The journalist of the future is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of one

With budgets squeezed as newspapers make record losses the pressure is on today’s journalists to be much more than a good writer.

Job adverts for multimedia journalists have a long list of requirements: as well as being able to produce a cracking news story you must be able to code HTML and JavaScript, record and edit video and audio, have experience of content management systems, Flash and Photoshop.

With such a large set of requirements how can today’s journalist be, well - a good journalist? Time is at a premium and if you are fiddling with your JavaScript and doing basic editing of a video in FinalCut Pro, there is limited time to concentrate on what’s important - the story.

You should have a broad knowledge of the technical aspects of the job but strive to become a master of just one.  Concentrate on being a good writer or become an expert at putting together video and audio packages.

You are a journalist first and foremost and not a programmer.

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The future of journalism is crowdsourced, says futurist

I’m in agreement with self-styled futurist Ross Dawson and his predictions for the future of newspapers.

I wrote a post a couple of years ago that outlined that news was moving away from being printed on dead trees and onto to e-readers, and that today’s major newspapers are going to have to distinguish themselves as islands of quality if they are to survive in a sea of a abundance.

Dawson takes the argument further claiming that by 2022 newspapers will be irrelevant and that by that time most journalism will be crowdsourced.

Here are his main points:

• By 2022 newspapers as we know them will be irrelevant. However the leading newspaper publishers of today may have transformed themselves to thrive in what will be a flourishing media industry.
• Media revenues will soar but will be unevenly distributed. We are shifting to a “media economy” dominated by content and social connection. Yet established media organisations will need to reinvent themselves to participate in that growth.
• The successors to the iPad will be our primary news interfaces. We will most commonly consume news on portable devices, of which the iPad will be recognised as the forerunner.
• Digital news readers will cost less than $10. By 2020 entry-level devices to read the news will cost less than $10 and often be given away. More sophisticated news readers will be foldable or rollable, gesture controlled and fully interactive.
• Journalism will be increasingly crowdsourced. Substantial parts of investigative journalism, writing and news production will be ‘crowdsourced’ to hordes of amateurs overseen by professionals.
• The reputation of individual journalists will drive audiences. Many journalists, most leading experts in their fields, will still be employed, with public reputation measures guiding audiences on how much to trust their work.

Looking at how the newspaper industry is developing this seems about right. My bet is it won’t be too long before Mr Murdoch tries to woo us with subsidised e-readers in exchange for taking out a subscription to his titles.

Turbulent but exciting times for journalism.

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How much longer for the bookshop?

With the new Kindle's September release imminent and rumours that its price could be cut to $99 (£64) by Christmas, the iPad selling like hot cakes and other e-readers chewing at the printed page, how much longer can the local bookshop last?

One answer: not very much longer.

In my hometown of Brighton (UK) I have seen the closure of many small independent bookshops as well as national chains such as Borders. We are now left with Waterstones , WH Smiths, a couple of cut-price stores and the bonk busters being sold in the book section of Asda.

Cheap e-readers are only going to accelerate this decline. So far in the UK they have only been a niche product, but with Amazon pushing its latest Kindle hard they are just about to explode into the main stream.

With a growing selection of titles available and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos pouring pressure on publishers to reduce the cost of their digital editions, the remaining barriers to widespread adoption of e-books are fast evaporating. And with them goes the expensive retail space of the local bookshop.

So here’s my prediction:

Apart from a few specialised outlets, independent bookshops will be completely dead within five years. All the big chains will close their high street branches in ten. The majority of libraries will be entirely e-book by 2025 - and with the way our current Government is slashing budgets probably sooner.

Like vinyl and CDs, the printed book will soon become nothing more than a quaint reminder of our past only seen on special editions of the Antiques Roadshow.

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Making twitter work for you

Probably the best description I've heard about Twitter is that its the real time search engine that you didn’t realise that you needed.

It’s a great way to discover new content and stay informed of developments in your field, connect with new people and even if they don’t follow you still learn from their tweets.

