Idea 1: The conversation toolkit
The password to this wiki is 'idea'
Submitted to BBC Innovation Labs 29/1/07:
A series of plugins or bolt-ons that facilitate more productive conversation around a news issue. Based on 'Five W's and a H', this allows users and journalists to address the following questions with a simple user interface:
* Who can I connect with? (e.g. social networking, etc.)
* Where did this happen? (e.g. mapping)
* Why should I care? (e.g. personalisation, databases, how international events affect us)
* When are events coming up that I need to be aware of (e.g. Calendar, Facebook Events)
* What did the journalist read to write this?/What have people said about this article? (e.g. social bookmarking, links, documents, Trackback)
* How can I make a difference? (e.g. petitions, changes in personal behaviour or consumption, automation)
The technology will act as an 'aggregator-stimulator', or 'pull-push' model, pulling together relevant content and using editorial questions and ideas of 'incompleteness' to motivate contributors (see mockup at http://bidideas.pbwiki.com/f/5wH.gif)
The project builds on ideas outlined in the 'Model for a 21st century newsroom' published on the Online Journalism Blog (http://onlinejournalismblog.com/tag/21st-century-newsroom/), specifically part 3 - 'Five Ws and a H that should come after every story', but also the 'News Diamond' (particularly the alert and context stages) and Distributed Journalism.
It is one thing to read a story passively. Online, people can do something about it, and this fulfils the need for answers to the questions that come after reading a story - and action based on those answers. The popularity of social networking services, mapping and personalisation all demonstrate this.
Editorially the gaps in knowledge made explicit would help inform the news agenda; from a community perspective, it helps make information useful, and therefore attracts users. But its real benefits are in empowering readers and engendering virtual and real communities. Imagine reading a story and seeing how it directly affects your postcode; being able to see that there's a lot of interest in it in your area; being able to connect with others; reading up on related articles and pages; and promoting a campaign event via the same page.
The closest competition at the moment comes in the form of generic comments systems and 'bookmark/email this' widgets, as well as generic services around social bookmarking, mapping, etc. This hinges those ideas to editorial expertise and the idea of 'news you can use'.
More info at http://www.newschallenge.org/main_e.html
Also see http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070604colombo/
and http://journalism.wikia.com/wiki/Knight_News_Challenge
A series of plugins or bolt-ons that enable publishers to facilitate more productive conversation around a news issue. Based on 'Five W's and a H', this allows users and journalists to address the following questions with a simple user interface:
- Who can I connect with? (e.g. social networking, etc.)
- Where did this happen? (e.g. mapping)
- Why should I care? (e.g. personalisation, databases, how international events affect us)
- When are events coming up that I need to be aware of (e.g. Calendar, Facebook Events)
- What did the journalist read to write this?/What have people said about this article? (e.g. social bookmarking, links, documents, Trackback)
- How can I make a difference? (e.g. petitions, changes in personal behaviour or consumption, automation)
The technology will act as an 'aggregator-stimulator', or 'pull-push' model, pulling together relevant content and using editorial questions and ideas of 'incompleteness' to motivate contributors (see mockup)
The project builds on ideas outlined in the 'Model for a 21st century newsroom' published on the Online Journalism Blog (see documents attached), specifically part 3 - 'Five Ws and a H that should come after every story', but also the 'News Diamond' (particularly the alert and context stages) and Distributed Journalism.
Any news organisation or online content-based organisation. The toolkit would help facilitate user interaction, generate material and engender community around the issues in question. From a business perspective, UGC is known to be sticky and therefore attractive to advertisers, while the technology would also make the content proposition more competitive, increase distribution, and improve reader loyalty. Editorially the gaps in knowledge made explicit would help inform the news agenda; from a community perspective, it helps make information useful, and therefore attracts users.
Why are you the best person or organization to develop this project? * (2075 characters maximum, approximately 325 words)
Paul Bradshaw has worked in editorial website management and magazine editing, and has lectured in online journalism and new media for the past six years. For the past three years Paul Bradshaw has been running the Online Journalism Blog, researching and analysing developments in new media and journalism. The blog has been described as "one of the UK's most influential journalism blogs" by UK Press Gazette and "one of the finest UK journalism blogs" by Adrian Monck; as "Absolutely first class" by David Black, Group Director of Digital Publishing at Trinity Mirror plc, and "innovative and thought provoking" by Ed Roussel, Digital Editor of the Telegraph Media Group.
