10,000 Words goes to UNITY!
I will be in Chicago next week at the UNITY: Journalists of Color conference where I will speak on multimedia storytelling. All next week, I will be either liveblogging and/or video blogging the conference and as many multimedia journalism-related sessions as possible. I will also be Twittering about UNITY starting July 21 (Follow me here!). I promise to leave no new media stone unturned.
I've written about liveblogging before and am considering using either CoverItLive or ScribbleLive which I have yet to test. If time permits, I will also post a conference day wrap up on YouTube and embed the video here. All in all, it promises to be an action packed week.
Labels: blogging
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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How did you choose your blog's name?
Last month a poster on social network blogcatalog asked fellow users how they chose the name for their blog. Some were specifically chosen, others were randomly picked and many others were just dumb luck. Picking a blog name can go either way for journalists who either blog under a company name or blog independently.
Whether the names were pre-chosen or not, there are many mainstream news outlets with great names for their blogs. They include Fox News' The Bourbon Room, USA Today's Pop Candy, Time Magazine's Curious Capitalist, The Guardian's Media Monkey, Carpetbagger, The New York Time's fashion blog, Dishing, Boston.com's food blog and the truly original The Fastest Blog on 2 Feet, a lacrosse blog by Washington Post writer Christian Swezey.
If you're a pun person, there is What's Bruin, the LA Times' blog covering UCLA sports teams, Booster Shots, a health blog also from the LA Times, BaltAmour, a dating blog from the Baltimore Sun, and Foam on the Range, the Denver Post's beer blog.
As far as independent bloggers go, I've always been partial to Will Sullivan's choice of Journerdism, a portmanteau of journalism and nerd that perfectly describes the heart of every hardcore multimedia journalist.
As for 10,000 Words, the name came after some heavy deliberation. I initially wanted to call it Prometheus, after the Greek legend who stole fire from the gods and brought it to the people. But sensing that the name was a little heavy, I opted for 10,000 words which, as the about page points out, is a likely answer to how many words in a multimedia story worth.
Now it's your turn. What is your blog's name? Did you choose it yourself or was it chosen for you? Leave a link to your blog in the comments and feel free to share the story behind it.
Whether the names were pre-chosen or not, there are many mainstream news outlets with great names for their blogs. They include Fox News' The Bourbon Room, USA Today's Pop Candy, Time Magazine's Curious Capitalist, The Guardian's Media Monkey, Carpetbagger, The New York Time's fashion blog, Dishing, Boston.com's food blog and the truly original The Fastest Blog on 2 Feet, a lacrosse blog by Washington Post writer Christian Swezey.
If you're a pun person, there is What's Bruin, the LA Times' blog covering UCLA sports teams, Booster Shots, a health blog also from the LA Times, BaltAmour, a dating blog from the Baltimore Sun, and Foam on the Range, the Denver Post's beer blog.
As far as independent bloggers go, I've always been partial to Will Sullivan's choice of Journerdism, a portmanteau of journalism and nerd that perfectly describes the heart of every hardcore multimedia journalist.
As for 10,000 Words, the name came after some heavy deliberation. I initially wanted to call it Prometheus, after the Greek legend who stole fire from the gods and brought it to the people. But sensing that the name was a little heavy, I opted for 10,000 words which, as the about page points out, is a likely answer to how many words in a multimedia story worth.
Now it's your turn. What is your blog's name? Did you choose it yourself or was it chosen for you? Leave a link to your blog in the comments and feel free to share the story behind it.
Labels: blogging
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
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How to stay interested in blogging
Many journalists begin blogging without prompt and a great many more are instructed to do so by editors and producers trying to keep up with the times. For both groups, staying interested in the daily grind of blogging can be tough or even feel like a second job. But don't give up just yet. Here are some ways to keep that spark going and not lose your motivation:
Write fewer posts
Like exercise, it's easy to get stressed out from blogging if you do it too much. If blogging is becoming a brain drain, try lightening your writing schedule. For example, if you are writing two to three posts a day, try writing one really good post each day. If your blog is updated once daily, consider writing only a few posts a week. Writing a few good entries is better than writing a lot of bad ones.