To make tweeting work for you try following these simple tips:

Add value where you can

Join a conversation if you have some information or an opinion that will expand an argument.

Tweet links to great articles you’ve discovered

I find the links tweeted by the people I follow one of the biggest pluses with Twitter as I discover articles and facts that I would never have found myself. Aim to share the material you find that will be of some value to your followers.

Tweet profound things

Hey don’t be scared by this you don’t need to turn into Socrates overnight. But tweeting an original comment, observation or fact might get republished by your followers (retweeted), and this helps to build your influence and hopefully number of followers.

Give a little of yourself

You don’t need to tell the world what you had for breakfast but it's social media and that means people like to get to know a bit about you. Saying your going to a concert, pub or taking a holiday helps your followers form an opinion about who you are. Some moderation on personal stuff is the best policy unless you think you are a celeb and feel the world needs to know your every thought and movement.

Think about the time you tweet

If most of your audience is in bed then they are not going to read your tweets. I find the best time to tweet is in the morning when people are on their way to work, or the evening when they are at home. It’s not a good idea to send out a batch of tweets in a short period of time. Try to stagger your tweeting so you are not spamming people.

Remember the golden rule - as with all efforts in social media - is to try to add value. If you succeed in doing this then your influence and reach can only grow.

And don't forget you can follow me on twitter here.

Happy tweeting.

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Information overload isn't Google's fault

Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows writes about the rise of the web and how it is drowning humanity in a sea of data and ideas. However many of the technologies that he criticises such as Google have been developed precisely to help us get some control.

Google isn't the problem - it's the beginning of the solution

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The qwerty keyboard has been with us since 1870, but why?

It takes 60 to 80 hours to learn how to touch-type at 80 words per minute, and there is an 80% failure rate, whereas you can acquire a pilots licence in 45 hours and there's an 80% success rate. Which, come to think of it, is kind of scary.

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My 5 reasons to blog

I was in the pub and having a conversation about blogging and was asked: well what’s the point; writing is work, the audience is often small and how do you have the time do it when you have a full time job and an active social life to contend with.

These are the five reasons that I gave as an answer to my cynical friend.

1. Writing it down brings clarity

I am learning stuff on a daily basis and I find that if I write a quick blog post it clarifies my thoughts and this is useful when I come to make presentations or write articles in my work.

2. Hell I have something to say

A blog is a good place to spread opinion and be heard.  It offers an opportunity to connect with others in my field and learn from each other.  If we don’t agree then let’s argue it out in the comments and everyone benefits.

3. Future career opportunities

I don’t think for a minute that I am ever going to retire having made my fortune as a blogger. But establishing a blog that has regularly postings gives me a place to point future employers.  It shows I am thinking about the issues and challenges around my area of work and trying to connect with others in my field.  All plus points when it comes to interview time.

4. The love you take is equal to the love you make

I feel that only by giving something can I legitimately expect to receive something. I need my finger on the pulse of what's happening and I think while I learn from others it is only right that I give something back so they can learn from me.

5. It’s Fun

Social media shouldn’t be a drag and I find writing a quick blog post and then looking at the stats and replying to comments far more rewarding than watching yet another episode of Big Brother.

These are the reason why I plug away and like anything the more effort you put in the more you get back.

The hardest part is making the initial decision to pull yourself off the sofa, switch off the telly and start.  Once you have done this it just gets easier and easier.

So do let me know the reasons why you blog or are thinking about it.

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Essential apps for today's mobile journalist

Thirty years ago a journalist would be equipped with not much more than a pen and notepad and would travel with a full camera crew to capture news footage. Today this capability has literally shrunk into our pockets with the potential to make any of us a reporter.

So in no particular order I have complied a list of some of my favourite iPhone apps that I believe any mobile journalist cannot live without.

