Social Media and User-Generated Content For Journalists: An Introduction Ryan Thornburg University of North Carolina ryan . [email_address] . edu Carroll 219 919-962-4080

Ideas Predate the Internet… Civic Journalism Community Journalism

Civic Journalism

Community Journalism

… Evolve in to … “ Citizen” Journalism

“ Citizen” Journalism

Buzzword Bingo Citizen Journalism User Generated Content Distributed Reporting Crowd Sourcing Pro-Am Journalism Open Source Journalism

Citizen Journalism

User Generated Content

Distributed Reporting

Crowd Sourcing

Pro-Am Journalism

Open Source Journalism

User Generated Content Anything not created by your staff. CNN iReport Comments on articles Health discussion boards Book reviews on Amazon All of YouTube The blogs on Bluffton Today

Anything not created by your staff.

CNN iReport

Comments on articles

Health discussion boards

Book reviews on Amazon

All of YouTube

The blogs on Bluffton Today

Distributed Reporting A report where the staff member gives asks the audience to collect specific information. Huffington Post’s 2008 Super Delegate Project Gasbuddy .com

A report where the staff member gives asks the audience to collect specific information.

Huffington Post’s 2008 Super Delegate Project

Gasbuddy .com

Distributed Reporting Works well when seeking standardized information that has not yet been collected in one place. Limited Fields With Limited Values And when it would be impossible or inefficient for one reporting to gather all the data.

Works well when seeking standardized information that has not yet been collected in one place.

Limited Fields

With Limited Values

And when it would be impossible or inefficient for one reporting to gather all the data.

Crowd Sourcing You set up the infrastructure to collect information, but you don’t know what you’re looking for. Wired’s Wiki Scanner Project Ushahidi.com Hashtags on Twitter.com #dnc08 # ch-snow

You set up the infrastructure to collect information, but you don’t know what you’re looking for.

Wired’s Wiki Scanner Project

Ushahidi.com

Hashtags on Twitter.com

#dnc08

# ch-snow

Distributed Reporting v. Crowd Sourcing? Distributed Reporting = Staff Led Crowd Sourcing = Audience Led

Distributed Reporting = Staff Led

Crowd Sourcing = Audience Led

Pro-Am Journalism Written and reported by amateurs or freelance contributors. Edited and produced by professionals. Huffinton Post’s Off the Bus project OhMyNews

Written and reported by amateurs or freelance contributors. Edited and produced by professionals.

Huffinton Post’s Off the Bus project

OhMyNews

Open Sourced Journalism A completely transparent reporting and writing project in which anyone who adheres to community standards can shape a single, collaborative project. WikiNews

A completely transparent reporting and writing project in which anyone who adheres to community standards can shape a single, collaborative project.

WikiNews

Those were the buzzwords… … and now for the mantras …

… and now for the mantras …

CitJ/UGC Mantras Repeat after me… “Journalism is a conversation, not a lecture.” “In aggregate, my readers know more than I do.” “The People Formerly Known as the Audience”

Repeat after me…

“Journalism is a conversation, not a lecture.”

“In aggregate, my readers know more than I do.”

“The People Formerly Known as the Audience”

REMEMBER: These Ideas Predate the Internet Letter to the Editor Talk Radio Tip Lines “ Man on the Street” Interviews Reader Panels Good ol’ fashioned quotes

Letter to the Editor

Talk Radio

Tip Lines

“ Man on the Street” Interviews

Reader Panels

Good ol’ fashioned quotes

Rely on Precedence to Overcome Obstacles … Accuracy Civility Liability

Accuracy

Civility

Liability

Obstacle: Accuracy The PFKAA will use media for their own purposes. JaredRemembered .com MartinLutherKing .org Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf Inaccurate vanity edits to Wikipedia

The PFKAA will use media for their own purposes.

JaredRemembered .com

MartinLutherKing .org

Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf

Inaccurate vanity edits to Wikipedia

Obstacle: Civility Racism, sexism and off-topic posts are the scourge of online community. Kathy Sierra Online comments following murder of UNC study body president

Racism, sexism and off-topic posts are the scourge of online community.

Kathy Sierra

Online comments following murder of UNC study body president

Obstacle: Civility Godwin’s Law “ As [an online] discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.” -- Mike Godwin, General Counsel Wikimedia Foundation

Godwin’s Law

“ As [an online] discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.”

-- Mike Godwin,

General Counsel

Wikimedia Foundation

Obstacle: Liability Section 230 “ No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” (Whatever that means…)

Section 230

“ No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”

(Whatever that means…)

Solutions in Analogies… Call back letter writers to verify authenticity. Avoid anonymous sources without a compelling reason. Ask unknown interview subjects for name, age, hometown, profession, etc.

Call back letter writers to verify authenticity.

Avoid anonymous sources without a compelling reason.

Ask unknown interview subjects for name, age, hometown, profession, etc.

… and Community Structure Identification You have options for various levels of verification. Anonymity Pseudonyms Pseudonyms with unpublished, unverified email Pseudonyms with unpublished, verified e-mail Real names with published e-mail

Identification

You have options for various levels of verification.

Anonymity

Pseudonyms

Pseudonyms with unpublished, unverified email

Pseudonyms with unpublished, verified e-mail

Real names with published e-mail

… and Community Structure Verification Complete fact check Pre-publication review (best for low-volume sites) Post-publication review of all items (for medium volume) Post-publication review of flagged items (for high volume … like police on the highway.)

Verification

Complete fact check

Pre-publication review (best for low-volume sites)

Post-publication review of all items (for medium volume)

Post-publication review of flagged items (for high volume … like police on the highway.)

… and Community Structure Social Norms Provide clear community standards up front. Allow users to flag violations of standards. Live where you work. Participate and lead the conversation. More carrot, less stick. Reward good UGC by giving it prominence. Promptly delete offending posts and ban offending users. Avoid the broken window problem .

Social Norms

Provide clear community standards up front.

Allow users to flag violations of standards.

Live where you work. Participate and lead the conversation.

More carrot, less stick. Reward good UGC by giving it prominence.

Promptly delete offending posts and ban offending users. Avoid the broken window problem .

Balance Two Competing and Long-Held Journalistic Values Voice to the voiceless v. Accuracy

Voice to the voiceless

v.

Accuracy