Report your reality

Citizen Journalism- Social media is replacing traditional

journalism as a news source (Mashable, 2012)

- In 2012, online news journalism surpassed print newspaper revenue

- Egyptian uprising, Whitney Houston's death and the raid/death of Osama bin Laden all broke on social media first (Mashable, 2012)

- Internet has leveled the playing field for sharing news - everyone has a voice

Ferguson Riots- On August 9th 2014, black teenager

Michael Brown was shot by unnamed officer.

- Twitter user @TheePharoah posted pictures immediately after the killing

- Bringing attention to Brown's death and the law enforcements response.

- Antonio French an alderman of St. Louis , tweeted pictures and videos of the demonstrations and police actions.

- Acting as a witness to police brutality in area that journalists had not been able to access.

- These photos and videos complimented traditional journalism.

What is Rogue?Rogue is a user-generated reporting platform (app & website) allowing people to upload images and videos about current events wherever they are.- Users can ‘Vote Up’ or ‘Vote Down’

and comment on posts- Users can sell their photos and

make a name for themselves - Rogue allows content publishers (news

outlets, blogs etc) to find the best images for every story

Why Rogue?- Citizens can report breaking news

more quickly than traditional media reporters.

- Challenges the professionalised and institutionalised practices of mainstream media

- It helps form communities of joint interest around subjects, issues or individuals It aspires to achieve, and reflect, diversity as well as promoting shared values

- Users can make money from content they produce

- Independent and open journalism

How it worksUploading media to Rogue1. User takes a photo/video 2. User uploads the media to Rogue via app or

website 3. Adds headline, description (optional),

location and hashtags4. Posts to Rogue platform 5. Other users can vote and comment on the

mediaBuying media from Rogue6. Users go into the online Rogue store 7. Users can buy images from our users

to use in their publication

Target audienceRogue is for people who have something to say and a story to share. Rogue is aimed at, but not restricted to :- Photojournalists- Students- Bloggers- Activists- Charity workers

The app would appeal to individuals who crave an alternative news source.

How will Rogue make money?- Advertising - % of money from selling images to corporations - Data mining - Subscriptions to use images?- Make a portfolio of your work- Become a pro member?- Affiliate sponsored stories- Partnerships- Advertising- Seminars on journalism- Information for stocks - Delay posting by a minute

SWOT - Strengths- Cross platform - Web, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian - News from everyday people = a variety of opinions- More users = a variety of content- First to break a story - Exclusive content- Unbiased and decentralised reporting- Community moderated- Interactive method of consuming news- Users can sell images and earn money- Opportunity to be noticed by peers /corporations- Focusing attention on international issues e.g. humanitarian

emergencies - Circumvent censorship - Global user base- Immediate news - Smartphones can go where TV cameras cannot

SWOT - Weaknesses- Legal issues from the images / videos taken- Citizen journalists might be putting themselves or others at

risk - Protecting the pictures- Moderating the content - Generating newsworthy content- Internet connection is needed- Unreliable news- Floods of the same content being uploaded- Fast does not mean factual - Low quality content

SWOT - Opportunities - Profit from selling users media/ advertising - Charities could benefit from the app - Opportunity to start a weekly news vlog on YouTube- View trends- Sell the data extracted from the app- Quickly expand into other forms of Journalism e.g. Fashion

/Music- Develop partnerships with events and expo’s e.g. sharing of

photos of a tech expo- Opportunity to create a book of photos (e.g. an annual

compilation/ Humans Of New York)- Hold award ceremonies - Run photographic competitions

SWOT - Threats

- Legal issues (e.g. copyrighted material, confidentiality, anonymity)

- Well established news outlets already exist e.g. Daily Mail, The Guardian

- Activity on the app is dependent on the traction of users- Service might be blocked in some countries (circumvented by

TOR or proxy)- Competition from other apps- Could be used to spread negative propaganda- Users location is displayed on their post (unless a post is sent

anonymously)

- storymaker.cc- Open source storytelling

app- n0tice

- http://n0tice.com/- Demotix

- http://www.demotix.com/- infobitt

- http://www.infobitt.com/

Competitors- HereMe

- Downloads: 5,000 - 10,000- meporter

- Downloads: 10,000 - 50,000- Guardian Witness

- Downloads: 10,000-50,000- Tagg.ly

- Downloads: 1,000 - 5,000- bellingcat

- Open source investigation website

Demotix

Demotix is a direct competitor that allows users to :- Capture news with their mobile phones- Upload stories on to the Demotix website-User photos are pushed by a sales team to the mainstream media -Allows users to earn money and network with photographers and clientsAmount of reporters:Europe: 6,600, North America: 4,600, South America: 800, Middle East & North Africa: 1100, Africa: 500, Asia: 1,900 Asia South: 1,50036,000 total users of which 6,000 are active

Differentiating From Demotix

Rogue could gain a competitive advantage over Demotix through:

- Creating a high quality app (faster upload times / better functionality)

- Increasing the functionality with EDGE, GPRS or normal mobile phone signal

- Offering cloud services - Adding more social features to the app (e.g.

forums /groups)- Focusing on design and layout making it easier to

read - Offering flexible pricing options - offering tutorials and clearer specifications on

the content being produced.

Issues with demotix:- Needs high speed internet- Does not notify the image

producer when their images are sold.

- Payments take a long time.

- Demotix takes 50% of the profit

- Demotix app not available on Itunes Uk

- Demotix owned by Corbis- a mainstream photo agencies

- Corbis curates images posted on its sights.

Version 1- Mobile app and web interface- Analytics- Upload images/ video / audio from your mobile with a headline,

description, location and tags- Uploaded posts are publically viewable on the feed and via

searching- Users can sell their photos online- ‘Vote Up’, ‘Vote Down’ and comment on posts - Follow other users to view their posts- Share links to Rogue posts on social media - Filter posts in categories- NSFW Filter for graphic posts- ‘Trending stories’ section - Suggested hashtags based on input for posts to collate posts into

a story

Version 2- Discussion area- Linking charities to posts- User-generated challenges - Polls

- Based on popular news - User generated polls

- Live streaming- User portfolio - Search option

- Verified ‘Rogue Reporters’ from high-rated users

- Assignments

- Badges system based on contributions

- Media editor - Photo, video & audio enhancements

Budget and scope- Version 1 - Timeframe: 6 months - £85k

- Documentation (£6k)- Design (£4k)- Development (£25k) - Marketing (£50k)

- Version 2 - Timeframe: 2 months - £55k- Documentation (£6k)- Design (£4k)- Development (£25k) - Marketing (£20k)

Questions?