Pre-post
Some bloggers have a set schedule of when to write and publish, but this doesn't work for everyone. It is better to write when inspiration strikes, whether it be first thing in the morning or right before bed. If enough pre-posts are accumulated (assuming you're not covering breaking news), then you could take the time you would be writing and enjoy a nice smoothie or up of coffee. In fact, this very post was written some time last week to have ready for what I knew would be a busy day. Many blogging platforms allow users to save posts and even publish them on a predetermined date and time.
Forget the stats
For years, newspaper reporters, and to a lesser degree broadcast journalists, performed their duties without a real idea of how many people had read/watched/listened to their story. But now that the internet has made user stats available with a click and the number of comments visible on each post, it is easy to be disappointed when those numbers are just a scattered few. Instead of agonizing over numbers, focus on building great content and eventually those numbers will grow. Hitting refresh won't make those number go any higher.
Write for yourself
In blogging, it is easy to fall in the trap of writing exclusively what you think the readers will want to read. Often this leads to losing the focus of the blog or worse being forced to write something that isn't of particular interest to you. Writing posts that interest you means you will write more fervently about the subject, which will in turn attract like-minded readers.
Take a day off
If you truly don't feel like writing one day, don't. Forcing yourself to write makes blogging a seemingly more arduous task and guess what? The blog will still be there the next day.
Shift your focus
If none of the above suggestions work for you, then it's time to shift the focus of your blog. Company mandated bloggers can still write about the same topic, but tackle a different subject. For example, travel bloggers can shift their focus from covering airline prices to covering travel destinations for families. A political blogger, instead of covering the minutiae of the upcoming presidential election, could cover the more local impact of the race. It all depends on the leniency of your supervisor. You may alienate some readers in the process, but you will likely gain a different audience. The point is to focus on what you care about, because if you don't care about the subject of your blog, no one else will.
Write fewer posts
Like exercise, it's easy to get stressed out from blogging if you do it too much. If blogging is becoming a brain drain, try lightening your writing schedule. For example, if you are writing two to three posts a day, try writing one really good post each day. If your blog is updated once daily, consider writing only a few posts a week. Writing a few good entries is better than writing a lot of bad ones.
Pre-post
Some bloggers have a set schedule of when to write and publish, but this doesn't work for everyone. It is better to write when inspiration strikes, whether it be first thing in the morning or right before bed. If enough pre-posts are accumulated (assuming you're not covering breaking news), then you could take the time you would be writing and enjoy a nice smoothie or up of coffee. In fact, this very post was written some time last week to have ready for what I knew would be a busy day. Many blogging platforms allow users to save posts and even publish them on a predetermined date and time.
Forget the stats
For years, newspaper reporters, and to a lesser degree broadcast journalists, performed their duties without a real idea of how many people had read/watched/listened to their story. But now that the internet has made user stats available with a click and the number of comments visible on each post, it is easy to be disappointed when those numbers are just a scattered few. Instead of agonizing over numbers, focus on building great content and eventually those numbers will grow. Hitting refresh won't make those number go any higher.
Write for yourself
In blogging, it is easy to fall in the trap of writing exclusively what you think the readers will want to read. Often this leads to losing the focus of the blog or worse being forced to write something that isn't of particular interest to you. Writing posts that interest you means you will write more fervently about the subject, which will in turn attract like-minded readers.
Take a day off
If you truly don't feel like writing one day, don't. Forcing yourself to write makes blogging a seemingly more arduous task and guess what? The blog will still be there the next day.
Shift your focus
If none of the above suggestions work for you, then it's time to shift the focus of your blog. Company mandated bloggers can still write about the same topic, but tackle a different subject. For example, travel bloggers can shift their focus from covering airline prices to covering travel destinations for families. A political blogger, instead of covering the minutiae of the upcoming presidential election, could cover the more local impact of the race. It all depends on the leniency of your supervisor. You may alienate some readers in the process, but you will likely gain a different audience. The point is to focus on what you care about, because if you don't care about the subject of your blog, no one else will.
Labels: blogging
Thursday, June 12, 2008
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The Olympics are coming...
Nothing brings the world together like the Olympic Games. The same goes for multimedia journalism, so the two are a match made in heaven. Media outlets around the world are gearing up for the 2008 Games in Beijing. In addition to airing 1,200 hours of Olympics coverage on five different channels, NBC plans to broadcast 1,000 more hours of video on the web. That means all the badminton, taekwondo and Greco-Roman wrestling you can handle.
The Beijing Guide, a website run by the China International Travel Service, has photos and 360° views of popular Beijing attractions including the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and The Gate of Heavenly Peace.
