Build your own mashup. Or something.

Mozilla Labs are building a non-technical mashup service called Ubiquity. The video below takes you through some very impressive applications of the tool which at this very early stage already does the following:

  • Lets you map and insert maps anywhere; translate on-page; digg and twitter; lookup and insert yelp review; get the weather; syntax highlight any code you find.
  • Convert to PDF, rich text or HTML.
  • Find and install new commands to extend your browser’s vocabulary through a simple subscription mechanism

Some obvious implications for journalists – I’m sure you can imagine more.

Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.

(via Jim Muttram)

10 ways that ad sales people can save newspapers

The biggest problem for newspapers is not falling readerships, it is falling advertising revenue. It is the move from local monopolies to a global platform where competition is everywhere, and advertising less lucrative.

For all the talk of how journalists can get a grip on new media, there’s been far too little on how ad sales people can do the same. So here I present ten ways ad sales people (and their managers) can save their jobs. Continue reading

Why should a subscription only TV channel let anyone view its news online?

I recently heard about a TV news website that’s only accessible to subscribers to the TV channel. They are resisting moving to an open access model because they believe people stick with the TV channel because of that news: opening up the site, they argue, would give people less of a reason to stay with the service. Continue reading

The teachers are online: interview with Edward Griffith of TESconnect

This week the Times Educational Supplement relaunched its website TESconnect.co.uk as part-social network for half a million users to share and rate teaching materials . Alex Lockwood spoke to Head of Internet Edward Griffith:

“When we launch, we’ll have the largest single professional network online in the UK. The community lends itself to a social media network.” Continue reading