ONA session: Producing Content with our Phone (#ONAgo)
Oct. 2, 2009
By Clyde Bentley, Ph.D., 2009-2010 Donald W. Reynolds Fellow, Associate Professor, Missouri School of Journalism
(Rough notes, not verbatim.)
Instructors:
Janine Warner, Partner, Artesian Media
David LaFontaine, Partner, Artesian Media
In two years smart phone sales will outstrip laptop sales.
We create 27 cell phones per second, 4 babies per second.
Schibsted – fast bear to market.
Most successful big media company in the worlds. Aggressive approach to new media.
- Innovative video on the home page. Short clips and long interviews]
- Use cell phones to create video.
- Lots of buzz when a bear ate someone in Norway. Lots of hunters out with TV crews. TV ran out of batteries, reporter with phone got the video and interviews, had it on the Web site 6 hours before TV had something.
Virginia Tech coverage:
Mobile phones are a great resource to manage people in the field. The challenges are too many voices, organizing logistics and getting materials to the office. At VT, there was a real struggle getting material back to the office.
A common challenge is to get submitted video on a DVD. Have to rip it, reformat it to get it online.
It is often difficult to get video off of cell phones, because the phone manufacturers love their walled gardens. Solutions are coming.
New ways to find sources:
Twitter and Facebook are good ways to find sources “in the moment.” But it is not always reliable. Relying on stuff in social networks can be tricky.
For Mumbai riots, there were six big sites people were looking at. Great material that contributed to stories.
Shelby Star
Issued reporters Samsung A900 phones. Great new projects. Followed a kid around as he supported family by selling drugs. The phones are inconspicuous, get stories big cameras don’t.
Reuters
Mobile Journalism Kit with N95, folding keyboard, tripod, mike and satellite modem. The subtlety has allowed reporters to get material they never could before.
Hierarchical Information Flow:
Old flow was like a mother bird and chick: Wait for dinner. With mobile phone, audience not only receiving information but sending it.
The question is how often, and under what conditions, do you interact with your readers?
California Wildfires
Firefighter at front lines started Twittering. People who had to evacuate started asking about homes, conditions. He became a real news source.
The key issue: The best camera is the one you have with you when the news happens.
Reader content
The shear amount of time spent on Facebook is moving the needles. But also email.
There are three things use phones for
- Connect with people
- Spend money
- Kill time
Mobile commerce:
On the mobile deck, people are used to spending money – apps, ring tones, etc.
Mobile commerce is frictionless. You don’t have to go through a lot of layers, click on many buttons, etc. Huge amount of people with online commerce opt out right at the stage of putting in their credit card. When mobile can make that easier, people are more comfortable. MRC. Multiple recurring charges It is added to your phone bill as part of a subscription.
Another way of doing “news” is just an email photos to someone who handles the posting See http://posterous.com. You just email to their address and it sets up a site.
A major change in technology is the use of mobile games by young mothers. It is a quick way to quite kids (scene: Car, screaming kids, mom hands the phone to the back seat). Has changed gaming.
Game makers are looking for the ability of games to form community.
Check this: Moblin Project (http://moblin.org ) Mobile Linux open source system
Played an alternative reality game: