:Journalistopia

Head on over to the conference site for South by Southwest (SXSW) for free video from the media and entertainment conference. You’ll want to particularly peruse the Interactive Coverage. And yes, the much-maligned Zuckerberg/Lacy interview is there too.

I wasn’t one of the fortunate souls who made it out to Texas for the conference, so if you have any specific recommendations on what to watch, do share in the comments.

And to think I just got Netflix this weekend, and I’ll be spending a couple of hours watching tiny pixelated videos of guys talking about media nerd stuff…

No Comments  |   Email This Post

Just got an e-mail letting me know that audio from the Future of Web Apps Miami conference is available. Woot!

For us online news types, these talks are a great chance to get exposed to what’s happening in web technology and to think about how we can apply it to our situation.

These were the talks I thought were the best IMHO:

Cal Henderson from Flickr talks about the software development process and gives boatloads of excellent advice you need to hear if you’re developing applications.

Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV talks about the importance of passion in growing a community (this one really applies to news sites).

Kevin Marks from Google talks about Google’s OpenSocial and the future of social networking.

Blaine Cook from Twitter talks about the future of Twitter and its architecture.

Leah Culver from Pownce talks about opening your web app to the masses (something news sites need to get better at, without jeopardizing their revenue that is..)

No Comments  |   Email This Post

Kathy Sierra talked about creating passionate users earlier today, but Gary Vaynerchuk talked about creating passionate OWNERS.

Vaynerchuk, host of the popular Wine Library TV online video show, worked his way into the hearts of the crowd here at the Future of Web Apps conference by sharing his passion for his community (and boozing us up with a little wine passed out to the crowd).

You should pay close attention to what he has to say if you operate a news site. Vaynerchuk is not a computer expert (”I built a 15 million-dollar liquor store on Control C and Control V”); he’s a wine expert. And he’s passionate, passionate, passionate about his community:

“I fly all over the country just to drink wine with people.”

“You’ve got to have the DNA of your community.”

“There needs to be a face to your company. You have to take care of those people until your bleeding out of your f***ing g****mn face.”

“You need to love your community more than you love yourself.”

“You’ve got to have someone in the trenches. Someone people can touch.”

I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say that perhaps doesn’t sound like your ombudsman — if your news operation even has one any more, that is. Some news sites have hired “community managers,” usually to manage message boards and community-contibuted content.  But is that person a visible presence on the site? Have people seen his face? Does the person have public conversations with readers? Does that person really love where he works?

And most important of all, are you making an effort to brand that person as being a community resource, or is he just another mysterious byline? Do people know this person exists? Vaynerchuk said it best:

“You always hear ‘content is king’. The fact of the matter is marketing and branding is the queen, and we know who runs the household.”

If people can’t name your community manager, if they can’t relate to that person or get an e-mail returned quickly –then really, what’s the point?

It’s become increasingly clear that tomorrow’s web is going to be shaped by openness — OpenID, open standards, open business practices, etc. Consequently, your news site is going to need someone reliable to whom people can go for answers.

3 Comments  |   Email This Post

Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users is on the mic right now talking about how to engage users and make them passionate about your web app.

While Sierra’s talking about software development, I can’t help but think that much of what she says also applies to print newsroom staff who are trying to embrace the online medium.

Sierra talks about a “suck threshold”, the point at which a person is unskilled with a particular tool, and a passion threshold, where a user really begins to understand how to use a tool and can really begin loving it.

In newsrooms, folks often experience lots of initial excitement about a particular web technology — usually things like  Flash, Soundslides, recording audio and video, working in the content-management system, Twittering or any other number of things. But what happens when they start getting into the nitty-gritty of Flash and realize how freakin’ hard it really is? Or they start using Twitter, don’t get followers and kinda wade in the dark on how to use it?

That “suck threshold”, as Kathy says, is the time a user is most likely to give up on any skill. It’s at that time that your Web staff and power users need to step in and really guide the print folks in becoming comfortable with a technology.

Oftentimes, we think selling them on using a tool is the biggest battle. It’s important, but it’s not the end of the war. Your staff must overcome that often-difficult learning curve before the battle is won.

SOME TIPS:

-Once a technology is identified, have regularly scheduled training for it.  Do a monthly training with the tool or colaborate regularly with a mentor at another publication. The biggest sin I see is editors sending a staffer to this-or-that intensive two-day workshop to learn Flash. The staffer returns, starts playing with the tool, produces one quick project, and then eventually gives up when they don’t get practice and can’t advance their skills to the next level.

-Focus on creating a project, not on learning a tool. How many of you sit there and say “This is SO awesome; I’m going to spend my whole day learning how to use this power saw!” Using a saw is boring. Using a saw to create a custom cabinet for your house is awesome. Focus on the end result, and you’ll learn the skills along the way.

