1. NEW MODELS FOR
COMMUNITY MEDIA
Susan Mernit, October 2010 CCT.org talk

2. Twitter: World’s latest breaking news
source

3. Local video reaches across the world
We don’t need foreign correspondents

4. News happens in real time
Flickr: February 27, Saturday am: Chilean
earthquake 8.8, 4:34 am

5. Via search & reputation, news is both grass-
roots & filtered—almost instantaneously

6. Implications to think about
• Peers are our experts
• Social media is our ecosystem
• Mobile means access everywhere
EVERYONE USES SOCIAL MEDIA
It’s the drumbeat.

7. Welcome to the social media ecosystem
 200 Million Americans are on Facebook
 Roughly 44 million people use Twitter
 There are over 2 Billion photos on photo-sharing
community Flickr
You are now connected to everyone on the
planet via search & Facebook

8. This means: The game Has changed
• Even
beyond
Google,
everyone
is
inter-­‐
connected
• We’ve
gone
beyond
centralized
authori:es
that
creden:al
us—newspapers,
universi:es,
affiliate
groups
• To
crowd-­‐sourcing,
networks,
and
the
wisdom
of
crowds
-­‐-­‐Are
you
a
part
of
the
stream?

9. How do you show up on the Net?
 Who are you connected to? What do
you stand for?
 You
cannot
hide
in
a
world
of
referral,
recommenda:on
and
reputa:on
 And
you
have
to
connect

10. Social media has an amplifying power.
Do you know how to use it?

11. Oakland Local: Case study in community
engagement & social media marketing

12. Oakland Local Quick View
 Community news &
media for Oakland,
CA
 Non-profit with social
justice mission
 First year’s budget:
$58,000
 Focuses on issues, not Oaklandlocal.com
neighborhoods

13. Oaklandlocal.com: October 19, 2010

15. Who’s our audience?
People in the heart of Oakland*
Where do they live?
• 49% live in the flatlands
• 23% live in the hills
How old are they?
• 44% under 35
• 28% between 36-45
• 30% over 45
What do they do?
• 43 % Self-employed & small biz
• 27.2% Non-profits
• 18.5% Private sector
• 17.3 % Tech
• 14.8 % Teach or gov. job
(*August 2010 survey)

16. Social media & OL
 Facebook: 4,300 friends; 950 active posters
(Facebook Insite)
 Twitter: 2,500 + followers, 5-10 retweets daily
 Flickr: Active flickr site & tags
 Scribd: Over 5,000 downloads
 YouTube, Vimeo, etc: Active video channels
 Who posts? Team of 5 rotate responsibilities

17. What does this get us?
 Facebook & Twitter as top referrers
 Powerful community connections: Facebook the AOL
of today; people hang out
 Ability to engage, discuss, interact
 Genuine connections with wide, diverse community
 Ability to serve and empower

18. We MEASURE like crazy!
 Google analytics
 Google search (reach, impact)
 Facebook insites
 Tweetreach
 On-going analysis & course corrections

19. Some
of
the
lessons
we
have
learned

20. Oakland Local Today
 1 YEAR OLD
 308,000 VISITORS
 1.2 MM PAGE
VIEWS
 42 local partners
 STRUGGLE IS
OVER FUNDING:
LAUNCHED WITH
LITTLE $$$

21. Sustainability
 Ads, sponsorships, ads for events
 Paid trainings: Oakland Local Academy, focused on
social media marketing
 BAPP ad network (with Sac Press)
 Donor campaign, 2011
 It’s harder to build the sales & marketing team than
the training group or the editorial team

22. Observations
 As traditional news sites falter, new
models emerges
 Community foundations are NATURAL
partners
 Advocacy groups can use your
platform, but you are NOT an advocacy
group
 Focus on issues not neighborhoods
 Be lean
Build a platform for independent voices
to be heard, issues examined

23. Oakland Local loves to share community
strategies
Keep in touch
Twitter:
@Susanmernit, @oaklandlocal
Email: susan@oaklandlocal.com
Site: oaklandlocal.com
Follow us on Facebook !