Category: Social Media

Journalism by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 201410:15 am

One Word Describes Billboard Twitter Real-Time Charts

Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Billboard and Twitter are partners in a new project delivering real-time music charts anytime, anywhere, on anything. The mechanism measures conversations around music on Twitter and presents them on Billboard’s website. Now this is contextual journalism in practice.

Billboard’s traditional approach to charting is in too many ways antiquated. The music consuming community lives in the moment—able to sample, stream, or purchase songs whenever, wherever, and on whatever device they may be. Weekly charts are stale before they publish.

Critters by Joe WilcoxMar 9, 20141:03 pm

Ugly Tin Foil Hats

For reasons I won’t even guess, hashtag #tinfoilhatselfies trends today on several social networks. It’s a mystery, because the signals are blocked. Our Uglydoll family are mob sluts. They rush to participate in every trend […]

News Media by Joe WilcoxMar 8, 20148:52 pm

Hello, Responsible Reporting

Today, the ebook formally known as Be a Better Blogger published to Amazon, Google, and Smashwords ebook stores. Title—drum roll, please—Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers.

As explained in post “Bye, Bye, Be a Better Blogger“, I launched a 28-day crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to spend two months researching and writing the book. But the campaign lost money and wasted valuable time. You can always get more money, but time is a commodity never regained.

News Media by Joe WilcoxMar 1, 201410:47 am

Bye, Bye, Be a Better Blogger

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to my Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, which ended at 11:59:59 p.m. PT on February 28. I set a $7,500 goal and raised $135—disastrous, disappointing end to the 28-day effort.

Be a Better Blogger is my fifth non-fiction title, none exceptionally long, published since August 2013. Sales disappoint; being an independent publisher is much more difficult than expected. By crowdfunding, I set two goals: To receive the equivalent of a publisher’s advance and to earn something from my writing efforts. I failed. The only contributors are people I know, while the campaign lost money and wasted valuable time. You can always get more money, but time is a commodity never recovered.

Society by Joe WilcoxFeb 21, 201412:33 pm

Mob Journalism shouldn’t take away an Olympic Gold Medal

As I write, 1.7 million people have signed a Change.org petition to: “Open investigation into judging decisions of Women’s Figure Skating and demand rejudgement at the Sochi Olympics”. The signatories and the news media’s response to them is classic example of “Mob Journalism”, a term first used on this blog in April 2010.

I coined Mob Journalism, or thought so four years ago, to define a populist response that is a social media byproduct. Services like Change.org, Facebook, Twitter, and others with online reach, enable the mob (referring to the masses not the mafia) to have a much louder voice. That’s quickly, too, unlike letter-writing campaigns used by protesters of earlier eras. Rapid response benefits societies, as explained in June 2009 analysis “Iran and the Internet Democracy“. The news media’s response is another matter.

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 20, 20149:29 pm

A Tale of Two Press Releases

As my Be a Better Blogger book crowfdunding campaign winds down, I will document steps taken to achieve the goal, which with eight days to go looks less likely by the hour.

On February 17, I hired a consultant, to offer guidance, do social media shoutouts, and reach out to bloggers and journalists, which includes distributing a press release. I rewrote the PR, nearly 80 percent. I present both versions for your review.

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20149:56 pm

Living Legend

While searching Flickr Commons for one thing, I found another—this amazing photo of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lucy Morgan. Circa 1985, you see it. She carries cell phone and video camera, tools of the trade long […]

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20147:32 pm

The Case for Advocacy Journalism

Judging by Philip Elmer-DeWitt’s Google+ posts, he is a nobody—less than 500 Circles and virtually no comments. Reality is something else: Philip is a respected reporter responsible for the Apple 2.0 blog. Googlism is primary reason, I believe, for the response—or lack of it. The social network attracts Google fanboys and abhors others. There isn’t much audience for him on Plus.

But over on the Fortune website, Philip’s following is clear, judging by comments to his frequent posts. He falls into the “advocacy journalism” category. Philip writes for an Apple audience and often, but by no means always, favorably about the fruit-logo company.

Google by Joe WilcoxFeb 10, 20142:09 pm

I Take Away Control From Google+

My personal site is in state of revival, as I follow through on a long-contemplated change to my blogging style. I let inertia hold me back. No longer.

Since July 2011, I reserved most of my personal writing for Google+ and built there a fairly robust following (more than 16,000 Circles at present). The social network makes easy posting and connecting to others. Elsewhere, I write for BetaNews (e.g., for work).

News Media by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 201412:25 pm

The New Journalism

Creating millions of lone-wolf, single-person bloggers doesn’t get us to a golden age…If you’re going to reliably produce journalism that improves the world, maybe you don’t need a village, but you need some collaborators. You […]

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20145:47 pm

Twitter's Defiance is Good News

I love Twitter, all the more since Eric Snowden’s revelations about the U.S. government’s secret spying program. The company largely stands apart from other techs’ positions, but not completely. In December, I scolded Twitter, along with Apple, Facebook, Google, and a smattering of others for their “disingenuous and self-serving” call for global government surveillance reform.

Today, Twitter tweaks the government regarding an agreement that expands disclosure of information requests, including those that fall under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. In a startling act of defiance, Twitter chooses not to disclose the number of FISA and other national security-related requests, contending they’re scope is an “overly broad range”.

Journalism by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 201411:44 am

Hotel Hath No Fury…

While there’s something whiny about Western journalists’ tweets, excellent is their use of Twitter to engage readers, build audience, and report something interesting ahead of the Olympic Winter Games start: Journalists at Sochi are live-tweeting […]