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Making sense of the intersection between media, society and technology

October 2, 2009 • 11:46 am 7

10 top tech trends that every journalist should know

Amy Webb presented her very popular session on tech trends before an eager audience of journalists, hoping to find out what the future will bring.

Webb explained how she had asked online what were the big trends for journalists. One of the main choices was mobile. But Webb said mobile was a generic term, just as you would say internet.

She argued that journalists aren’t thinking of technology in a granular way, which makes it hard to work out what is coming next. There is a serious gap between journalists perception of technology and how people are using technology.

The first trend is the real-time web. People now expect to find content as soon as it is out there, said Webb.

Among the tools she highlighted for use by journalists was the browser Flock.  It aggregates content from the real-time web from different social media sites, including Twitter.

Samepoint monitors conversations across different sites, such as comments on Facebook, MySpace and more. Socialmention does a similar job but also monitors how people feel about your site or content.

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Filed under: internet, journalism, media, social media , ,

February 17, 2009 • 5:08 pm 0

links for 2009-02-17

Filed under: Links

December 31, 2008 • 2:31 pm 0

Top 10 blog posts for 2008

As 2008 draws to a close and a near year begins, I would like to thank all of you who read this blog for your time and support.

Here are the top 10 stories on Reportr.net for 2008. It is an eclectic mix, dominated by the Spitzer scandal:

  1. How to follow the US election results online
  2. The mystery of Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s MySpace page
  3. The rights and wrongs of Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s MySpace photos
  4. How did the BBC lose a million US readers
  5. 31 essential online tools for journalist
  6. Creating a student journalism website on a budget
  7. BBCNews.com readers criticise ’stuck on’ ads
  8. How to find out anything about anyone online
  9. The media and the online life of Ashley Alexandra Dupre
  10. BBCNews.com senior editor joins NowPublic

Wishing  everyone a happy and prosperous 2009.

Filed under: blogs, internet, journalism, media , , , ,

October 9, 2008 • 12:30 pm 0

Public radio aims to reach new audiences with :Vocalo

Edie Rubinowitz of Northeastern Illinois University provided a fascinating insight into Chicago Public Radio’s community radio project, :Vocalo, at the Convergence and Society conference.

And yes, it is supposed to be “:Vocalo”, as Rubinowitz explained at the start of the talk.  The colon is a deliberate attempt to create an emoticon.

:Vocalo is its own distinct radio station which downplays its relationship with Chicago Public Radio (CPR).  Rubinowitz explained that this was again a deliberate decision, as it is aimed at a very separate audience.

CPR has an audience that is 91% white in a city with a much more diverse population.  :Vocalo is targeted at reaching these communities who don’t listen to public radio because they see it as not aimed at them, not local enough or simply too stuffy and elite.

Rubinowitz described :Vocalo as a hybrid social network, user-generated content site and radio station.  Or, in the elevator pitch, a cross between YouRadio and MySpace/Facebook.

So it aims to be younger, more vibrant and diverse than CPR, in the hope of creating a third space between home and work for the Chicago’s communities to get together, share and discuss events in their city.

The station is available both on the radio and online, offering a mix of progressive music, user-generated content and hosted talk shows.  What makes this different from CPR is that the hosts are often non-professionals drawn from the community, such as teachers.

Rubinowitz explained that launching the radio station was not without issues.  Some at CPR were concerned it would turn into amateur hour on the radio, or that the public radio station was trying to be something it wasn’t.

As she put it, if you do something like this, you can expect a backlash from the “old crowd”, as she put it.

:Vocalo is a work in progress and expanding the reach of its radio signal.

It seems to be a good way for public radio to reinvent itself, not by slightly tinkering with its established format, but by creating a separate station to reach new audiences in new ways.

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Filed under: broadcast, citizen journalism, journalism , , ,

August 11, 2008 • 1:38 pm 5

How social media blurs the line between public and private

On Saturday, I was part of a stimulating panel at the AEJMC annual conference in Chicago discussing the digital dilemmas raised by social media.  My contribution focused on how journalists use social networking sites as part of the newsgathering process and publish material which users may consider private.

