future-of-journalism

ORIGINAL URL:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070224.BCNOWPUBLIC24/TPStory/National
POSTED Feb. 24, 2007

'We're here to report, be eyes, be ears'
NowPublic.com has ballooned to the largest participatory journalism website in the world

By JONATHAN WOODWARD
Special to The Globe and Mail

VANCOUVER -- It was a crisp morning last August when Web marketer Megan Cole snapped her first picture of something she thought was newsworthy: a high-stakes takedown of a man on a bike by eight police officers, all in her quiet Kitsilano neighbourhood. "I was just sitting with my two-month-old puppy on my porch and suddenly there was yelling, they pinned him down, they went through his bag," she recalled. "I ran in and got my camera."

She posted the picture to the fledgling Vancouver-based website NowPublic.com, where the story became crowd-sourced: Any reader could comment on it, submit a companion photo, or vote for its prominence with a single click. That was seven months ago. Since then, NowPublic.com has ballooned to the largest participatory journalism site in the world, a monster blog in the style of Korea's OhMyNews.com, with 60,000 camera-phone-toting users in 140 countries reading and writing their own news.

And this month, NowPublic hit another milestone in a deal with The Associated Press: The view is that a world thick with an army of self-described "citizen journalists" could be covered better -- and the volunteers may be rewarded with finding their material syndicated through the world's largest newswire. The NowPublic deal lets The Associated Press tap into NowPublic's 60,000 users, said AP vice-president Jim Kennedy. "We've been capturing content for many years, and some of the biggest news events have been captured by citizens: a cardiologist captured the breaking of the space shuttle, and powerful images from inside the collapse of the twin towers," he said.

Mr. Kennedy said AP would monitor the posts of NowPublic's users, and, if the site reported something new, that post would be vetted by staff and its substance would quickly find its way into AP copy. "We're going to take this through the mill as we would any contribution from staff or freelancers," he said. "Everyone's qualified to be at the right place or the right time."

Said Ms. Cole: "More than anything, [NowPublic] is a place that gave me a voice. It wasn't me talking about my own life and a bunch of silly jawing about my own life -- it was a chance to contribute."

The site is a free-for-all that has posted photos of a tornado in New Orleans, features on hunger in the Philippines, and water shortages in Australia. Although Vancouver is home to two crowd-sourcing news organizations, Orato.com and NowPublic, whose office is based on Alexander Street in Gastown, the founders say Vancouver has lucked out when it comes to being on the forefront. "As far as I'm concerned, NowPublic is based behind the computer screen," said Matt Eliason, a 47-year-old Web marketer who once worked at the town paper in Toowoomba, Australia.

Citizen journalists are a different breed from bloggers, he said. "Bloggers are ranters, they're writing opinion pieces," said Mr. Eliason via the Internet from Toowoomba. "We're here to report, be eyes, be ears." And bloggers face the risk of having no readership -- meaning they are often putting words into a "big black hole," he said. Just as blogs removed the technical barriers to putting a website up, participatory journalism takes marketing out of the equation, he said.

No one has determined how the NowPublic contributors would be paid, AP's Mr. Kennedy said.

But NowPublic co-founder Leonard Brody says it may not be important for NowPublic contributors to be rewarded financially. The reward may be seeing your contribution -- a scoop, an opinion, or a photo -- in newspapers around the world. "We don't call them 'citizen journalists,' " he said. "That's like calling someone a 'citizen dentist.' We refer to them as contributors, eyewitness reporters. "It's important from our perspective to say that from where we sit traditional journalism
isn't replaced by this."

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Front St. W., Toronto, ON Canada M5V 2S9

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ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/shoptalk_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003545058

HEADLINE: 'Virtual' Journalism in an Online 'Second Life'

Reuters and CNET both have "bureaus" in the virtual Internet world -- staffed with real people who report on events
within and relating to the "metaverse." Here's a look at how media and journalistic principles are evolving in Second
Life.

By Brian C. Howard
Editor & Publisher Online

(February 13, 2007) -- Last October, British media giant Reuters made global headlines by opening an all-digital bureau
within the online virtual universe (or "metaverse") program Second Life. The bureau is physically modeled on its New York
and London offices, and is staffed by veteran reporter Adam Pasick, whose in-world character name is Adam Reuters.
At the virtual Reuters bureau, users can meet and chat with the character Adam Reuters, gather in comfy niches to discuss
the news of the day and pick up a device that displays headlines either directly on their computer screen while visiting
Second Life or on in-world monitors they can install on their own digital land.