The upcoming Olympic Games aren't without their share of controversy as evidenced by the efforts of Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch (which has a well-designed and resourceful site), and the many protesters around the world.
BBC News has an eye-opening take on the history of the Olympic torch, which has incited protests almost everywhere it goes. Track the progress of the Olympic torch, or perhaps the site of the next protest, using Google's Torch Relay map. The map has detailed information on past and future locations of the torch, whenever available, and includes photos of each location.
The International Olympic Committee recently approved blogging as a means of coverage because blogging is "a legitimate form of personal expression and not a form of journalism." Right. And don't expect any multimedia elements: bloggers are banned from posting any video or audio. Olympics bloggers must adhere to strict standards and must write about their experiences rather than news stories.
There are a number of blogs already covering the progress of the Olympics including Beijing Olympics Fan, Reuters' Countdown to Beijing blog, Beijing Olympics Blog on FanNation and this now defunct blog on the architecture of Olympic arenas in Beijing (with includes stunning photos).
The Beijing Guide, a website run by the China International Travel Service, has photos and 360° views of popular Beijing attractions including the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and The Gate of Heavenly Peace.
The upcoming Olympic Games aren't without their share of controversy as evidenced by the efforts of Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch (which has a well-designed and resourceful site), and the many protesters around the world.
BBC News has an eye-opening take on the history of the Olympic torch, which has incited protests almost everywhere it goes. Track the progress of the Olympic torch, or perhaps the site of the next protest, using Google's Torch Relay map. The map has detailed information on past and future locations of the torch, whenever available, and includes photos of each location.
The International Olympic Committee recently approved blogging as a means of coverage because blogging is "a legitimate form of personal expression and not a form of journalism." Right. And don't expect any multimedia elements: bloggers are banned from posting any video or audio. Olympics bloggers must adhere to strict standards and must write about their experiences rather than news stories.
There are a number of blogs already covering the progress of the Olympics including Beijing Olympics Fan, Reuters' Countdown to Beijing blog, Beijing Olympics Blog on FanNation and this now defunct blog on the architecture of Olympic arenas in Beijing (with includes stunning photos).
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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Citizen journalists driving online politics
November 4 is right around the corner, so if you haven't had a meeting or two about elections coverage, now's as good a time as any. If you're already on the ball or if you need to get rolling, here are some online sites that are infusing new media into traditional political journalism and powered by citizen journalists.
For the average citizen, presidential primaries can be a confusing and complicated process. Regular guy/techie Jim Edlin presents an alternative to the existing process of electing a president with the site OnlinePrimary. Visitors are asked to rank the presidential candidates and the results are posted on the front page.
One part of the political process that is a head scratcher for the average person is the Democratic Party's use of superdelegates. The Superdelegate Transparency Project aims to remove a little bit of the mystery behind these all-important politicos by examining who they are and who they plan to vote for (right now, the count is in favor of Hillary Clinton). The site also provides in-depth, yet easy to read information on how the delegate process works.
In a play for the Naked News crowd (link semi-NSFW), SexyPolitics is encouraging political awareness by adding a little incentive. It's simple: take a quiz on political candidates, issues or general political knowledge and the more questions you get right, the more articles of clothing the "stripper" removes. The questions can get admittedly difficult so you're going to have to work hard to get that sexy prisoner to disrobe. If you're only interested in taking the quizzes, there is an option to skip the strip. On the plus side, the site is making politics and a whole lot more interesting and, ahem, sexier.
YouBama, a portmanteau of video sharing site YouTube and presidential candidate Barack Obama, is exactly what its name suggests: a site for sharing videos of the presidential candidate. Users have uploaded roughly 600 videos of campaign ads, attacks on the competition, news clips and poems(?).
Can you really tell a lot about a candidate based on his or her website? Dustin Brewer thinks so. The freelance web designer judges the candidates' web presence from a purely technical standpoint, examining the lines of code and overall design. Barack Obama comes out on top for his site's clean and modern look and cross-browser compatibility, while John McCain and Mike Huckabee fall to the bottom for their lack of effort and faulty coding.
Every political candidate has their own website, faulty or no, but 23-year-old Meghan McCain is getting serious mileage out of the web by blogging her experiences while on the road with her father, newly minted Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The site is like a journal/family photo album and makes the elder McCain seem less staid as he and some other candidates can appear to be when making the rounds on television.
