Reimagining Journalism in the Age of Social Media

Reimagining journalismin the age of Social MediaUn presentation especial at El MercurioSantiago, Chile, Aug. 25, 2011 JD Lasica Founder Socialmedia.biz Socialbrite.org

What we’ll cover today1. Changes in mediasphere2. Questioning 9 assumptions3. Imagining new skill sets4. Trailblazing publications

Hashtag Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Prakhar Tweet this talk! Hashtag: #gda_caf

Socialbrite Sharing Center http://socialbrite.org/sharing-center

Start with a blue sky Flickr photo by jonrawlinson Be open to new approaches Launch pilot projects Silicon Valley mantra: Fail often, fail fast Rules of social media are still evolving

News is undergoing biggest,messiest change — everEverything about news is changing:The way it’s producedThe way it’s distributedThe way we consume itWho’s a trusted news providerConventions of journalism (NPR asadvocate for Haiti relief efforts)What “news” means

Social journalismElements of social media applied to journalism:Blogging ... Twitter ... Facebook ... Comments ...Widgets ... RSS ... Video sharing ... Photo sharing ... User-created content ... Ratings ... User reviews ... Tagging ...Social bookmarks ... Live streaming & chat ... Presentationsharing ... Geolocation services ... Forums ... Communitymembership ... Social news sharing sites ...Wikis ... Texting ... Meetups ...Shared calendars

But trustworthy news still vital “Information is as vital to the healthy functioning of communities as clean air, safe streets, good schools and public health.” Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy

Old media values Social media valuesNews as finished product News as a processLecture, authoritative Conversation, participationPassive consumers Empowered usersTrust in experts Trust in peersCorporate Democratic, collaborative, messyClosed TransparentExclusive SharedCentralized DistributedElite professionals Grassroots, peer-focusedInstitutional voice Personal voiceHeavily filtered Unfiltered/lightly filteredPlatform dependent Cross-platform

Will this be the new news?

Question assumptions!

ASSUMPTION 1Objectivity is our sacred goal

¡PERO!Transparency is new objectivity Invite public into story meetings. Live-stream them.

ASSUMPTION 2Content is all that matters

¡PERO!Conversation & curation Conversation follows content

ASSUMPTION 3Mobile has limited appeal

¡PERO!Geotag everything! http://charitywater.org/projects/map/

ASSUMPTION 4Journalists must wear blinders Creative Commons photo on Flickr by stars alive

¡PERO!Why not allow citizensto take action? A role restored Point users to events or community and advocacy groups relevant to an issue. Also enable them to make a difference by signing petitions, which offer an outlet for community engagement.

ASSUMPTION 5Journalists don’t promote

¡PERO!Promotion is part ofthe Social Web’s essenceThink of a story, blog post, eventor idea as a ‘sharable object.’ Insome cases, decouple media.The most effective sharableobjects are portable, evokeemotion and can be easily copiedand reproduced in many channelsand formats.Use genuine conversation, not amarketing sell, to share.

ASSUMPTION 6It’s OK to ignore the numbers Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Woodlouse

¡PERO!‘Data is better than gut’ Gather, analyze, act Photos on Flickr by Emran Kassim, left, and Vee Dub (CC-BY)

ASSUMPTION 7Citizen journalists = competitors

¡PERO!The crowd can be collaborators Talking Points Memo won a George Polk Award using distributed network of volunteer reporters who delved through thousands of emails and documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, leading to the resignation of the Attorney General.

ASSUMPTION 8We must find new audiences

¡PERO!We must build communityhere’s an amazing difference between building an audience and building acommunity. An audience willwatch you fall on a sword. A community will fall on a sword for you. — Chris Brogan Author,“Trust Agents”

ASSUMPTION 9We must do all the heavy lifting Creative Commons photo on Flickr by Jason Means

¡PERO!Your community can help Find the big kahunas in your sector/beat. Use listening tools. Then, influence the influencers. Connect with other social media influencers through their blogs, Twitter, Facebook. Use flickr.com/creativecommons to find 55 million + photos for commercial use. And give back. Use ‘social love handles’: Facebook social plug-ins, Share This, Tweet this buttons.

The tools aren’t important.The storytelling is.

Let’s imagine these new skills Storyteller & reporter, yes, but also: Conversation facilitator Multimedia guru Evangelist, promoter Community builder Curator Metrics nerd Geek! Innovator/strategist Photograph by Tristram Kenton © The Really Useful Group Ltd.

Study the trailblazers TexasTribune.com TBD.com: Washington DC hyperlocal site BayCitizen.org ProPublica, nonprofit investigative journalism, winner of 2010 Pulitzer Prize Politico.com for political news TechCrunch.com for tech news Huffington Post creating a nonprofit investigative journalism arm. TalkingPointsMemo.com MinnPost.com, nonprofit news site VoiceofSanDiego.org, nonprofit news site Spot.us, crowd-funded journalism

Create your own path Storyful.com uses social networks to create authentic, cooperative & socially useful journalism.

Embrace those blue skies! News has become a social act & shared experience Build things that are useful & have value Study the marketplace, deﬁne goals, write business plan Embrace risk, launch pilot projects Measure results Make tough choices, listen to your market Iterate! Iterate! Iterate! Make mistakes, forgive yourself, move on

To innovate is to iterate Facebook in 2005 “The idea is launch early and iterate. Early on, I didn’t just start Facebook as a company. It was a project that I wanted to exist. It’s amazing how much stuff we messed up.” – Mark Zuckerberg, 10/09

Closing thoughtIf you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. — Lao Tse

¡Muchas gracias! ¡Let’s talk! JD Lasica, founder Socialbrite.org: Social tools for social change email: jd@socialbrite.org Twitter: @jdlasica Thank you for all your valuable work during this time of disruption!

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Reimagining Journalism in the Age of Social Media

by JD Lasica

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Reimagining Journalism in the Age of Social Media Presentation Transcript