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Web 2.0 and Journalism
J 349T Writing for Online PublicationSchool of Journalism, Texas at Austin
Seth C. [email protected]
What is Web 2.0?
• Many varied definitions:– “… refers to online media that operate as a
partnership, or interactively, with the consumer” (PEJ report)
– “… encapsulates the idea of the proliferation of interconnectivity and social interactions on the Web” (Wikipedia)
– Originally coined by Tim O’Reilly
Characteristics of a Web 2.0 site
• Architecture: Web is the platform; distributed, open-source feel to the software
• Participation: End-users play key role in creating, rating and debating content
• Network effects: Value added as people use it• Dynamic content: Metadata, mashups, etc.• Rich user interface• Collectivity: The crowd knows more than any one
person individually
Creating platforms, not content
• Now, it’s all about open — open-source, open standards, open to everyone. No gates.
• Web publishers create platforms and let users create the content
• No more one-way communication; interactivity is the norm
• From sealed-off information silos to empty warehouses waiting to be filled with “stuff”
Source: Mark Briggs, “Journalism 2.0”
Key terms to know• Blog• User-generated content• Mobile/Moblogging• Mashup• RSS • Tag/ Tag Cloud• Podcast/Vcast• Wiki• Web-first journalism• Programmer/Journalist• Open Social• Widgets
What’s old, what’s new
Source: Tim O’Reilly, 2005
New tools online• Facebook or MySpace – set up groups; post content; stay in touch• del.icio.us - social bookmark manager• Twitter• Niche social networks
– Ning
• Flickr/Picasa – photo sharing sites• Web Resizer – www.webresizer.com - online tool for optimizing size of
photos for the Web• Google Pages – pages.google.com - free, easy way to create a Web site;
some limitations• Wikipedia - wisdom of crowd vs. gatekeepers• Mobile: Stream live video via from cellphone via Qik
OK, nice. So what for journalism?
• Readers• Advertisers• Reporters
Readers
• Media abundance, information overload• Entertainment everywhere; why choose
news?• Shift from passive to active audience• TPFKATA• “News is a conversation, not a lecture”• Digg Effect on news (most e-mailed, etc.)
Advertising
• Dilution and segmentation of audience base• Importance of search and Google’s AdSense• What works: HuffPost’s “mullet strategy”• Can news outlets “sell” readers anymore?
Reporting
• You must know how Google works• How are your stories found online? Every
page becomes a homepage• Search engine optimization (SEO)• Metadata, tagging, folksonomies• From gatekeeping to gatewatching … to
cultivator of community and content
Looking ahead this semester
• Next up:– Digital culture– Convergence culture
• What do they mean for newswork?• State of the (pro + citizen) news media• Emerging forms of journalism online• Toward a Web 3.0 of mobile journalism?
