Three new jobs you might want to consider: These are Seth Godin’s recommendations for “every company that works online today,” but they’re especially relevant to news organizations. The roles: community organizer, stats fiend, and manager of freelancers.
Gannett Augments Digital Tech Arsenal with Social Media Buy (ClickZ): “Gannett’s acquisition of social media services firm Ripple6 is another indication of the newspaper publisher’s aim to expand its digital businesses while enhancing its core operation. Ripple6 powers Gannett’s growing set of mom-centric local social sites. …The social platform enables advertisers to engage with social network users through ‘cloud communities,’ essentially allowing them to create content that can be distributed and commented on by users. For example, P&G’s Pampers might create a group on a MomsLikeMe site dedicated to newborn care. That content can then be syndicated to other communities enabled by Ripple6, such as a Meredith community. Brands can measure user engagement through demographic and psychographic analysis tracking which information resonates with communities, and how it’s shared.”
Twitter, Mumbai, and 10 facts about journalism now: A few items from Mindy McAdams’ excellent list that particularly caught my attention: “6. Still photos, transmitted by citizens on the ground, will tell more than most videos. …8. Live streaming video becomes a user magnet during a crisis. (CNN.com Live: 1.4 million views as of 11:30 a.m. EST today, according to Beet.tv.) 9. Your print reporters need to know how to dictate over the phone. If they can get a line to the newsroom, it might be necessary.”
Hacked U (Jeff Jarvis): “I was talking with Bob Kerrey of the New School as he praised the quality of the lectures available online from MIT. I suggested that the aggregated university could be built around a distributed version of the Cambridge system with lecturers (the guys from MIT) and tutors (local teachers who guided students personally). Thus students learn from the world’s best while also getting the attention they need.”
….Hmmm, what could a j-school do with ideas and tools like these?
Local Crises, Global Emergencies, and Networked Civil Society (Emily Gertz): “Could social media like blogs and Twitter be used to:
- Give all those people who understand that global warming is an acute crisis practical and meaningful ways to contribute to helping stop it?
- Support good science and kill disinformation cold?
- Connect and mobilize American citizens to support of strong federal laws that cap carbon, advance clean energy generation, transform petro-dependent agriculture, and get started on the many other undeniably difficult tasks to come?
10 changes in the journalists role (and 5 things that remain the same) (O Lago / The Lake): One change mentioned here that particularly stood out to me: “9. A journalist is more a traffic cop than a private investigator. Or even better: there will be more traffic cops than private investigators. I’m sorry to destroy a romantic image of journalism, but there will be less Humphrey Bogarts. The rise in the volume of information will demand for more traffic managers. Their role will be essential to guide the masses in the search for information. Sites like NewsTrust.net are a good example. Journalistic creation and investigation will continue to exist, but most of the work will be redirecting users and contents into the right places.”