Speaking of blogs, a recent Harris poll showed that "only" 22 percent of Americans of read political blogs regularly, but I'd like to flip that notion on its head. Considering there are roughly 303 million people living in America and blogs really became mainstream in the last few years, I'd say that's quite a lot of people reading political blogs.
Consider also that the public's reliance on newspapers and television as a source of political news is slipping (but you knew that already), according to the Pew Research Center. That means its time to beef up online political news and perhaps look to the average Janes and Joes for a little inspiration.
For more politics, check out previous posts on tracking the presidential candidates online and unusual political news coverage.
For the average citizen, presidential primaries can be a confusing and complicated process. Regular guy/techie Jim Edlin presents an alternative to the existing process of electing a president with the site OnlinePrimary. Visitors are asked to rank the presidential candidates and the results are posted on the front page.
One part of the political process that is a head scratcher for the average person is the Democratic Party's use of superdelegates. The Superdelegate Transparency Project aims to remove a little bit of the mystery behind these all-important politicos by examining who they are and who they plan to vote for (right now, the count is in favor of Hillary Clinton). The site also provides in-depth, yet easy to read information on how the delegate process works.
In a play for the Naked News crowd (link semi-NSFW), SexyPolitics is encouraging political awareness by adding a little incentive. It's simple: take a quiz on political candidates, issues or general political knowledge and the more questions you get right, the more articles of clothing the "stripper" removes. The questions can get admittedly difficult so you're going to have to work hard to get that sexy prisoner to disrobe. If you're only interested in taking the quizzes, there is an option to skip the strip. On the plus side, the site is making politics and a whole lot more interesting and, ahem, sexier.
YouBama, a portmanteau of video sharing site YouTube and presidential candidate Barack Obama, is exactly what its name suggests: a site for sharing videos of the presidential candidate. Users have uploaded roughly 600 videos of campaign ads, attacks on the competition, news clips and poems(?).
Can you really tell a lot about a candidate based on his or her website? Dustin Brewer thinks so. The freelance web designer judges the candidates' web presence from a purely technical standpoint, examining the lines of code and overall design. Barack Obama comes out on top for his site's clean and modern look and cross-browser compatibility, while John McCain and Mike Huckabee fall to the bottom for their lack of effort and faulty coding.
Every political candidate has their own website, faulty or no, but 23-year-old Meghan McCain is getting serious mileage out of the web by blogging her experiences while on the road with her father, newly minted Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The site is like a journal/family photo album and makes the elder McCain seem less staid as he and some other candidates can appear to be when making the rounds on television.
Speaking of blogs, a recent Harris poll showed that "only" 22 percent of Americans of read political blogs regularly, but I'd like to flip that notion on its head. Considering there are roughly 303 million people living in America and blogs really became mainstream in the last few years, I'd say that's quite a lot of people reading political blogs.
Consider also that the public's reliance on newspapers and television as a source of political news is slipping (but you knew that already), according to the Pew Research Center. That means its time to beef up online political news and perhaps look to the average Janes and Joes for a little inspiration.
For more politics, check out previous posts on tracking the presidential candidates online and unusual political news coverage.
Labels: blogging, citizen journalism, video
Saturday, April 05, 2008
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Making news meetings public
Chances are there is some blog turning the tables and covering your news coverage. Take for example LA Observed and The Bruni Digest which keep an eye on the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times food section, respectively, The Editorialiste, a watchdog for the news industry in general or the now defunct PostWatch and NPR Watch which covered The Washington Post and National Public Radio.
We all know there are conspiracy theories abound that reckon "the media" has this agenda or that slant or is trying to sway the public in way or another. In reality, most of us are just nice guys trying to perform a service to the global community. Its sad to say, but a great deal of the public doesn't recognize that.
In the spirit of openness and new media, why not open up news meetings to the public? This could be as simple as placing a digital tape recorder in the middle of the table and posting the (unedited) mp3 on the web or hooking up a webcam to capture the reporting and editing staff in all its glory. If the news meeting is conducted by telephone, which many are, use an inexpensive telephone recording device to capture the meeting. Kudos to The Spokesman-Review for webcasting its news meetings twice a day on weekdays.