Some of those headlines relate to events within Second Life, while others concern the outside world. Adam also writes
articles for the website Secondlife.reuters.com, which also features a mix of virtual and real-life (known to many
metaverse dwellers as "meatspace") news.

Launched by San Francisco-based Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is a 24-hour virtual universe that has become a thriving
Internet community. Building upon years of advancement in video game technology, Second Life allows users a tremendous
range of freedom in communicating with other live players and interacting with ever-changing digital landscapes.

The number of created avatars in Second Life has been showing double-digit growth in recent months. with more than 1
million logins within the past 60 days, according to Linden Lab. At any given moment, one can expect to encounter 15 to
25,000 active users. As Reuters reported in October, people shell out an average of $350,000 a day, or $13 million a
year, in real money that buys them enhancements within Second Life -- although users can also enjoy the virtual world
without spending a dime.

One of the Reuters site's more popular features is a steady tracker of the exchange rate between Linden and U.S. dollars.
There's also a Second Life newspaper. A rival paper recently shut down.

At his office in San Francisco, Daniel Terdiman spends an average of an hour a day as his character GreeterDan Godel in
Second Life. However, Terdiman doesn't have to worry about getting in trouble with his boss, because his time spent in
the virtual world is part of his job as a reporter for the technology-focused media company CNET.

While Terdiman says he does enjoy visiting Second Life for fun during his spare time, he primarily logs in to do research
and interview sources. "With our virtual CNET bureau, and all the real-life companies that are opening up operations and
hosting press conferences within Second Life, there is a lot for me to cover these days," said Terdiman, who specializes
in writing about cultural and business aspects of the Internet.
CNET's Second Life bureau closely resembles an immaculate, polygonal version of the company's San Francisco
brick-and-mortar home, at least on the outside. "The only functioning part so far is on the top floor, where there's a
theater," explained Terdiman.

About once a week, Terdiman's avatar GreeterDan Godel hosts in-world (meaning in Second Life) interviews in the virtual
theater with prominent people from both the real world and within the program. Subjects have included Philip Rosedale,
the CEO of Linden Lab, and DigiBarn's Bruce Damer, who is a historian of virtual worlds. A recent interview featured the
chief gaming officer of Fortune 500 company Sun Microsystems.

Also, according to Terdiman, "Because it's 3D and interactive, people can express themselves in ways they couldn't in a
chat room. It's also good because we get a verbatim transcript, so you don't have to take notes. And it's fun."
***

In addition to established news sources, Second Life citizens have a growing number of options for finding out about
their virtual world. Legions of blogs and websites devoted to the metaverse have sprung up, including the leading blog
New World Notes. The site is run by real-world journalist James Wagner Au, who works under the avatar name Hamlet Au.
Au had spent three years serving as Linden's official "embedded" journalist within Second Life, but his site is now
affiliated with Federated Media Publishing, which runs the popular site Boing Boing. Recent New World Notes stories
include an announcement for an in-world lunar lander design competition, discussion about the implications of the
program's rapid growth and coverage of the virtual exhibit "13 Most Beautiful Avatars."

The Second Life Herald is a web-based newspaper focused exclusively on the metaverse. Within Second Life, users can click
on a kiosk to bring up the publication's website, which is funded by advertising just like most other content websites.
According to Second Life Herald Managing Editor Pixeleen Mistral -- who prefers not to use her real-life name for her
work -- the paper covers a wide range of topics, from Linden policy and technical issues to sex, crime, lifestyles and
economics within the virtual world.

A would-be rival, The Democrat, which sought to provide in-world content through the program's "notecard" feature, folded
in early November after a four-month run.
***

Print reporters aren't the only journalists working in Second Life. Marco Manray has spent the last few years documenting
the metaverse through screen-capture "photography." Manray the avatar is controlled by Marco Cadioli, a photographer and
college lecturer from Milan, Italy.

"I apply the rules of photography in my artworks in virtual worlds, in terms of point of view, compositions, language,"
Cadioli explained via e-mail. "We are constructing a new world, but we don't know what the result will be. That's the
reason why I take photographs in the Metaverse, to understand how this all started."

These days, Cadioli is so busy with his work in Second Life that he says he no longer has time to take photos in real
life. Besides prominent display within the virtual world, Cadioli's computer-generated images have appeared in
traditional paper magazines. He explained, "For Ecrans, the magazine of [France's] Libération newspaper, I shot a wide
reportage exploring Second Life. For the Italian Casamica, Corriere della Sera's interior design magazine, I shot a cover
and a series about living in Second Life." Cadioli says he makes money selling his metaverse images at the same pay scale
he earned for his real-world work.
***

Those who wish to reach a sizable audience within Second Life need to "learn to think of communication as visual,
experiential and in 360-degrees, rather than as flat, printed content," according to Linda Zimmer, a blogger and CEO of
Internet marketing and communications company MarCom:Interactive. In many cases, this means companies and organizations
are getting their messages across in the program through streaming audio and video, 3D modeling and direct
demonstrations.

