Web 2.0, Journalism and the 2008 Election

Web 2.0, Journalism and the 2008 Election Andy Carvin National Public Radio andycarvin@yahoo.com www.andycarvin.com andycarvin.com/jfklibrary.ppt Who the Heck Am I? • Internet strategist, National Public Radio • Founding editor, Digital Divide Network (1999-2006) • Blogger: • Andy Carvin’s Waste of Bandwidth (1994-present) • PBS learning.now (2006-present) • DC correspondent, Rocketboom (2005-present) Traditional Media Production Until recently, to produce content for a large audience you needed to be a...      Publisher Broadcaster Billboard owner Pilot flying a sign-dragging airplane Guy holding up signs at televised football game Flashback: 1690, Boston Publick Occurrences: both Forreign and Domestick A four-page paper – but where’s page #4? Flash Forward 300 Years: Web 1.0 Most people read online content rather than produced it, because producers needed:      HTML coding skills Programming skills Graphic design skills Hosting ability Promotion mechanisms Today: Web 2.0    Tools to simplify content creation Websites encourage community interaction Allowed people to focus on ideas and creativity rather than technical know-how AKA “The Read-Write Web” AKA “Social Media” AKA “We Media” The Web 2.0 Universe Geotags Blogging Aggregation Community Discussions Instant Messaging mashups Podcasting Folksonomies Rating Tools Vlogging Online Social Networks Tagging RSS Citizen Journalism Wikis Most Famous Example: Blogs     Early days: online geeks posted personal homepages or diaries (example: me) Blogging software made online publishing easy; anyone can do it (again: me) Fill-out-a-form publishing Today: 60-100 million+ blogs online, including many of you Content Production: All The Cool Kids Are Doin’ It       48 mil Americans have posted content online One in 12 Internet users publish a blog One in four have shared original content Young people more likely to post content Race, income, education less of a factor Latinos, African Americans slightly more likely to post online content than whites Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, Home Broadband Adoption 2006 Podcasts and Vlogs   Podcasts  Blogs that contain audio files  Users can subscribe, receive audio automatically  Downloadable to iPods and other MP3 players Video Blogs (aka Vlogs)  Blogs that contain video clips  Examples: Rocketboom, Ze Frank, Me Online Social Networks     Massive communities containing many features: blogs, video, discussions, ratings, etc Members create profiles, upload content, host their own group conversations MySpace, YouTube: tens of millions of users Ipsos: 24% of Americans using social networks Hundreds of similar services: Bebo.com | Friendsorenemies.com | Facebook.com Digitaldivide.net | TakingITGlobal.org | Hotsoup.com Social Software and the Democratization of Content      blogger.com: free blogging tool flickr.com: photo blogging community facebook.com: online social network blip.tv: make your own video blog youtube.com: 100 m videos downloaded daily Online communities where people are actively encouraged to use and share each other’s original content. So what does it mean for journalism? Stereotype #1: The Media Hates Bloggers      Can’t trust bloggers or “citizen journalists” to get the story right Bloggers have agendas/bias/grudges etc. Web 2.0 dominated by mob mentality Bloggers don’t respect journalists Bloggers don’t do hard news Stereotype #2: Bloggers Hate the Media      Can’t trust big media (better yet: old media) Big media claim they’re unbiased – right. Big media dominated by soundbites They don’t respect the public’s brains, collectively or individually They do hard news anymore, pandering to lowest common denominator Today: Happy Internet (War is Over)     Concerted attempts at finding understanding between the media and the blogosphere Media/blog collaboration now more common Greater emphasis on “networked journalism” (Jeff Jarvis) Finding ways for the media to work with “the people formerly known as the audience” (Jay Rosen) Why Are Media Outlets Embracing Web 2.0?      