Blogging Apps

In the age of the internet news can be as much about getting the story out as quickly as possible as creating finely crafted prose and blog can offer a great platform for doing this. Both WordPress and Tumblr offer fantastic apps that make it simple to bang a story out on the spot, upload and edit as required.

iMove/ReelDirector

With the release of iPhone 4 and its HD video capability Apple also created a mobile version of its successful iMove editing suite which although very basic does allow quick edits to be made to video footage directly on the phone. ReelDirectorhas been in this space for slightly longer and also has a capable app that has offers all the features of iMove plus a few more to boot.

uStream

Even low quality reel time footage can send a powerful message and the uStreamapp makes it a simple process to broadcast live through a wifi or 3g connection.

Evernote

If I am going to be away from the office for more than a day then I'll drag my MacBook but I don't carry it around everywhere. The same cannot be said about my iPhone which I literally do have everywhere I go. Evernote comes with a simple interface for quick story (or even a finished piece if needs must) attach some images and maybe a voice recording - all within the same app, which then stores the content online so it can be accessed from anywhere using any device on any platform. Neat, and essential.

AudioBoo

It’s not enough to just write the news anymore, apparently you’ve also got to talk it now and a couple of questions on AudioBoo can really help lift a boring article.. AudioBoo allows you to simply record a five minute clip which you can then upload, share or embed.

Wolfram Alpha

Facts, facts and more facts is what Wolfram is about. This computational knowledge engine draws on some 50,000 built-in algorithms and an amazing 10 trillion pieces of updated and curated data to provide expert answers to free-form questions. If you want to find out what the fourth biggest female population centre is in the world then Wolfram can provide the answer.

Twitter

Twitter is a great communications tool and is a great way to discover stories and connect and discuss with experts. It is also invaluable in getting your work discovered.

Dropbox

Need to store files and text that you can access on the move then DropBox is a great app to have. It automatically synchs your cloud data to your phone.

Skype

With Skype on your iPhone or iPod touch you can call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free. You also can call landlines and mobiles and send SMS anywhere in the world at great rates. Now works both on wifi and 3g connections.

Facebook

Facebook for iPhone makes it easy to stay connected and share information. You can view news feed groups, view events, and upload photos and videos, but you cannot view videos that have been uploaded to FB. App includes built-in web browser

Instapaper

The Instapaper app is one of the easiest ways to store web pages for later offline reading. A fantastic way to make sure you never miss out on an article even when you are in a rush

Conclusion

This is a far from exhaustive list of apps that is available to the mobile journalists and if you have any other suggestions do tell. But it does show that from London to Kabul the power of the media is literally being put into our pockets.

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Dragon dictation iPhone app review

One of the problems with the iPhone is that it is a pain to type out anything longer than a sentence therefore it is difficult to create a quick blog post while you are on the move.

Today I found an app that may go some way to solving this problem. Dragon dictation for the iPhone converts you speech into text which can then either be sent to an email, shared on twitter, sent via SMS or posted to Facebook. It claims to be 5X faster than typing on a keyboard and on an iPhone probably 10X that.

It is multilingual and currently supports U.S. English, U.K. English and German. French, Italian and Spanish support will be added later this year. If you are stuck not being able to understand word or phrase in one of these languages then get the person to speak into the app and paste the text into google translate for a dirty DIY babel fish.

The upside of the app is it is free, very easy to use and does work; the downside is it makes many mistakes, you need to speak slowly and clearly and there seems to be a word limit on how much speech it will convert to text.

Useful but not perfect – 6/10

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Why only tumble or poste when you can do both

Just been considering the merits of the mini blogging platforms Posterous and Tumblr which inhabit a space somewhere between Twitter and Wordpress. Both of these platforms aim to make it as easy as possible to share several types of rich media content and are useful for short spurts of consciousness as well as more considered posts.