-Have patience. The first projects a new user creates are going to be pretty lousy (I know mine are!). Let your staffers know you expect them to fail sometimes, and that it’s OK; they’re learning. If you provide regular training and encouragement, you’ll reap the dividends.

No Comments  |   Email This Post

The Orlando Sentinel Posse is here in Miami for the 2008 Future of Web Apps Conference, where he hope to figure out how we can peer into the future of web technology and apply it to the media.

A few quick tidbits: Josh Hallett of Hyku is at the front of the room snapping away, so catch his Flickr photoset and many others tagged fowamiami2008 throughout the day. Sentinel tech writer Etan Horowitz will be blogging today on the new Etan on Tech blog. And, catch Sentinel designer and Twitterholic extraordinaire Bill Couch’s feed here.

More in a bit.

No Comments  |   Email This Post

A heads-up, mostly for fellow Floridians: FREE registration for BarCamp Orlando is open today!

What is BarCamp? Event organizer Gregg Pollack says it best:

BarCampOrlando is a community building event, which happens twice a year to bring together people from different backgrounds to share and learn from each other. There will be people who know Java, .NET, Ruby, PHP, and other technologies coming together for Dev Day, and there will be people who know film, music, photography, graphic design, podcasting, and even other new Media coming together for Media Day.

Yours truly was there last year, and it was uber cool. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet local tech folks and learn about cutting edge stuff, some of which you’ll soon be seeing in newsrooms. And best of all, it won’t cost you a dime.

So seeya at BarCamp Orlando!

[NOTE: Speaking of nerd conferences, I’ll be at the Future of Web Apps conference in Miami tomorrow, along with Bill and Etan.]

2 Comments  |   Email This Post

The Newspaper Association of America announced the winners of the 2008 Digital Edge Awards. (Hopefully an Edgie for PolitiFact will help my ol’ pal Matt Waite get over his recent Web host meltdown). And the winners are:

This year’s Online Innovator Award went to Dan Shorter for his work at PalmBeachPost.com. As of this week, Dan is moving to the Star-Tribune in Minnesota.

The winners of the 2008 Digital Edge Awards are:

Best Overall Newspaper Web Site

LJWorld.com, The Lawrence Journal-World/The World Co. (circ. < 75,000)

Knoxnews.com, Knoxville News Sentinel (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

PolitiFact.com, St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly (circ. > 250,000)

Best Local Guide or Entertainment Site

Lawrence.com, The World Co. (circ. < 75,000)

Austin360.com, Austin American-Stateman (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

Vita.mn, Minneapolis Star Tribune (circ. > 250,000)

Best Local Shopping and Directory Strategy

LJWorld.com Marketplace, The World Co. (circ. < 75,000)

Mobile Shopping Directory, The Palm Beach Post (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

ChicagoTribune.com Shopping Channel and Metromix Boutiques, Tribune Interactive (circ. > 250,000)

Best Digital Advertising Program

I Lassoed Lance, Amarillo Globe-News (circ. < 75,000)

Online Carousel, Dayton Daily News (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

Homepage Experience Campaign, Minneapolis Star Tribune (circ. > 250,000)

Best Digital Classified Innovation

No winner (circ. < 75,000)

Increase Renewals with Automated E-mails, The Palm Beach Post (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

Real Estate Video Tours, The Dallas Morning News (circ. > 250,000)

Most Innovative Multimedia Storytelling

24 Hours in Lawrence Lawrence Journal-World/The World Co. (circ. < 75,000)

BrokenTrust, Sarasota Herald-Tribune (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

A People Torn, Minneapolis Star Tribune (circ. > 250,000)

Most Innovative Use of Interactive Media

PigskinReview.com, Amarillo Globe-News (circ. < 75,000)

Ultimate Local Band Site and Text Voting Contest, tbt* Tampa Bay Times (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

The Issues Tracker and HD Video Podcasts, washingtonpost.com (circ. > 250,000)

Most Innovative Visitor Participation

Creating a Two-Way Conversation with Our Community, Savannahnow.com/Savannah Morning News (circ. < 75,000)

School Matters Knoxnews.com/Knoxville News Sentinel (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

cincyMOMS.com, Cincinnati Enquirer (circ. > 250,000)

Best Design and Site Architecture

PrepZone.com, Naples Daily News (circ. < 75,000)

Knoxnews.com, Knoxville News Sentinel (circ. 75,000 – 250,000)

washingtonpost.com, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (circ. < 250,000)

1 Comment  |   Email This Post

[CORRECTION: That’s FEBRUARY 22-23, not January. Thanks Melissa. Going to go eat a bug now…] 

Georgia Tech will be hosting a Feb. 22-23 symposium on the future of technology as it relates to the news industry, featuring speakers such as Google News creator Krishna Bharat, American Public Media innovation center executive director Michael Skoler and Fast Company media columnist and Gawker founder Elizabeth Spiers.