An open news meeting is one step up from the now requisite company blog about internal affairs, which, only in rare instances, sheds unfiltered insight on controversial matters. Committing to a visual broadcast of course means tucking in those shirts and cutting down on the in-jokes and swearing, but the behavior modification can easily be done. Obviously, broadcasting news meetings may not work for every media outlet and may create more trouble rather than lessen it. Nevertheless, it is an idea to explore and the natural extension of the online newsroom.
We all know there are conspiracy theories abound that reckon "the media" has this agenda or that slant or is trying to sway the public in way or another. In reality, most of us are just nice guys trying to perform a service to the global community. Its sad to say, but a great deal of the public doesn't recognize that.
In the spirit of openness and new media, why not open up news meetings to the public? This could be as simple as placing a digital tape recorder in the middle of the table and posting the (unedited) mp3 on the web or hooking up a webcam to capture the reporting and editing staff in all its glory. If the news meeting is conducted by telephone, which many are, use an inexpensive telephone recording device to capture the meeting. Kudos to The Spokesman-Review for webcasting its news meetings twice a day on weekdays.
An open news meeting is one step up from the now requisite company blog about internal affairs, which, only in rare instances, sheds unfiltered insight on controversial matters. Committing to a visual broadcast of course means tucking in those shirts and cutting down on the in-jokes and swearing, but the behavior modification can easily be done. Obviously, broadcasting news meetings may not work for every media outlet and may create more trouble rather than lessen it. Nevertheless, it is an idea to explore and the natural extension of the online newsroom.
Labels: blogging, news on the news
Monday, March 10, 2008
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What blogs are you reading?
Hey you. I appreciate you reading 10,000 words, but if you are a journalist I hope you haven't limited yourself to reading journalism blogs. Just like the old school eclectic journalist who reads a variety of newspapers and magazines, every journalist, regardless of media, should be reading a variety of blogs -- and not just mining them for story ideas, but to get a fresh perspective on the news we cover.
As an entertainment journalist living in Los Angeles, I have a wide number of blogs to choose from that keep me updated on what's happening around me. The L.A.-focused blogs I subscribe to include The Los Angeles Eastside Scene, Franklin Avenue, elevatedla.com, Caroline on Crack and LAist. There are a number of cities in the "-ist" series, including Toronto, Shanghai and Philadelphia — perhaps also covering a city near you?
The L.A. blog that started it all for me was Metroblogging Los Angeles, which covers almost everything about the City of Angels, including crime, food, politics, the arts and more, and is admirably interactive with its readers. The best part is the blog is also part of a multi-city series. Metroblogging covers more than 50 cities, from Atlanta and Auckland to Vancouver and Vienna.
Together, the Los Angeles blogs help me stay connected to the city I live in and more or less cover. More often than not the L.A. blogs overlap with my beat -- entertainment journalism. But for entertainment-focused news coverage I stay tuned to BuzzSugar, Best Week Ever, TiFaux, the previously mentioned ShowHype, the.LIFE Files, and my personal favorite fourfour.
Most blogs that I add to my long reading list I discover through either Google Reader's discover function (which is all the more reason to read blogs through RSS) or through StumbleUpon.
What blogs do you read to stay in touch with what's happening in your beat? How did you find out about them? Share your recommendations in the comments!
As an entertainment journalist living in Los Angeles, I have a wide number of blogs to choose from that keep me updated on what's happening around me. The L.A.-focused blogs I subscribe to include The Los Angeles Eastside Scene, Franklin Avenue, elevatedla.com, Caroline on Crack and LAist. There are a number of cities in the "-ist" series, including Toronto, Shanghai and Philadelphia — perhaps also covering a city near you?
The L.A. blog that started it all for me was Metroblogging Los Angeles, which covers almost everything about the City of Angels, including crime, food, politics, the arts and more, and is admirably interactive with its readers. The best part is the blog is also part of a multi-city series. Metroblogging covers more than 50 cities, from Atlanta and Auckland to Vancouver and Vienna.
Together, the Los Angeles blogs help me stay connected to the city I live in and more or less cover. More often than not the L.A. blogs overlap with my beat -- entertainment journalism. But for entertainment-focused news coverage I stay tuned to BuzzSugar, Best Week Ever, TiFaux, the previously mentioned ShowHype, the.LIFE Files, and my personal favorite fourfour.
Most blogs that I add to my long reading list I discover through either Google Reader's discover function (which is all the more reason to read blogs through RSS) or through StumbleUpon.
What blogs do you read to stay in touch with what's happening in your beat? How did you find out about them? Share your recommendations in the comments!
