accessed social networking sites, such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace via mobile devices.

According to Nielsen Mobile, of the UK's 48 million mobile phone subscribers, 21 million are also on a social networking site.

Out of this 21 million, about 25% used their mobile phone, each month in the first quarter of 2008, to visit a social networking site.

"Social networking is already a global phenomenon and mobile could be the next big thing in the space," said Kent Ferguson, the client services manager at Nielsen Mobile.

"There could be increased demand for mobile social networking driven by the flat fee price plans offered by the leading operators that give subscribers unlimited mobile internet access."

Nielsen's survey was based on interviews with about 10,000 mobile phone users in the UK.

Source: Guardian

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_mobile_social_networking_booms.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_mobile_social_networking_booms.php Web 2.0 mobile social networks Tue, 13 May 2008 09:35:36 +0000 The Teesside Evening Gazette's network of community websites, it seems a hyperlocal focus drives online traffic.

The five largest of the Gazette's 20 hyperlocal websites (a figure which is set to increase) have a five-figure monthly unique user count not much lower than the number of households in the post-code size areas they serve, reports blogger Martin Stabe.

The largest of the websites, based in Redcar's TS10 postcode, has 16,366 monthly users in an area with 16,396 households. And Redcar's users are obviously not a captive audience; on the web, they could go anywhere. Instead they choose to use a service carrying content with a more personal dimension.    

Teesside has also capitalized on the high user numbers by reverse-publishing the community sites into hyperlocal print publications, a scheme which has proved profitable, according to Evening Gazette editor Darren Thwaites.

The moral of the story: while too much hyperlocal news may not be "sophisticated," it might just boost traffic.

Source: The Wire through David Black 

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_unique_users_to_teesside_gazette_hype.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_unique_users_to_teesside_gazette_hype.php Web 2.0 hyperlocal UK Mon, 12 May 2008 13:23:16 +0000 Lessons on the brave new world of citizen journalism via cell phones are coming from the unlikeliest of places: Disney World. Using a new website called Twisney.com, anyone strolling around a Disney park can upload live updates and images from their phone.

Believe it or not, Twisney is not a Disney project nor the work of a venture-capital incubator. Rather, it was created by a 34-year old software developer with two kids who was taking his son to Disney World on a guys-only trip, and wanted to be able to update his wife and daughter back at home.

Twisney users can send short messages to an email address provided on the website, where the messages appear overlaid on an aerial view of the theme park provided by Microsoft's Virtual Earth map. Twisney is also tied in with Twitter; all you have to do is send a Tweet to the Twisney feed. 

The posts on Twisney are a mish-mash. While some users post trivial information such as their locations or their photos, others are sharing information valuable to navigating the Disney World parks.

And therein lies the potential of these types of sites, which offer instantaneous information sharing. Writes Wall Street Journal blogger Tom Weber, "The next logical step for Twisney is to have users consistently share real-time intelligence throughout the parks."

As these services evolve and become more popular, there's an opportunity for companies like Disney "to encourage passionate customers and even participate directly in the electronic conversation." There is also a risk for logistical headaches. Imagine one person sending a message to Twisney saying that a ride has a small line; pretty soon all the park will have descended on one place.

The Twisney experiment does, however, illustrate a key truth about today's citizen journalism: it's getting easier to participate. That will inevitably increase the numbers of people who do, changing the landscape of journalism along the way.

How do newspapers cope? The most effective model, like so much in journalism at the moment, remains elusive. Some news organizations like CBS and CNN have launched their own citizen journalism websites. But offering a chance at participation alone is not enough; a good business model is equally key, as Dutch cit-J site Skoeps recently discovered. The only thing newspapers can't do is bury their head in the sand and ignore the increasing levels of amateur participation.   

Source: Wall Street Journal  through I Want Media
   ]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/us_citj_lessons_from_disney_world.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/us_citj_lessons_from_disney_world.php Web 2.0 citizen journalism US Mon, 12 May 2008 11:41:55 +0000 TimesOnline editor-in-chief Anne Spackman, search engine optimization "is woven through the fabric of journalism and culture" at The Times.
 