Registration before Feb. 10 is $100. After Feb. 10, registration is $150. Registration for students is $50 with valid ID.

The Symposium on Computation and Journalism is billed as bringing together “researchers and newspeople from academia, corporate labs, Internet juggernauts, big media companies, small media companies, and startups, plus a freelancer or two who works at home, solo in pajamas.” Plus,  they’re “setting aside 50% of the seats for students and early-career folks with the expectation that they’re the ones to finish the conversation we hope to start.”

More info about the symposium here.

[Hat tip to April Hunt]

4 Comments  |   Email This Post

Famed Journerdist Will Sullivan has put together a useful set of profiles of the four best online and multimedia professional journalism groups. Don’t spend a penny of your pittance of a conference budget before reading Will’s profiles.

On his list are the:

Online News Association

National Press Photographers Association

Society for News Design

Sports Shooter

Will goes through the pluses and minuses of the groups and provides tell-it-like-it-is reviews of the groups’ conferences. So check it out!

Additionally, make sure you take a look at local and regional groups for great events, particularly when it comes to technology. I’ve picked up great ideas and insights at events such as Likemind, BlogOrlando and BarCamp without having to break the budget.

1 Comment  |   Email This Post

Quick conference opportunity for techies, especially for Floridians and Miami natives such as yours truly:

The Future of Web Apps conference is taking place in Miami from February 28 to March 1. The speakers list includes tech-heads from Twitter, Plaxo, Ning and much more. Early bird registration is $145 for early birds, $195 normal. Conference plus the day of workshops is $495 early bird, $595 regular. Registration for students is $50 (workshops not included). See the full fee list here.

As an alternative to the workshops, BarCamp Miami (a free event) will be taking place the same day on February 28.

No Comments  |   Email This Post

Alas, the trip to lovely Canada comes to an end as Journalistopia is headed back to Orlando, Fla today. The Online News Association conference was a blast, but it couldn’t have been possible without the incredible work put in by executive director Lori Schwab, conference chair Ju-Don Marshall Roberts and a host of other misfits (Anjali, Amy, Laura, Josh, Eileen, Tiffany and more). I also want to thank the panelists I worked with who were kind enough to share their insights: David Milliron, Rob Curley, JD Lasica, Dan Gillmor, Jay Rosen and Adrian Holovaty.

Toronto, I won’t forget thee. You charmed me with your happenin’ West Queen Street/Spadina arts district, zombies roaming Bloor Street in broad daylight, hokey Hippo Tours, super-fast subways, fresh-cut fries, street-side antique sales and –most impressively– your insane love of books.

Thanks to all the kind Torontonians who helped me navigate the city and pointed me to some of the best chicken pad thai I’ve ever had.

No Comments  |   Email This Post

Live from the ONA conference in Toronto…

Adrian Holovaty looks at a photo of the world’s ugliest dog and sees 1s and 0s.

Displaying a photo of the hideous animal, Holovaty –the big brain behind ChicagoCrime.org and the Python framework Django– says there are loads of data in the ugly dog image. Who/what is the subject? Who took the photo? Where was it taken? When was it taken? What kind of camera was used? What colors are in the photos?

So how can that image, if tagged with metadata, give your site a big advantage? A good example is Flickr, which allows users to search photos by all sorts of non-traditional criteria. The result is a site that is stickier and allows a high degree of browsability, a trait that users nowadays are beginning to view as essential, Holovaty said.

News organizations have reporters attending city council meetings, high school sports games and covering local crimes — something Google doesn’t or can’t do. But rather than just having reporters gather facts and fuse them into a “blob” that is unreadable by machines (aka, a news story), Holovaty wants to also see news organizations compiling that information into a database format that can be easily browsed by users.

“We have all those killer advantages, but the tragedy is that we haven’t actually leveraged the information we collect,” Holovaty said.

How to get started

Being that crime databases are all the rage these days –no thanks to Holovaty– here is a set of processes and tips to get one rolling:

-Analyze the raw data you get from the police department.

-List the data’s fields (Date, time, crime type, address, etc.)

-Identify the key concepts. If a user clicks on a field, is it useful to that user to see the data sorted by that criteria? For instance, browsing by date ishelpful, but case numbers are unique and not really browseable.

-Make list pages with multiple records that are browseable by a certain criteria.

-Then, make detail pages for individual crimes.

-Every piece of information needs to have a permalink. Linkability/bookmarkability is critical, not just for users but also for search engines. “Your Google juice will go up,” Holovaty said.

4 Comments  |   Email This Post