Labels: blogging
Monday, March 03, 2008
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Liveblogging gets the word out
Are you plan on covering an event that will captivate a large audience. Sure you could write a traditional encapsulation of the goings-on, but why not liveblog it?
Liveblogging can provide up to the minute coverage of any interesting event for online readers to follow, including award shows, political events, natural disasters, court proceedings, sports events, you name it.
Whether the blog is presented in chronological or reverse chronological order is up to you, but depends largely on how many live visitors you are expecting. If a great number of readers follow the liveblog as it is updated, it is best to put updates at the top, so they can be seen quickly without the need to scroll to the bottom of the page. It may seem disappointing if there aren't a large number visitors aren't reading the liveblog as its being posted, but keep in mind most users read liveblogs well after the event as a recap of what they have (or haven't seen).
CoverItLive also provides an instant message-like approach to liveblogging and allows the blogger to include real time photos, video and audio clips along with the text. Read extensive reviews of the service at ReadWriteWeb and Webware.
If you don't have a laptop handy (or even if you do), its easy to send updates from your cell phone or text messaging doodad via microblogging tool Twitter. Find out more about the journalistic applications of Twitter at Poynter's E-Media Tidbits.
For those who are covering a live event and need a little extra help with their lines, CuePrompter is like having on your own teleprompter in the field. If you have a laptop handy, simply type in your copy into the space provided and select the speed at which you read. Place the laptop near the camera and you're ready to read.
Liveblogging can provide up to the minute coverage of any interesting event for online readers to follow, including award shows, political events, natural disasters, court proceedings, sports events, you name it.
Whether the blog is presented in chronological or reverse chronological order is up to you, but depends largely on how many live visitors you are expecting. If a great number of readers follow the liveblog as it is updated, it is best to put updates at the top, so they can be seen quickly without the need to scroll to the bottom of the page. It may seem disappointing if there aren't a large number visitors aren't reading the liveblog as its being posted, but keep in mind most users read liveblogs well after the event as a recap of what they have (or haven't seen).
CoverItLive also provides an instant message-like approach to liveblogging and allows the blogger to include real time photos, video and audio clips along with the text. Read extensive reviews of the service at ReadWriteWeb and Webware.
If you don't have a laptop handy (or even if you do), its easy to send updates from your cell phone or text messaging doodad via microblogging tool Twitter. Find out more about the journalistic applications of Twitter at Poynter's E-Media Tidbits.
For those who are covering a live event and need a little extra help with their lines, CuePrompter is like having on your own teleprompter in the field. If you have a laptop handy, simply type in your copy into the space provided and select the speed at which you read. Place the laptop near the camera and you're ready to read.
Labels: blogging
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
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Tackling the online sports section
Many of the web editors I've spoken to will cite the sports section as the hands down most popular section of their news site. Because of the power of the internet, sports can be a lot more than box scores and comments sections.
The Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog is a shining example of everything a blog should be. It's in depth coverage is complemented by stellar photographs, RSS feeds, and up to the minute scores. A handy calendar in the rail makes the blog searchable by date and visitors can receive Cowboys updates on their mobile device.
RUWT? (Are you watching this?) cuts through the 50 million sports channels and alerts you know when your game is getting good. Games are ranked Guarded, Elevated, High and Severe, which indicates a soon to be classic sports moment.
Totally Scored keeps track of the entire football/baseball/hockey/soccer/basketball game through RSS feeds. Users can select a feed dedicated to a sport or to a particular team. There a hundreds of teams to choose from which would satisfy any sports fan.
CollegeFanz puts sports into an interactive environment, which includes a virtual stadium and a customizable "dorm room." The site looks great and has some great features but those features aren't integrated into the site very well. Read a full review at Mashable.
I never was a big racing fan (okay lets face it, I couldn't stand it) until I lived and worked in NASCAR hotspot Daytona Beach, home of the International Speedway. As such, I get a real kick out of the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit map that shows satellite images of racetracks around the world. Include an aerial image of your local stadium and the fans will love you for it.
The Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog is a shining example of everything a blog should be. It's in depth coverage is complemented by stellar photographs, RSS feeds, and up to the minute scores. A handy calendar in the rail makes the blog searchable by date and visitors can receive Cowboys updates on their mobile device.