Speaking the PPA conference, Spackman said that the paper placed more emphasis on search as part of its redesign in February last year, after research showed that 60% of the site's traffic is generated from search and external links. 

"It's inconceivable that we would start a new project now without the search team being involved at every single stage," Spackman said.

Blogger Pat Thornton too is stressing the importance of SEO, seeing it as the key to longevity on the web. Thornton noted that only 20% of his traffic comes from direct sources (RSS, users who have bookmarked pages), while half of the past month's traffic came from referring websites.

"I actively encourage deep linking to my content (links that go to individual content, not just my main page) and the use of my content on other blogs and social networks," Thornton writes.

Undoubtedly SEO is crucial, but Spackman said that Times staff are not being encouraged to write solely for search optimization. In her view, maintaining the quality of the brand is just as important, a sentiment shared by ClickZ's P.J. Fusco in a recent article on content optimization (see a summarized version).

In other news out of the PPA conference:
-The Telegraph is to integrate UGC from MyTelegraph across its website
-WSJ and TimesOnline to more closely integrate content

Sources: Journalism.co.uk, the Journalism Iconoclast
]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_seo_is_part_of_our_culture_says_times.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_seo_is_part_of_our_culture_says_times.php Web 2.0 search engine optimization UK Fri, 09 May 2008 10:49:28 +0000 The relaunch of the redesigned MyTelegraph site this summer will see user generated content integrated across other areas of Telegraph.co.uk, said Telegraph communities editor Shane Richmond at the PPA conference.

Accoring to Richmond, plans are in place "to take user content into other areas of Telegraph.co.uk to advertise and integrate the service." The updated MyTelegraph service will also include new tools enabling users to upload multimedia conference, reports Journalism.co.uk.

The Telegraph opted to redesign the site following the closure of Intersource, the company that built the site's original platform.

In the interim, MyTelegraph (see image), which currently has 18,000 registered users, has been housed at Telegraph HQ, Richmond said.

"That left us in a very precarious position. We had a lack of experience in running the site," he said.

The revamped site will be run on a platform created by American company ONESite.

Source: Journalism.co.uk 

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_telegraph_to_integrate_ugc_content_ac.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_telegraph_to_integrate_ugc_content_ac.php Web 2.0 redesign UK user-generated content Fri, 09 May 2008 09:28:02 +0000 tips on newspaper website SEO. But newspaper sites can go further; according to P.J. Fusco of the ClickZ Network, managing the gap is the next step in successful online content optimization.

Gap analysis involves weighing where you are versus where you want to be. In terms of content optimization, this involves understanding two key factors:

- the difference between keywords that make your site's content optimal for search results and keywords that are used in search queries

- the gap between your site's current search positioning and your target positioning for a batch of select keywords

In choosing which keywords to use in the comparison, "volume differences between search referral traffic for particular words and phrases will be revealed," wrote ClickZ. In other words, an analysis of the keywords shows which terms are more popular, and therefore more likely to be picked up by a search engine.
 
Once you've discovered which words and phrases boost your search engine status, you can then mold your site's content to boost search traffic.

Fusco cautions, however, not to throw all your eggs in the search engine basket. If a website starts to uses search-engine friendly keywords and headlines that no longer reflect the core content of the site, you may raise search engine friendly but at the expense of readers.

"Your content must be friendly for users first and search engines second," Fusco writes.

Also read Reed Business Information, which is currently debating whether to reward its journalists for drawing in traffic, a potentially risky proposition.

Source: ClickZ
 ]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/managing_the_gap_the_next_step_beyond_se.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/managing_the_gap_the_next_step_beyond_se.php Web 2.0 audience online tools search engine optimization Wed, 07 May 2008 14:58:27 +0000 Skoeps, announced the site will be shutting down after less than two years of existence, after having failed to find a viable business model.

This news comes although Skoeps had seemingly fared successfully, as was described in an interview with them last September. The Dutch site collected pictures and videos from users, which it sold to media outlets. Revenues were shared with contributors.

