1. Tap Into the Crowd
Mandy Jenkins @mjenkins
#norcalsoc April 2012

2. What is Crowdsourcing?
• When you call on your
readers/followers to contribute to a
story
• Calls for content, news tips and story
sources
• Can be breaking or long-term
• Involve a little or a lot of information

3. Before Crowdsourcing
•Build engaged community (follow people,
converse with them)
•Build Twitter lists of key sources for
breaking situations
•Plan ahead when you can, have a plan for
when you can’t
•Include crowdsourcing in story-planning

4. During Breaking News
• Open keyword searches
• Monitor key Twitter lists
• Have reporter or news org start tweeting
live to get and share info

5. Find Sources Fast

6. Ask for What You Want

7. Ask Permission for Photos

8. Breaking News
Crowdsourcing
•Say what you know
•Say what you don’t know
•Say what you want/need to know
•Don’t spread rumors
•Vet sources & information
•Ask questions as you gather info
•RT with context, note if it's verified

9. Search.Twitter.Com/advanced
Search by keywords, location, time
Search quickly - before the stream is taken over
by reaction

10. When You Find Leads
• Connect with eyewitnesses, get
contact info
• Have them wait for a reporter on
scene
• Verify!

11. • Search venues on Foursquare.com
• “Mayor” is great source for info
about a business or venue
(employee or regular customer)

12. Crowdsourcing Everyday

14. Crowdsourced map: Google Maps

17. Ask Everywhere
• Print callouts (Tell Us Your Story)
• Social media promotion (reporter and
papers’ accounts)
• Embeds into online stories
• Word-of-mouth, IRL on the beat

18. Crowdsourcing Ideas
• Ask for archival photos/stories
from community anniversaries
• Is it raining/snowing/earthquaking
near you?
• Build a source database for
recurring themes (foreclosures,
veterans, lost jobs, etc.)

19. Beware B.S.

22. Check the person's credibility
• Check when account was created.
• How frequent are updates?
• Do they have a photo?
• Do they have friends/followers? Do they
follow?
• Check bio, links
• Check Klout score
• Google name and scam, spammer
• Contact & interview

23. Follow up on the tip
• Ask for a phone number and call the person.
• Ask if they witnessed first-hand or heard
about it.
• Ask exactly what they witnessed, how they
saw it and when.
• Ask who else may have the same info.

24. Check credibility of the info
• Check earlier tweets/updates: Anything leading
up to the tip that makes sense?
• Do follow up tweets/updates make sense in
context?
• Does it read authentically? Misspellings, bad
grammar, typos can also be a sign of a real
person.
• Corroborate the info

25. Evaluate your options
• How urgent is this information?
• How important is the tip to the overall
story? Is there a story without it?
• Is it worth the risk if it is wrong?

26. B.S. Images

27. Photoshop Debunked by Reddit

28. East River Flooding! (Nope)
Scanned and tweeted photo from an older storm

29. Verifying Images
• Check exif info: regex.info/exif.cgi
• Check for edits to photos: errorlevelanalysis.com/
• Reference locations against maps and existing images
from the area.
• Examine weather reports and shadows to confirm that
the conditions shown fit with the claimed date and time.
• Check clothes/buildings/language/license
plates/vehicles etc. to see if they support what the
image claims to be.

30. THANKS!
Mandy Jenkins
mjenkins@digitalfirstmedia.com
@mjenkins
Blog: Zombiejournalism.com
These slides & more at
slideshare.net/mandyjenkins