In terms of reporting technique, interviewing sources within Second Life often means people will be more at ease, versus
having to meet face to face with real-life journalists or even talking on the telephone. The extra sense of anonymity can
compel some sources to open up. Since Second Life's chat feature retains a log of exchanges, sources may be less worried
about being misquoted, suggests Pixeleen Mistral.

Still, Terdiman admits that interviewing sources in a virtual world also presents some ethical challenges. "The stuff I
do is largely cultural -- I'm not trying to catch people -- so we tend to accept calling people only by their avatar
names," said Terdiman. Reuters' current policy is to ask sources within Second Life to provide their real-life names for
verification purposes. If the source declines disclosure, Reuters doesn't necessarily rule them out as a potential
contact, however, and will instead rely on the avatar's standing within his or her localized Second Life community, as
well as the entire network.

For wholly virtual reporters like Pixeleen Mistral, the question of real-world identities isn't even addressed -- perhaps
not surprising for a journalist who herself is only known by a handle. "My reporting is about the world inside Second
Life, and I confirm with the sources in world," she explained in an e-mail. "It introduces more confusion to drag the
real-life person into the scene. It might depend on the story, but if you want to cover transgendered furries [avatars
that look like the plush animal costumes of theme parks], getting a real-life name and contact might be hard."
Mistral also warns journalists to be wary of Linden Lab's Terms of Service document, which lists restrictions on sharing
Second Life conversations with the outside world without explicit permission. Further, she pointed out, "Since Linden Lab
can potentially monitor any conversation in world, sensitive things are discussed via something they don't control, like
e-mail or Yahoo instant messaging."

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ORIGINAL URL:
URL: http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_5196120
POSTED: Feb. 9, 2007

By James H. Smith, Editor
The Connecticut Post, Bridgeport, Conn.

Meet Keith Whamond online. He is our first full-time scribe at ConnPost.com. He's 24, been here a couple of years as a member of the editorial board, writing editorials and editing the letters to the editor. He was the managing editor of his college paper at Fairfield University.

He knows much more about cyberspace than most, but not all, of the editors at the Connecticut Post. We still love to write stories and put pictures on well-designed pages of the newspaper. But we also know people Keith's age and younger love computers, and cell phones and text messaging and streaming videos and IM and YouTube and Facebook and videogames and looking stuff up on the Internet before heading to the library.

Don't get us wrong -- Keith Whamond is a serious journalist. He wants to ferret out corruption, break news, write incisive prose and he wants to do that on our Web site. He starts today. He'll cover whatever moves him -- after all, it was E.B. White who said, "A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart and unlimbers his typewriter." We're not sure if Keith ever worked on a typewriter, but we know his heart stirs.

Last summer we announced that long-time photographer Jeff Bustraan was moving over to ConnPost.com as our first online editor; and that Assistant Managing Editor Todd Hollis will spend half his time at the paper and half his time at the Web site. And they've been putting up news 24/7 for months from our vast array of print reporters. They joined our original Web staff of Carol Dauber, Rene Morgan and Nick Smith. Now we also have Keith Whamond 40 hours a week producing his own blend of news coverage, feature writing, blogging about things local and things universal.

But I'm going to let Keith say a few words about his new job:

"Journalism won't ever go away. The only thing changing -- very rapidly, at the moment -- is the medium through which people get it. "Whether it be though a newspaper, through a Web site or through some gadget that hasn't even been invented yet, people will always want to know what's going on in the world around them.

"But as each medium changes, we as journalists get new ways to deliver that news and insight. The Web allows us to do things we could never do on a piece of paper -- video, audio, an endless supply of pictures and text. "That's what we're doing on ConnPost.com. And now we're going to be doing even more of it. "My role will be to deliver unique journalism to supplement content in the newspaper, whether it be a feature story with an audio slideshow, a quick blog posting about a breaking news event or a video profile with a local official.

"All of us in the newsroom are online reporters. I'm just going to be doing it full-time. We're all enthusiastic about this next phase of our craft. Over the next few weeks, you'll start seeing a new perspective of the same great journalism you already get in the Connecticut Post newspaper -- on our Web site. Once you do, I hope you'll read it and take part in the discussion."