In March, Skoeps had announced plans to introduce a pay-per-view system for users in order to better compensate its users.

For some, the shuttering of Skoeps actually came as good news.

"Luckily nobody was killed," says new media expert Jonathan Marks. "I am glad Skoeps has gone because it encouraged members of the public to take risks - some of which were unacceptable in my view - like trying to get close to fires or incidents when health and safety were at risk."

Skoeps was also a partner in the Voices of Africa project, which equips journalists in select African countries with mobile gadgets and technology in order to produce mobile journalism. It appears Skoeps' closure won't affect the project though.

After the widespread emergence of citizen journalism platforms in recent years, many of these ventures have been struggling to find viable business models. Is citizen journalism here to stay or not, and in what form?

Source: Follow the Media - Reuters through European Journalism Centre

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/citj_photo_site_skoeps_closes_no_busines.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/citj_photo_site_skoeps_closes_no_busines.php Web 2.0 citizen journalism Netherlands Mon, 05 May 2008 08:46:05 +0000 Northcliffe Media has rolled out a revamped version of thisishullandeastriding.co.uk, the first redesigned website in a planned relaunch of all the company's local ThisIs titles.

In addition to reformatting its exisiting 56 ThisIs sites, Northcliffe intends to add an additional 31 sites, bringing the grand total to 87.

Robert Hardie, content strategy director at Northcliffe, said the company aimed to increase stability and search performance on the new sites, citing current problems with poor search engine optimization and difficulties coping with increased traffic.
 
"The old system had been massively outgrown by the amount of traffic we were getting - to say it was creaking at the seams would be an understatement," Hardie said.

The next redesigned site should debut in five weeks time, with the entire program scheduled for completion by the end of the financial year.

Source: Journalism.co.uk
]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_northcliffe_relaunches_first_local_we.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/05/uk_northcliffe_relaunches_first_local_we.php Web 2.0 launch redesign UK Fri, 02 May 2008 08:12:13 +0000 The Mail Online has launched a beta version (see first image) of its redesigned website for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.

The new version at the moment features only content from the Mail's news, sport, entertainment, and Femail features section. The masthead has also shifted from the old Daily Mail design to a new Mail Online brand.



The redesigned site, which has been in the pipeline since last summer, is more reader-friendly with larger font and a less cramped layout.

Click on the second image for a look at the old version.

Source: Guardian

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/04/uk_daily_mail_debuts_redesigned_site_in.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/04/uk_daily_mail_debuts_redesigned_site_in.php Web 2.0 launch UK Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:41:10 +0000 The Newspaper Association of America reported this week that the number of unique visitors at its member's websites increased by 12.3% in the first three months of the year.

That's certainly excellent news for newspapers. However, blogger Alan Mutter has pointed out a worrisome finding behind the growth: more people than ever are visiting, but they are sticking around for shorter than in 2007.

The chart depicts the movement of the four key metrics of online newspaper growth.

In the first three months of 2008, the average amount of time spent by website visitors dropped by 2.9%. Though not a dramatic drop, it becomes more noticeable after factoring in the 6.6% loss in the average number of page views per unique user,

According to Mutter, "the decline in the average duration of sessions at newspaper web pages suggests that visitors are not utilizing the industry's sites as primary destinations, but, rather, as places to episodically view individual articles highlighted by Google News, Drudge, Digg, blogs or any of the thousands of other places they might be."

The concern for newspapers with what Mutter terms "drive-by surfers" is a potential loss in advertising revenue, which would come as particularly hard hit in an industry that is relying more and more on online revenue. It is also likely that these latest figures will increase newspaper's opposition to Google's new "search within a search," which had started to curry favor following a controversial debut.

Source: Reflections of a Newsosaur 

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/04/us_unique_visitors_to_newspaper_websites.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/04/us_unique_visitors_to_newspaper_websites.php Web 2.0 audience online viewers Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:54:05 +0000 Paul Bradshaw offers some tips for busy reporters and editors on how to use some Web-based tools such as RSS feeds and social media to help them along the basic newsgathering process.

According to him, why go searching for news on the Web and Google when one can let that news come to you instead?

Among his tips:

- subscribe to RSS feeds for any online sources in your area of coverage: you'll get constantly updated feeds, from a multitude of sources, on a one-stop page.
- Technorati, the blog search engine, gives the possibility of subscribing to feeds organized by tag: an easy way for a motoring journalist to keep up to date with the blogosphere's coverage of 'Ford', 'V8s' and more.
- Twitter offers features including Twitterlocal and Tweetscan, which enable users to subscribe to feeds based on location and keywords, allowing journalists to set up feeds in advance for scheduled events.
- Subscribe to bookmarking sites such as Delicious and the like: "Bookmarking sites like Delicious are a goldmine of information and leads," says Bradshaw.
- Use social networks and their feeds: "Journalism is all about contacts. Social networks are a fantastic way of finding and managing them," writes Bradshaw.
- Sign up for some Google alerts: in addition to automatically providing items that may have gone unnoticed, Google always displays 'similar' results.

While journalists should by all means learn how to take advantage of these easy-to-use Web resources, they shouldn't do so at the expense of traditional reflexes: getting directly in touch with sources and verifying the accuracy of content on their own.

Source: journalism.co.uk through IFRA Executive News Service

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2008/04/how_to_use_rss_and_social_media_for_news.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2008/04/how_to_use_rss_and_social_media_for_news.php Newsrooms and Journalism Web 2.0 online tools RSS social networks Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:41:27 +0000 Jeff Jarvis has dissected exactly how he earns a living as a blogger.

First the direct revenue from his blog BuzzMachine, which at $13,855 total revenue since 2001, is "not too shabby. Nonetheless, you'd still be forgiven for thinking I shouldn't have quit my day job," Jarvis writes.

According to Jarvis, who left his "day job" as president of an online division of Condé Nast's parent company in 2005, the exposure he receives from the blog has led to more lucrative opportunities.

Which doors have opened for him thanks, at least in part, to his blog?

·    A position on the faculty of the journalism school at City University of New York
·    Consulting and speaking gigs for various companies and brands
·    A column with MediaGuardian. Editors asked him to take ideas from his blog and transform them into a column, making "the newspaper an aftermarket for the blog"
·    A book contract stemming from an idea he discussed in his blog

And thanks to BuzzMachine, the brave new world of Web 2.0 is a more familiar place. "Buzzmachine has taught me about the new architecture of media; I wouldn't have learned that without jumping into the new world myself."

His final assessment: "this is one web 2.0 venture that is profitable."

That much is clear, but it's also true that Jarvis is something of a celebrity blogger. His success with his blog, while impressive, is certainly not the norm. For those still inclined to go web, take in to account as well the debate, provoked by a recent New York Times article, over the risks posed by the sometimes-ludicrously long hours that bloggers have to put in to keep up.

Source: Guardian  ]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/04/jarvis_anatomy_of_a_blogging_paycheck.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2008/04/jarvis_anatomy_of_a_blogging_paycheck.php Web 2.0 blog Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:44:53 +0000 Telegraph Media Group in the UK has appointed Iain Martin to a newly created position, head of comment and community.

Martin, currently group executive editor of politics, will oversee all comment pages and community areas for the Telegraph's three main platforms including The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and telegraph.co.uk.

Martin will also oversee the platforms that host reader comments, including My Telegraph, a news customization tool, and Your View, an open area which lists brief summaries of the Telegraph's stories, and encourages readers to comment by sparking a debate about those issues.

As more newspapers ramp up their interaction with readers (or their multimedia offerings: see the new position created by the Glasgow Herald Group), they increasingly need to have dedicated staff to monitor user-generated content in a way that benefits their journalistic product.

Source: Brand Republic

]]> http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2008/04/new_newsroom_role_at_telegraph_head_of_c.php http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2008/04/new_newsroom_role_at_telegraph_head_of_c.php Newsrooms and Journalism Web 2.0 newsroom management staff changes user-generated content Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:24:29 +0000