The signs of info-exhaustion are abundantly clear. I’ve been flashing them red in my status updates after all.
Hanson HoseinI’m tired of being in a perpetual state of communication (says the digital media journalist guy via Twitter and Facebook). [7 comments, 6 people liked this]
Hanson HoseinHow to restore “contemplative balance” in an info-saturated world. Love that notion, wish I were in town to attend: http://is.gd/4NbSK[my wife liked this]
Graphic by Kim Rosen
I also joked on Twitter: I’m thinking of starting a Master of Communication in Analog Media.
Far too many people expressed interest, leading me to believe that all us tech-lovers secretly despair of our passion for all things digital. I had mentioned as much during a Fireside Chat on Seattle’s NPR affiliate KUOW, which led to this article in the upcoming issue of Seattle Magazine, “Sound Off: Examining the Value of Tuning Out” (in fine analog style, the columnist Karen Johnson, interviewed me in September, a fact-checker contacted me about my quotes in October, and the dead-tree December issue has yet to hit news stands).
And now I’m up late on a Sunday night — having finished grading assignments, and attempted the Sisyphean e-mail push uphill — writing this blog post. Overwhelmed, overloaded perhaps, but forever propelled by anxiety.
Nearly five years ago, my wife and I set out on a road trip across America, armed with a couple of cameras, laptops, and a burning need to tell a story about a growing insurgency against big box stores. What we didn’t have were jobs (I was determined never to work in TV news again), much money in the bank, or any clue what we were going to do with our footage when we got home — it was all “close, but no cigar” with networks like PBS and Discovery, which meant all our effort could conceivably lead to nothing.
But thanks to a pioneering social media strategy, grassroots interest in our film, and really good timing, a lot of people paid attention, and our documentary has been viewed around the world. We continue to get requests to attend community screenings — from Hyannis MA to Port Townsend WA, even as some of the issues have evolved (Wal-Mart has turned over a new leaf, Starbucks is in slow retreat, many Americans now truly mistrust their powerful institutions and believe in “local first.”). We’ve had broadcast deals, and we’ve sold DVD’s. It was probably one of the main reasons why the University of Washington hired me to lead its graduate degree program in digital media. So have we benefited enough? Is it now time to give it away, streaming it for free on Hulu, second only to YouTube when it comes to online video? Isn’t that what you do with your content in the multimedia age?
As go-to sources for innovative content, amateur bloggers have been teaching mainstream media professionals some new tricks. Once considered the sideshow of journalism, blogging has taken the center ring. Even traditional media outlets have joined the fray, bolstering blogging’s reputation. But for amateur bloggers not writing for a trusted brand, establishing a trustworthy reputation remains important. For Justin Carder of Capitol Hill Seattle, consistency is key: “You do the same good stuff day in and day out for long enough, and you become trustworthy. It’s a function of effort as much as anything.”
In addition, here are five tips for gaining your audience’s trust, and writing like a pro—even if you aren’t one:
1. State your credentials: When positioning yourself as a blogger, you must inform your audience of your qualifications. Credentials inspire confidence, and the term does not exclusively apply to professional degrees. For instance, if a blogger is an experienced ballet instructor and writes about ballet’s emotional benefits, her opinion has merit, even though she is not a licensed behavioral professional.
2. Write what you know: When you write about subjects you have in-depth knowledge about, your insights are richer and more authentic than when writing about a topicrequiring extensive research. “Because I care about what I write, I can help my audience by making useful suggestions, interesting observations or just making them chuckle a little at what happens to me,” explains Candy Martin, author of the Seattle P-I reader blog Mother of Style.
Bloggers have long faced repercussions for lacking transparency, but now they could face monetary penalties as well.
In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) decided to revise its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. The ruling comes almost a year after the FTC announced the proposed changes. The update, which goes into effect Dec. 1, require bloggers to disclose any monetary relationships with sponsors. Bloggers could face up to $11,000 in fines if they don’t comply. Read more…
Flip the Media is the best blog ever! Flip the Media will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about social media… and more! In fact, experts say that reading Flip the Media will make you more popular with the opposite sex, reverse male pattern baldness, and even cure some types of cancer!* *results not typical.
Sponsored posts — endorsements by bloggers in exchange for compensation from marketers, dubbed “blog-ola” for “blogger payola”–have become a reality. Flip the Media is great, but can it really do everything described above? Probably not. To combat deceptive sponsored posts, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced last year that it plans to revise its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (“the Guides”) to regulate how bloggers and other social media users endorse products. This could strike a blow to both the companies who crowdsource using social media and the bloggers who supplement their income with freebies. Read more…
Yesterday, The Seattle Times announced a partnership with local neighborhood blogs as part of a year-long nationwide Networked Journalism pilot project sponsored by American University.
The Times’ participation in the Networked Journalism project is in direct contrast to the Seattle P-I’s recent foray into hyperlocal blogging. Instead of working with preexisting, independent neighborhood blogs, the P-I created their own, a move that drew much criticism from both the neighborhood bloggers and the community. Read more…
Hyperlocal blogging is usually considered a grassroots affair. So when the SeattleP-I announced plans this summer to recruit volunteer bloggers to cover Seattle’s neighborhoods, it looked liked it was competing – intentionally or not – with hyperlocal blogs such as the West Seattle Blog, MyBallard, Capitol Hill Seattle and Wallyhood, all started by and for members of the community.
The P-Ibills its neighborhood news blogs as an opportunity for people who have considered starting a local blog to participate in the trend. The P-I has hosted reader blogs for years; about 150 reader bloggers write about a variety of topics, from parenting to dining. The neighborhood bloggers won’t be paid, but the P-I will offer them free classes in blogging, social media, photography and investigative journalism.
The first of the P-I’s neighborhood blog series, In Queen Anne, went live July 29. Ten Queen Anne residents with a variety of backgrounds and experiences write the blog, which has already attracted a number of comments. Contributor Chelsea Nesvig says her love of writing and Queen Anne motivated her to participate. “I’m hoping (the blog) becomes all that it’s capable of and that it leads to more and more opportunities to write,” she says.
Blogging has become a popular medium for food writing, as people are passionate about both cooking and eating; there are over 10,000 food blogs, and this number is growing. While most languish in obscurity, some, such as Simply Recipes, receive hundreds of thousands of views. Food blogs attract enough attention to have restaurateurs, chefs and traditional media critics up in arms over what they view as inferior reporting.
Food bloggers get a bad rap, though their negative reputation is ultimately rooted in some truth. Certain blogs steal information and make claims without citation; others bash restaurants without tact or evidence under the guise of being serious critics. Famed Chef Mario Batali wrote (on the food blog Eater), “Many of the anonymous authors who vent on blogs rant their snarky vituperatives from behind the smoky curtain of the web. Read more…
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