A few months ago I reported on an experiment in using BBC news feeds to create a ‘news map’ which you can click on to see stories in locations around the world (http://www.world66.com/mapsonomy?rss=http%3A//newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss.xml Now Poynter reports on a similar experiment using Google Maps .

It’s a great idea – and looks lovely – but I predict people are likely to rely on existing paradigms and navigate to stories using the old World > Asia > India (for example) system for a while yet.

PS: For a similar map of blog locations look at http://ojournalism.blogspot.com/2005/06/finding-local-blogs-if-youre-in.html.

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Here’s a lengthy report for you to get your teeth into: the Online User Experience Study (PDF) from the Online Publishers Association. 49 pages which “identified 22 experiences that describe and define of how people interact with and relate to digital media, and determined how each of those specific experiences impact site usage.” Thankfully (or not, if you prefer not to waste so much paper printing), each page is in PowerPoint style, i.e. not much to read – although there’s also an overview (PDF) which is more succinct at 12 pages (you can also read the key points in the press release).

The most useful section is the recommendations pages – quoted below:

“1. The first stage is to look at the experiences that have a stronger effect on usage and
sort them into two groups: those that your Web site must provide at a high level to
continue to be in the game, and those that could differentiate you from competitors.

“2. From the remainder, choose two or three experiences whose current levels are lower
and/or ones on which you think you can make strides.

“3. Establish a benchmark measurement of the experiences on which you will focus.

“4. Create “experience-oriented” content aimed at enhancing your target experience. This
could take a variety of forms, including new criteria for content selection, different
story treatment, additional tools or features, etc.

“5. Assess audience reaction.”

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Reasons to love the net #3,457: a simple link from Poynter can save you over £200:

“PDFonline.com allows you to create PDF files from a wide variety of formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and JPEG files. Just attach a document by browsing to it on your local computer (PC or Mac), choose a file name for the new PDF and enter your e-mail address. Within minutes, you will receive your PDF file via e-mail. If you are worried about spam, the site tells you: “You don’t have to use your personal email account. Simply create a separate email account, or a free account at Yahoo or Hotmail, specifically for this purpose.” One drawback is that you can only convert documents that are under 2MB each (you have to break up the document if it’s that big).”

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Reasons to love the net #3,457: a simple link from Poynter can save you over £200:

“PDFonline.com allows you to create PDF files from a wide variety of formats, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and JPEG files. Just attach a document by browsing to it on your local computer (PC or Mac), choose a file name for the new PDF and enter your e-mail address. Within minutes, you will receive your PDF file via e-mail. If you are worried about spam, the site tells you: “You don’t have to use your personal email account. Simply create a separate email account, or a free account at Yahoo or Hotmail, specifically for this purpose.” One drawback is that you can only convert documents that are under 2MB each (you have to break up the document if it’s that big).”

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Journalism.co.uk reports on the increasing need for “digital products for online, SMS and WAP-based services” that’s resulted in the Press Association expanding its training services:

“Multimedia training covers designing and writing for the web, as well as interviewing, storytelling and producing video news.

“The core skills for text-based digital journalism are the same as print, but design, headline writing and presentation can be very different and journalists also need to understand how web readers search for and aggregate their news online.“

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Journalism.co.uk reports on the increasing need for “digital products for online, SMS and WAP-based services” that’s resulted in the Press Association expanding its training services:

“Multimedia training covers designing and writing for the web, as well as interviewing, storytelling and producing video news.

“The core skills for text-based digital journalism are the same as print, but design, headline writing and presentation can be very different and journalists also need to understand how web readers search for and aggregate their news online.“

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Apart from anything else I’m hugely grateful to this article for introducing me to the newsletter about free daily newspapers around the world, but it also gives a fascinating rundown on how free newspapers have used the online medium – especially interesting given most newspapers’ worries about whether to charge for content. Here’s a taster:

“Are free newspapers making more money with their Internet sites than subscription newspapers? [Monique Van Dusseldorp] asked [Piet Bakker of the University of Amsterdam and the person behind the newsletter], who answered: “For some titles, like Dose (Canada) and Que! (Spain), which only launched in 2005, it is still too early to say anything about making money. For the others we can see two different approaches. The first is that of Metro UK (Associated Newspapers) and Metro Marknad which focus on advertising and e-commerce. In other words: services that directly lead to revenues. The other model is that of the ‘One-Brand medium,’ as introduced by Que! and is more or less copied by 20 Minutos (both in Spain). The brand can be accessed online and offline, and both work together and reinforce each other. The rationale behind it is not so much ‘more direct revenues from the website’ but more loyalty to the brand as such, which could lead to more site traffic and more income from the print publication.””

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. Apart from anything else I’m hugely grateful to this article for introducing me to the newsletter about free daily newspapers around the world, but it also gives a fascinating rundown on how free newspapers have used the online medium – especially interesting given most newspapers’ worries about whether to charge for content. Here’s a taster:

“Are free newspapers making more money with their Internet sites than subscription newspapers? [Monique Van Dusseldorp] asked [Piet Bakker of the University of Amsterdam and the person behind the newsletter], who answered: “For some titles, like Dose (Canada) and Que! (Spain), which only launched in 2005, it is still too early to say anything about making money. For the others we can see two different approaches. The first is that of Metro UK (Associated Newspapers) and Metro Marknad which focus on advertising and e-commerce. In other words: services that directly lead to revenues. The other model is that of the ‘One-Brand medium,’ as introduced by Que! and is more or less copied by 20 Minutos (both in Spain). The brand can be accessed online and offline, and both work together and reinforce each other. The rationale behind it is not so much ‘more direct revenues from the website’ but more loyalty to the brand as such, which could lead to more site traffic and more income from the print publication.””

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. The OJR has initiated a discussion on video journalists whereby “five writers take turns crafting a wiki-style article on ‘one-man bands’ who report, film and edit their own video stories. “

[Keyword: onlinejournalism]. This lengthy article in Editor & Publisher gives a good overview of how stats are being used in news organisations. Central to the article seems to be “what should [the] editor do with that knowledge?”. Here’s some key quotes:

“Prior to [a] stats upgrade, where Web site stats came into play was with identifiable waves of interest — which sometimes resulted in high play of a story over several days. Editors left to their own judgment might not have played the stories in the same way or kept them highlighted so long.”

From Guardian assistant editor Neil McIntosh: “Stats can inform decisions and help with the business of allocating resources during a crisis.”

“Another important data point: most e-mailed articles.”

From OrlandoSentinel.com editor Anthony Moor: “Stats are just another, new set of data that we can mine to understand better the relationship between our users and the news. … [My editors] know that they must apply standard journalistic values to what they learn before taking action.”

“Editors must consider not just how much traffic certain features receive, but where that traffic comes from,” warns Meredith Artley, editor of the International Herald Tribune’s Web site in Paris. “[T]he big traffic may not point to pure popularity, but rather to the existence of a bridge or link that leads readers from one site to another, she says.”

“A great way to handle a story that does drive a lot of traffic, says [Jim Brady, executive editor of Washingtonpost.com], is to extend the life of the story not just by promoting it longer, but by adding a Live Online follow-up discussion, creating a photo gallery or video piece to go with it, re-running the story in a feature slot on subsequent days, or buying search terms related to the story to make it more visible outside [the site].”

“the concept of dayparting — that is, changing the homepage content based on time of day and/or the week”

“Web site user-registration databases [can show] what groups are gravitating to what stories.”

Now I think I’ll headline my next article “Necrophilia among ducks ruffles research feathers.”