Improving journalistic transparency Creating a public dialogue Tapping into public knowledge and creativity New collaborative opportunities with affiliates Maybe it’s profitable, too? Open Piloting      NPR inviting the public to help create broadcast news programming Sharing rough drafts of shows as podcasts before they’re ready for prime time A focus group, but everyone’s welcome Building blocks for user community Examples: Tell Me More, Bryant Park Radio Open Source http://www.radioopensource.org        “A blog with a radio show” Opened editorial process to the public Invited users to submit, debate program ideas Users recommended guests, questions Show asked users to participate on-air July 2007: Suspended ops due to funding losses If you’re bleeding-edge, sometimes you bleed out CNN iReport http://www.cnn.com/exchange/       CNN citizen journalism project with Blip.tv CNN asks users to submit photos, video for specific stories Very best clips included on air, other highlights archived in an online gallery Published early video from VT shooting “Tell your friends, “iReport for CNN” News to Me: CNN’s user content show BBC Have Your Say      Centralized forum for discussing news Only select stories covered Two-tiered moderation Users can rate each others’ comments Best comments integrated into stories USA Today      Embedding social networking across site Not balkanized to a special section Users can comment on any story, create a blog Comments featured on homepage, elsewhere Syndicating blogs from around the Internet OhmyNews http://english.ohmynews.com/      Korean online news service Publishes in Korean, English, Japanese Dedicates 20% of its space to citizen journalists Invites public to submit content as volunteers Ones that submit consistently get paid Global Voices http://www.globalvoicesonline.org      Project of the Harvard Berkman Center International citizens media news service “Bridge bloggers” monitor blog discussions around the world and summarize them GV/Witness.org Human Rights Video Works closely with Reuters VoteGuide      Organized by Center for Citizen Media Berkeley journalism students created blog and aggregator for California’s 11th Congressional District Automatically collects news, photos, etc using tags Citizen journalists encouraged to cover candidates Test case for possible project during 2008 NewAssignment.net      Networked journalism project by Jay Rosen Launched in April 2007 Providing a platform for pro and amateur journalists to collaborate on stories together Developing endowment to pay pro journalists, cover expenses of amateur journalists First project: collaborating with Wired News H2OTown http://www.h2otown.info      Community blog for Watertown, MA All news stories produced by town residents Includes text stories, photos, video Excellent example of “placeblogging” Placeblogger.com: Directory of placeblogs, launched by H2OTown founder Lisa Williams Outside.In http://www.outside.in    Neighborhood content aggregator Combines placeblogging, citizen journalism with mapping and geotagging Allows users to explore community news as a blog, or on a neighborhood map LoudonExtra http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/      “Hyperlocal” journalism by Washington Post Launched July 16, 2007 Mix of professional journalism and bloggers Database focus: education, crime, etc 1st of many WP sites to focus on counties Tunisian Prison Map http://www.kitab.nl/tunisianprisonersmap/      Created by expat Tunisian on his own A new form of civil disobedience Uses Google Maps to chart Tunisian prisons Lets users track down famous dissidents Built with free tool: gMapEZ CNN/YouTube Debates       CNN, YouTube invite you to upload questions Users rate, review, discuss CNN picks best questions Candidates respond during broadcast Dems: July 23, GOP: Sept 17 Question: Is this just a gimmick? Politics & the YouTube Effect        Sen. George Allen followed by opposition cameraman Allen calls him “Macaca” Camerman posts it to YouTube Macaca=monkey; Racist? Viewed 500,000+ on YouTube Allen narrowly loses re-election Candidates, media lose control of messaging YouTube Side Effect: Who Controls Debate Footage?      2007: MSNBC tells bloggers not to use video Bloggers revolt, use it anyway for mashups Lawrence Lessig: Free the debates! Footage of candidates a “public good”? Result: CNN, NPR, others agree to allow video sharing and mashups Election ’08: What Next?   Candidates using YouTube, social networks Public still outpacing candidates with content   I Got a Crush…on Obama Vote Different: Hillary Mac Ad Ning.com Facebook Apps  DIY social networking tools    Fundraising 2.0: Change.org Final Thoughts     Digital divide impacts civic participation Media literacy more important than ever How do schools teach Web 2.0 in a world of filters, DOPA, high-stakes testing, etc? Will the defining moment of the campaign be a Web 2.0 moment? Photographed by Ethan Zuckerman Bathroom, Rhodes University, South Africa (cc) 2006 by-nc Thanks! Andy Carvin andycarvin@yahoo.com www.andycarvin.com Presentation: andycarvin.com/jfklibrary.ppt