The blog has a global readership, with readers across South America, Europe, the former Soviet Union, South Africa, Australia, and North America. It is planned that lessons learned during the project will be disseminated and discussed via the blog, while blog readers will be invited to help develop the project.
Nick Booth currently works encouraging people to understand and use the power of various forms of social media. He is also a podcast producer and documentary film maker, with most of his work focused on active citizens. This includes the Grassroots Channel podcast. Nick began his career working as a BBC journalist. In almost 15 years with the corporation Nicks work ranged from general news reporter through to political programe reporter, producer and presenter. He spent a number of years making documentaries and current affairs films for BBC 1, BBC 2 and BBC Radio 4, including some investigative journalism.
5. What potentially bigger thing might happen if everything went perfectly and the stars all aligned? * (2075 characters maximum, approximately 325 words)
The plugins become an element in a majority of blogging platforms and news content management systems. Programmers mashup the technology to improve and build on it. News organisations identify gaps in knowledge and address those. Citizens are empowered and engaged with issues in the news, and work together to address problems. Non-bloggers are motivated to join 'the conversation' while those who previously didn't comment find a reason and platform to engage.
6. How will you be able to measure whether or not your project has really made a difference? * (2075 characters maximum, approximately 325 words)
An open source download site will be able to measure downloads and contributions by developers; pilots using existing news websites and blogs will measure contributions by users. Discussion across the online journalism community will indicate how it is affecting newsroom cultures. Academic research will monitor changes in user attitudes and news engagement.
An answer to the question what is news for. Until know we have rather complacently believed it contributes something to democracy. Providing tools which allow the audience to extend the news thriugh action as well as conversation will create a more direct link between the deomcratic intent of news and the reality in terms of actions. The need to move beyond the conversation; the need for empowerment and engagement in an increasingly disengaged and disillusioned public. For newsrooms, this fulfuls a need for technologies that facilitate user engagement - 'stickiness' and loyalty.
Other attempts at improving reader engagement tend to address specific issues, or provide generic 'blank pages' for people to contribute 'comments' or improvements. This brings an editorial focus to the questions raised by issues in the news, and helps users to frame their responses in terms of particular, action-based routes of enquiry. It also brings together a number of technologies with potential for news: social networking; mapping; calendars; databases; social bookmarking; and automation - building on off-the-shelf solutions, cultures and user bases rather than trying to build from scratch.
The process will be covered on the Online Journalism Blog, which has a global readership across all five continents. I also write for Poynter in the US; Press Gazette and Journalism.co.uk in the UK, and Indian Online Journalism. From those it should be disseminated more widely through other bloggers, academics and journalists. The project should also attract some research coverage.
No. However, funding may be sought from other bodies, including the International Helsinki Committee.
Nick Booth (details above) would be involved in conceptualising the project and liaising with pilot organisations.
Dmytro Potekhin, Ukraine, is a freelance third sector consultant. He has worked as a policy analyst in the Japanese Embassy to Ukraine; a chief of ICT in an elections monitoring effort; helped to go online and organized live broadcast over internet for a public radio project (launched without license from the regime); during the Orange Revolution developed and managed a major nationwide non-partisan voter mobilization & education campaign. He is currently giving advice on strategic nonviolence to several human rights groups in Eastern Europe and Middle East. In Ukraine he works to develop a new school of public administration. Dmytro will help advise specifically on the 'How' of the toolkit, with advocacy issues and with development in general. He will also help find co-funding and build linkage to youth and human rights networks to help bring them online with the tool.
Stefan Lewandowski is founder and Managing Director of UK creative agency 3form. He has worked on a number of web projects around engagement and arts news and worked with some of the technologies discussed in this proposal. His clients include Pilot TV, Fused Magazine and the BBC.
One Midlands news organisation has expressed an interest in piloting the technology; I am in discussions with others.
Although a number of people are working in the wider field of social media - Steve Outing, Jay Rosen - this project is unique in its focus on action and utility.
A prototype plugin that addresses at least one of the six questions identified above, and facilitates user engagement and contribution through work-saving technologies. Along with this, a pilot study at a local news organisation tests such a plugin. And ongoing reports and analysis via the Online Journalism Blog
Mockup:
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