© 1999-2007 MediaNews Group Newspapers
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The article above is copyrighted material, the use of which may not have specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The material is made available in an effort to advance understanding of political, economic, democracy, First Amendment, technology, journalism, community and justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' as provided by Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Chapter 1, Section 107, the material above is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

ORIGINAL URL:
http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=114729
Published: February 05, 2007

Moving Forward Requires Letting Go of Dollar-for-Dollar Mentality
Media Companies Must Completely Reinvent Themselves

By Scott Donaton
Publisher, Advertising Age

<i>Scott Donaton, former editor of the publication, was last week named
the new publisher of "Advertising Age."</i>

It's time to stop waiting for a dollar to be a dollar.

There still seems to be this magical belief in some circles of the old ... er, traditional ... er, let's say "established" media business that all balance will be restored when that dollar lost in magazine advertising revenue or CD sales or TV spots is made up for with a dollar earned online or through another digital channel. Sorry, but it just won't be that simple.

That last 10%

There's no evidence that will happen any time soon, and it shouldn't be the magic moment we're all waiting for. Instead, companies have to revise cost structures, eliminate biases from legacy business models and find new ways to make up for the decline in traditional revenue streams. If you've traditionally been a magazine publisher, maybe half of that lost dollar can be made up for in online-ad revenue and another 20 cents from conferences and 10 cents from overseas licensing and 10 cents more from premium subscription services. And that last 10 cents may have to be made up for in reduced costs.

Those numbers are completely made up, of course, but that's the mind-set needed to reinvent the model. The point is to have necessity be the mother of invention rather than to wait passively for the dollar that's disappeared from your left hand to show up in your right.

As has been noted in this space at various times, Ad Age (and our parent, Crain Communications) faces many of the same challenges as the companies we cover. I've used this column periodically to discuss those, not to polish our image or tout our successes but rather in the spirit of opening a dialogue on the evolution of the media business.

Embrace the digital revolution

It's not easy, this transition, but it is exciting to be one of the people charged with figuring it out. Besides, we have no choice. Keith Ruby -- who was honored at Ad Age's Marketing 50 event last week for helping turn a woman's MySpace popularity into a profitable business -- offered this bit of advice: Embrace the digital revolution, because it's going to happen "with or without you."

That sentiment was echoed by a denizen of the established-media universe, Dow Jones CEO Rich Zannino, who told Forbes.com that print will eventually make up less than half of his company's revenue. "Our plan is not without risk," Rich said, "but the risk of the status quo is even greater."

The same is true at our shop, which is why Ad Age goes to market as a brand that exists across many platforms rather than a media product defined by a method of distribution. It's why the digital/online and events/conferences segments are the fastest-growing parts of our business, even as print remains the biggest and most profitable (and, for many in our audience, the most highly valued expression of our brand). Ultimately, it's not about one segment vs. the other; it's about serving the customer.

Mind-set transition

Once we accept that a dollar here isn't going to be swapped out for a dollar there, more creativity and innovation should result. But a true mind-set shift is a necessary first step.

I was reminded of that again when I recently spotted a headline that read, "Digital Music Up 80%, but Shy of Lost Revenue." It quoted an industry group's estimate that digital-music sales increased from $1.1 billion in 2005 to $2 billion last year. But the story quickly deflated that achievement by noting that the rise in digital sales failed to "cover the decline in CD sales."

That anyone thought it should betrays a dollar-for-dollar mentality. The music business shouldn't look for one stream to replace another but should explore multiple revenue sources, including ad-supported distribution models that have so far seen little industry support.

Maybe those who crack the code can even find a way to turn that lost dollar into two earned ones.

~ ~ ~
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The article above is copyrighted material, the use of which may not have specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The material is made available in an effort to advance understanding of political, economic, democracy, First Amendment, technology, journalism, community and justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' as provided by Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Chapter 1, Section 107, the material above is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this blog for purposes beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

In June, 2006, Peter Hirshberg, chairman and chief marketing officer of Technorati Inc., created a three-minute video which parodies a movie tailer for the sci-fi thriller "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." It's called "The Day of the Long Tail," borrowing from the title of a now-famous book by Chris Anderson (editor of Wired magazine) about the way the Internet extends and infintely deepens the ability to sell niche products. The mock tailer's serious purpose: To suggest that the audience for mass-market media is no longer passive and is taking control.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4151339586237257762

Also see:
http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/medill/inside/news/crain_speaker_peter_hirshberg_discusses_bloggings_effect_on_media_and_branding.html

And:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html

Labels: future, long tail, video