The text of my talk is available after the jump (or download as PDF). The presentation is on Slideshare.

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Filed under: AEJMC, academics, journalism, social media ,

March 20, 2008 • 9:19 am 1

BBC revamps guidelines on social networking sites

The new guidelines from the BBC on social media are now available online. There are two parts to this, the first dealing with how the BBC should approach social networking sites and the second on how the use by BBC staff of social networking sites.

The guidelines on the use of social media by the BBC reflects concerns about protecting the brand. But they also recognises that the corporation should not trample into these spaces.

For example, the guidelines say “We should be sensitive to the expectations of existing users of the specific site. If we add a BBC presence, we are joining their site rather than the opposite”.

They also caution against using social media for short-term gain based around the lifetime of a particular TV or radio programme: “We should take care not to give users the impression that we are interested in setting up a fully interactive profile or page if that page is then neglected or abandoned after it has achieved a one-off short term purpose”.

The BBC should be commended for recognising the need to respect online communities and not simply use social media as a promotional tool for its output.

The guidelines on the personal use of social media reveal the BBC concerns about potential damage to its reputation. For example, they note that “through the open nature of such sites, it is also possible for third parties to collate vast amounts of information”. It cites the fact The Shawshank Redemption is the most popular film amongst the 11,899 members of the BBC network on Facebook and 8% list their political views as “liberal”.

David Jordan, director of BBC Editorial Policy and Standards explained the rationale behind the guidelines, stressing the BBC’s concern about being seen as impartial and objective:

What I hope we’ve created is something which is common sense. It does not restrict BBC staff from conducting legitimate activities on the Internet. But it does raise awareness of how crucial the BBC’s reputation for impartiality and objectivity is.

What appears missing from these guidelines on the use of social networking sites by journalists. This has been in the news recently due to the Spitzer scandal, when the media plundered the MySpace profile of Ashley Alexandra Dupre for her photos.

The BBC has been debating the ethics of taking material from social networking site. But these guidelines fail to tackle this area

Filed under: BBC, ethics, journalism, social networking , , , ,

March 18, 2008 • 7:09 am 1

The web, the politician and the prostitute

DupreThe BBC News website has published an analysis I wrote on the tangled web of the Spitzer scandal, the prostitute and social media.

It discusses how young adults such Ashley Alexandra Dupre make it easy for journalists and bloggers to find out intimate details about them by posting deeply personal information on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

The creator of the web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, summed up the issue when he told the BBC:

Imagine that everything you are typing is being read by the person you are applying to for your first job. Imagine that it’s all going to be seen by your parents and your grandparents and your grandchildren as well.

Filed under: BBC, ethics, journalism, social networking , , ,

March 15, 2008 • 10:21 pm 6

The rights and wrongs of Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s MySpace photos

The issue over the use of photos of Ashley Alexandra Dupre taken from social networking sites like MySpace has just taken another twist.

Ashley Alexandra DupreHer court-appointed attorney, Kelley Drye’s Don D. Buchwald, has attacked the media for invading his client’s privacy.

The press release (PDF) from the attorney says the alleged call girl was “thrust into the public glare at age 22 without her consent”.

He goes on to accuse some outlets of violating journalistic norms by using suggestive photos of Ashley for commercial gain. The release suggests that “certain of those photos were obtained in violation of Ms. Dupre’s privacy rights and federal copyright law”, adding that the use of these “may well constitute violations of federal copyright laws”.

The photos are everywhere, with some sites like Gawker boasting of “Kristen: The Definitive Gallery“.

According to some reports, the impetus for the press release was the photo spread in the New York Post, which had a half dozen images of Dupre in its print edition and 20 online. The pictures are credited in the paper to Wesley Mann at Contact Press Images.

Many of the images published by other news outlets came from MySpace. The AP distributed three of those images, including the one of her in a bikini, with a disclaimer authorising the use of the photos only with reports or commentary on the Spitzer scandal. Reuters also ran the photos, crediting MySpace.