RUWT? (Are you watching this?) cuts through the 50 million sports channels and alerts you know when your game is getting good. Games are ranked Guarded, Elevated, High and Severe, which indicates a soon to be classic sports moment.
Totally Scored keeps track of the entire football/baseball/hockey/soccer/basketball game through RSS feeds. Users can select a feed dedicated to a sport or to a particular team. There a hundreds of teams to choose from which would satisfy any sports fan.
CollegeFanz puts sports into an interactive environment, which includes a virtual stadium and a customizable "dorm room." The site looks great and has some great features but those features aren't integrated into the site very well. Read a full review at Mashable.
I never was a big racing fan (okay lets face it, I couldn't stand it) until I lived and worked in NASCAR hotspot Daytona Beach, home of the International Speedway. As such, I get a real kick out of the Formula One Grand Prix Circuit map that shows satellite images of racetracks around the world. Include an aerial image of your local stadium and the fans will love you for it.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
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9 tips for better blogging and user feedback
Blogging is the new journalism but many media-affiliated blogs are less than extraordinary. Some examples of great blogs include Dallas Morning News' Cowboy Blog, Ted Allen's Top Chef blog (Bravo) and my personal fave: VH1's Best Week Ever blog.
I'm a fan of BWE because the TV show is only 30 minutes but the blog has between 10 and 20 blog posts every weekday. That may seem like a lot (it is), but Best Week Ever also makes use of its "Blogger Action Network" to highlight posts from related blogs not affiliated with VH1. Here are a few more tips on how to better your blog and increase participation among your readers.
1. Include exclusive content
The internet is a great place to include content that, in the interest of space/time, didn't make the broadcast/newspaper/magazine. Exclusive interview and candid outtakes are a great addition to any blog and can be touted in the original story.
2. Ask open ended questions
The best way to invite reader participation is to ask an open ended question. This works best with commentary rather than hard news. Or, at the end of each post, simply ask readers for their input. For example "What do you think about this?"
When readers do comment, respond. It is important that the blog feels like a community and that readers feel like they are a part of that community.
More after the jump
3. Make your blog pop
Are you still using a stock template or does your blog have a unique design that stands out? Even if your blog is gritty, hard-news investigative journalism it could still use a little bit of color. Find a designer to give your blog a makeover or google "blog templates" to find something that suits your topic.
4. Create eye-catching headlines
Your headline can be the difference between a visitor taking the time to read a post or simply glossing over it. A great headline is not only eye catching, but should include relevant keywords that make it more likely to be clicked from a search engine. (Search engine optimization is important, read this Wikipedia entry for more info)
5. Be concise
Many journalists and professional writers, when given the opportunity, will ramble. Blogs are not the place to publish that 10,000 word article that got canned. Keep your posts short and to the point. Break up long blocks of text into shorter ones and include headers when necessary.
6. Make use of your RSS feed
Most blogs include an RSS feed that users can subscribe to via a feed reader or email. Make your RSS obvious somewhere on your page: include an RSS icon somewhere on the page and encourage readers to subscribe to your content. Page views are important so include the first paragraph or two in your RSS feed and a link back to your blog to read the rest.
7. Be a social bookmarker
Social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Ma.gnolia (and several others) allow you to share your bests posts with readers who may not otherwise see your content. Include links or icons that let users automatically submit their favorite posts to such sites. For example, check out the row of icons below each 10,000 words post.
8. Interact with other bloggers
With the millions of bloggers out there, chances there are other bloggers that are that covering similar issues. Find out who these bloggers are and send them links to some of your posts that they may find interesting. There are many local bloggers who are eager to trade links with an established media organization and may be doing so already.
9. Post consistently...
...and not just when news breaks. Having a inconsistent blogging schedule dissuades readers from coming back. If you build it, they will come!
Thanks to NorthxEast and Cash Bulge for the inspiration.
I'm a fan of BWE because the TV show is only 30 minutes but the blog has between 10 and 20 blog posts every weekday. That may seem like a lot (it is), but Best Week Ever also makes use of its "Blogger Action Network" to highlight posts from related blogs not affiliated with VH1. Here are a few more tips on how to better your blog and increase participation among your readers.
1. Include exclusive content
The internet is a great place to include content that, in the interest of space/time, didn't make the broadcast/newspaper/magazine. Exclusive interview and candid outtakes are a great addition to any blog and can be touted in the original story.