The nitty gritty:

• Registration - Posterous makes it simple and easy to register, no wait... you just need to post to post@posterous.com to get started. Tumblr has a registration form, but it doesn't match for Posterous' registration-free service. Winner: Posterous
• Posting - Posterous has only one content type (no offence to Posterous). Tumblr has a lot of content types. But do you need all these diffrent content types? Simplicity is best.
• You can post by email through a simple email address, while Tumblr makes up an email address that you might forget. Winner: Posterous (email)/Tumblr (flexiblity)
• Themes - Tumblr and Posterous both have good themes but as the more established platform Tumblr has more and better quality themes. Winner Tumblr.
• Focus - Tumblr is very much like your lifestream, while Posterous acts as your email version of ping.fm.
• Comments - Posterous has built-in comments. Tumblr requires you to use Disqus as your comment system. Tumblr doesn't have built in commenting. Winner: Posterous.

Tumblr has a great iPhone App and better themes but for sheer ease of use Posterous is my winner.

I would recommend using both platforms and linking them together. Posterous makes it so easy to share content through email that I have linked both my Tumblr and Blogger sites so any email I send with blogger+tumblr@posterous.com pings the content to both.

Surely the more spaces you can get your content on the better and Posterous allows such easy posting that why choose when you can use both for free.

PS - Posted with an email to Posterous to my:

• Blogger site
• Posterous site
• and Tumblr site

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The future of travel publishing is the app

Travel guide publishing is the canary in the coal
mine for the printed book with sales down 38% in five years. If this rate of decline continues then the last LP or Rough Guide will be published in 7 years.

Spurred on by the recession and with people to choosing to use the internet to do their own research sales of printed travel guides can only continue to fall.

Let's face it lugging a travel guide book around with you is inconvenient.

The future of the travel guide is the app.

It has convenience combined with features impossible to do with the printed book:

• Point your phone at an interesting building and get its full history;
• automatically build an itinerary based on your preferences;
• get restaurant and hotel recommendations combined with discounts streamed to your phone for the area that you are standing;
• speak into your phone for automatic translation into the local language;
• and a whole host of social features that could make discovering new people as easy as finding new places.

Although the future of the printed travel guide book is bleak, the information that it contains is soon to liberated in a much more exciting way.

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All you need is love, says Clay

I just read Internet guru Clay Shirky’s new book Cognitive Surplus

The basic premise of the book is that we have spent too much time passively watching television rather than doing stuff.

This is now changed as the online generation turn away from TV to the internet where they hangout in social networks, comment on posts and upload videos.

They are using their spare time which 100 years ago people had very little of to do something creative. OK most of the stuff done is trivial but for every 100 cute cat videos there is one video of real worth.

The problem with the book is that although Clay paints a convincing picture that the internet is groovy and it brings the world the 60’s ideal of peace and love in bytes, this is only half the picture.

The heart warming stories like wikipedia and the online charitable giving of time and money are great, but they need to be balanced with the fact that the internet can be used for ill as well as good: the Jihad movements plotting the next terrorist outrage; the Russian hackers attacking a Balletic state; pedophiles grooming children online.

Clay radiates nothing but goodness, but beneath this goodness lies a dollop of evil.

Click and Add Value

Many people forget that one of the biggest advantages of the web to traditional publishing is its interconnectedness. The web allows for easy sets of links to be added to stories that can help build information around content.

It exasperates me when I see web journalists re-write press releases rather than linking to the original and trying to add something unique.

A journalist shouldn't be a stenographer, if they are then perhaps they are in the wrong profession.

A couple of examples of publications that do it well:

• FT.com
• Guardian.co.uk

And those that don't:

• Brighton Argus
• The Times

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Get Your Finger on the Pulse

I've been playing around with the Pulse iPhone app and I'm loving it. Very simple idea it takes 20 of your favourite rss feeds and displays them in a grid pattern with a prominent picture. It's a very similar concept to the BBC app.

It may seem gimmicky but having the pictures there makes a real difference and shows the power of imagery in grabbing attention.

If I have any criticisms they are that you can only add 20 feeds, and most annoyingly - lots of my feeds don't have pictures combined with the stories.

Get it from the app store for £1.19 for the iPhone.

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