Aside from the issue of whether it is ethical to take material from social networking sites, there is the question of copyright. According to MySpace terms and conditions, “this limited license does not grant MySpace the right to sell or otherwise distribute your Content outside of the MySpace Services”.

The BBC is introducing new rules that would restrict BBC journalists from using pictures from social media site without the permission of the copyright owner. In this case, is the AP the copyright holder, or is there a public interest argument for their publication?

Even though the photos are everywhere online, her attorney has warned that “as counsel for Ms Dupre we will take all steps that we deem necessary or appropriate to protect Ms Dupre from any unwarranted exploitation of her name, picture, voice, or likeness for purposes of profit”.

This seems to be a mammoth, and on the face of it, impossible task. A quick search on Google Image Search yields more than 5,000 photos.

The lawyers can’t expect to sue every blog that has republished the photos. But they could go after big media outlets that have resources and a reputation to protect.

Filed under: ethics, online, social media, social networking , , , , ,

• 9:19 am 2

The mystery of Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s MySpace page

Ashley Alexandra DupreThe mystery of Ashley Alexandra Dupre’s disappearing MySpace page is solved.

The profile of Eliot Spitzer’s alleged call girl at myspace.com/ninavenetta was accidentally deleted by MySpace, in response to the flood of people checking out her profile.

This set off a feeding frenzy between cyber squatters jostling for control of the hottest space on the social networking site.

The profile changes hands frequently, as MySpace canceled accounts, before finally restoring Dupre’s account late on Thursday.

Most people would consider a profile on a site such as MySpace or Facebook as belonging to them. After all, this will be a space online full of personal details and often carefully crafted to show off personal tastes in music, photos and more.

But this incident shows that control of the page rests with the social networking service, rather than the user. If MySpace, Facebook or Bebo decide to disable your account, there is little you can do.

Maybe, if you are a high-profile blogger like Robert Scoble, you can force Facebook into restoring your deleted account.

At a time when millions of people are living social lives online, facilitated by social networking services, it is worth remembering that a private company can decide on the fate of these personal accounts.

Filed under: Web 2.0, social networking , , , ,

March 13, 2008 • 11:50 am 2

The media and the online life of Ashley Alexandra Dupre

Following the resignation of New York Governor Elliot Spitzer, the media turned its attention to the woman before his downfall, 22-year old Ashley Alexandra Dupre, otherwise known as Kristen.

Much of the background information on her, as well as photos, have come from social networking sites, such as MySpace. Gawker is looking to satisfy the more voyeuristic among us by producing what it called Kristen: The Definitive Gallery.

That MySpace page, under the alias of ninavenetta has now disappeared, displaying the message: “This user has either cancelled their membership, or their account has been deleted.” The page, though, is still available in Google’s cache – a reminder that web pages never die, they just end up on a server somewhere.

But the images have taken on a life of their own and are easily found online. They are just one of the tidbits of information available on the web about her. She was an aspiring rhythm and blues singer, so you can also listen to her music online.

Or you can rate her body.
Rate My Body screengrab

It seems unlikely that Ashley ever imagined the images, sounds and words she posted online would ever make the headlines.

But it highlights how many young people are living very public lives on the web, even though the material may not have been intended for a wide audience. These social spaces on the Internet have become part of the newsgathering process for journalists.

There is something tragic about how the media, both big and small, has voraciously sought out everything it can find on the Internet about this woman. The question is whether this is an ethical way for journalists to behave.

News organisations are grappling with this issue – the BBC for one is launching new guidelines which would restrict BBC journalists from using pictures from sites such as Facebook and MySpace in news stories without the permission of the copyright owner.

Ironically, the very same social networking sites that have fed this media appetite are now taking on the issue themselves. A quick search on Facebook reveals 13 groups about Ashley, from ones saying she was in my class to others calling for her to be left alone.

UPDATE: Ashley’s MySpace profile is live again, with messages of support from her friends.

Filed under: Web 2.0, journalism, social networking, user-generated content , , ,

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Alfred Hermida
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