2. Ask open ended questions
The best way to invite reader participation is to ask an open ended question. This works best with commentary rather than hard news. Or, at the end of each post, simply ask readers for their input. For example "What do you think about this?"
When readers do comment, respond. It is important that the blog feels like a community and that readers feel like they are a part of that community.
More after the jump
3. Make your blog pop
Are you still using a stock template or does your blog have a unique design that stands out? Even if your blog is gritty, hard-news investigative journalism it could still use a little bit of color. Find a designer to give your blog a makeover or google "blog templates" to find something that suits your topic.
4. Create eye-catching headlines
Your headline can be the difference between a visitor taking the time to read a post or simply glossing over it. A great headline is not only eye catching, but should include relevant keywords that make it more likely to be clicked from a search engine. (Search engine optimization is important, read this Wikipedia entry for more info)
5. Be concise
Many journalists and professional writers, when given the opportunity, will ramble. Blogs are not the place to publish that 10,000 word article that got canned. Keep your posts short and to the point. Break up long blocks of text into shorter ones and include headers when necessary.
6. Make use of your RSS feed
Most blogs include an RSS feed that users can subscribe to via a feed reader or email. Make your RSS obvious somewhere on your page: include an RSS icon somewhere on the page and encourage readers to subscribe to your content. Page views are important so include the first paragraph or two in your RSS feed and a link back to your blog to read the rest.
7. Be a social bookmarker
Social bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, Ma.gnolia (and several others) allow you to share your bests posts with readers who may not otherwise see your content. Include links or icons that let users automatically submit their favorite posts to such sites. For example, check out the row of icons below each 10,000 words post.
8. Interact with other bloggers
With the millions of bloggers out there, chances there are other bloggers that are that covering similar issues. Find out who these bloggers are and send them links to some of your posts that they may find interesting. There are many local bloggers who are eager to trade links with an established media organization and may be doing so already.
9. Post consistently...
...and not just when news breaks. Having a inconsistent blogging schedule dissuades readers from coming back. If you build it, they will come!
Thanks to NorthxEast and Cash Bulge for the inspiration.
Labels: blogging
Thursday, August 23, 2007
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Set up your own online call-in radio show in minutes
BlogTalkRadio is revolutionizing how bloggers interact with their readers and—if enough newsrooms pick up on it—multimedia journalism. Currently, the only way to have your own radio show is to a) be a part of an existing radio station b) podcast c) set up an antenna and some tin foil. Not so anymore.
BlogTalkRadio, which is currently in beta, allows anyone with a telephone and an internet connection to set up their own streaming online talk radio show. The best part is listeners can call a dedicated number to talk with the on-air personality live. A lot of newspapers have set up online chats between sources and readers, but this allows readers to actually hear the person as they talk. Media outlets who podcast can now make them interactive using the service.
Fox Sports has already hopped on the BlogTalkRadio bandwagon as have tens of thousands of other broadcasters. The service allows unlimited listeners and up to five simultaneous callers. Radio shows are also saved in mp3 and podcast format.
BlogTalkRadio, which is currently in beta, allows anyone with a telephone and an internet connection to set up their own streaming online talk radio show. The best part is listeners can call a dedicated number to talk with the on-air personality live. A lot of newspapers have set up online chats between sources and readers, but this allows readers to actually hear the person as they talk. Media outlets who podcast can now make them interactive using the service.
Fox Sports has already hopped on the BlogTalkRadio bandwagon as have tens of thousands of other broadcasters. The service allows unlimited listeners and up to five simultaneous callers. Radio shows are also saved in mp3 and podcast format.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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Happy Birthday, Blogging!
It's officially been 10 years since blogs have existed and its amazing to look back on the progress blogs have made within the scope of journalism. Blogs started off universally reviled as a "second-class" journalism relegated to people with too much time on their hands. Then the wave of citizen journalism came and now nearly every newspaper has a blog. Some blogs like Drudge Report are now venerated in the journalism community. So what do the next ten years hold?
My guess is media organizations will incorporate more bloggers from outside the newsroom. I love the SF Gate Tech Chronicles, the L.A. Times Homicide Blog and VH1's Best Week Ever blog, but I also appreciate local blogs like Port Orange (Fla.) Images and Metroblogging L.A. While there is still a distinction between bloggers and journalists (see evidence here ), the gap is becoming less noticeable. Q: What are some of your favorite blogs?
Labels: blogging
Sunday, July 15, 2007
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