How Journalists Are Using Google

Google’s still-young social network is largely the territory of early adopters and tech enthusiasts, but that hasn’t stopped journalists from experimenting with it. (Part 3 in a 4-part series on how journalists are using social networks beyond Facebook and Twitter.) 

Google+ makes a convenient distribution channel for content, much like Facebook and Twitter. But as any social media guru will tell you, these platforms are not just about barfing out a series of self-promotional links (which followers tend to tolerate in limited doses). Engaging people is half the battle, and Google+ offers a few ways to do it.

How Journalists Are Using SoundCloud

Musicians and remixers were among the first to settle into SoundCloud, but the social audio-sharing service has been expanding in new directions. The company is sharpening its focus on providing a hub for radio-style journalism and commentary with an interactive twist. (Part 4 of a 4-part series on how journalists are using social networks beyond Facebook and Twitter.)

The initial wave of SoundCloud users from the radio world included CNN Radio, Boston’s WBUR and KCRW in Los Angeles. Since then, the company has been cultivating the on-air community in earnest.

Talkwheel Helps Journalists Engage Readers on Facebook

Before digital media, journalists simply responded to reader questions or comments. Now, they must engage with readers on social media sites like Facebook — which can be a tremendous resource or a curse as deadlines pile up. Talkwheel is a new tool that promises to keep the conversation flowing with minimal time commitment, andIJNet recently took it for a spin. Talkwheel is a San Francisco startup that lets readers interact across social media, websites and video-sharing sites like YouTube. Current clients include IBM, Sears and breast-cancer awareness group Think Before You Pink.

NewsWhip Spike: A powerful tool to monitor news sources | Media news | Journalism.co.uk

How many browser tabs do you currently have open on your computer to monitor news from your journalism beat? And how many columns do you have set up in Tweetdeck or another Twitter client to keep track of news sources?

NewsWhip Spike plans to reduce that number by positioning itself as a solution for journalists to monitor and filter news shared across social networks.

Editors Weblog - Instagram: could the social networking site be an effective tool for journalists?

f you thought photo-sharing app Instagram was little more than a platform for rich kids to post photos of their luxury yachts, think again. Journalists and news organisations are increasingly using the social networking application, bought for $1 billion in April of this year by Facebook, as a tool for reporting on news and events.

App of the week for journalists: Tout, for sharing videos WSJ-style | Editors' Blog | Journalism.co.uk

Last week we reported on how and why Wall Street Journal reporters are sharing short videos filmed on their mobile phones.

The news site has created WorldStream, a micro-video blog by reporters, to provide context and “impressionistic colour”, Liz Heron, director of social media and engagement at the Wall Street Journal, told Journalism.co.uk.

Reporters provide the content by using a customised version of Tout, modified to allow WSJ reporters to post clips of up to 45 seconds.

BBC - Blogs - College of Journalism - The future of iPhone journalism: from Edinburgh to the WSJ’s new WorldStream

Like any opening act at Edinburgh, I wasn’t quite sure who would turn up for my session - if indeed anyone. But ‘Getting Smarter with your Smartphone’, at the very start of the first morning of the Edinburgh Television Festival, drew almost 50 delegates for a run-through of the issues film-makers and others need to be aware of if they want to record content on a smartphone. The session covered aspects such as the best way to hold a smartphone (horizontal) and how sound can be improved with external microphones, to the best apps which could enhance your recordings.