The Ultimate Newspaper

I have been thinking lately about what the "ultimate" newspaper would be like if we could build it in this current web-driven environment. I think I have a pretty good idea. For starters, such a newspaper would be online only. There would be no hard copies anywhere.  At best, you could print out the articles and photos that are posted online, but you definitely would not hear it thud at the edge of your driveway and it wouldn't even be available at the vending box on the street.

Just like we see with online editions now, my ultimate newspaper would continuously post stories and photos digitally as they happen. There would never be a "final" edition. As long as events are developing, the "paper" is constantly evolving new and better stories and updates on previously reported stories. In blog and journal style, you would get reporting that is less prose and more minute-by-minute or hour-by-hour.

A second wave of reporters and writers would come in behind the reports and offer perspective and insight. What does this story mean? Who are the winners and the losers? What is at stake? How does this story and the outcome change life and also who is affected?

But here is the kicker: as news stories develop, I would go beyond just providing video clips to enhance the story as today's online publications tend to do. The ultimate newspaper would instead rely on the new smartphone streaming technology to go live to news hotspots. Within the stories of the ultimate newspaper there would be links where you could tune in to live on-the-scene reports and activity as it occurs.

What I envision is an "ultimate" newspaper that is the news equivalent of a "living document" constantly changing in text, photos, videos and live feeds with no end. The Huffington Post has come closest I think but the day is coming when that very model will be in place. I don't think the newspaper industry is really dead. It is just in a state of transition and this is what I see it transitioning to in order to survive. Once this happens across the landscape, it will revitalize the industry.

This CNN report on the decline of newspapers is two years old, but has some interesting points.

Social Media Networking Is Slowing: What Does It Mean?

I saw this article on the web tonight and it made me think about the future of social media and all the networking sites.  It is logical that growth would at some point slow down as more and more people "catch the wave," though it is pretty late in the game now. Very definitely we are reaching a saturation point. This article says what will drive future growth and keep interest high is the rollout of new features as all the social media networking sites compete for users. I believe the future lies in greater expansion of social media networking sites by business and government and organizations. These are the entities that are going to create a "second life" for social networking. Read the article here.         

One Local Government's Progressive View of Social Media

One of the biggest reasons social media is here to stay is the overwhelming adoption of it as a core communication tool by government. It's not all federal government either.  Hundreds of state and local governments and public agencies have boarded the social media train that has long since departed the station.

Overall, government in general is past the "how do we do this" stage and is now grappling with issues like improving effectiveness, employing evaluation and perhaps the toughest issue of all, which is how to integrate it into the workplace and allow it to flourish without choking the potential due to concerns about regulation and restriction.

I like the approach by Jefferson County, Colorado, which has essentially removed the chains in favor of letting social media be a natural extension of employees and their work ultimately benefiting government and its relations with the public. Read this article

Social Media and the Japanese Earthquake: Another View

Watch this informative report from ABC News on the role of social media in chronicling the ongoing Japanese crisis in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami.

On the Scene of Major Disasters: The Influence of Social Media is Underestimated

If there is one aspect of social media and "new wave" communications that is underestimated, it is social media and the impact it has on the coverage of natural disasters. The catastrophic earthquake in Japan that jolted all of us from our sleep today and the recent ones in New Zealand and Haiti are the latest examples of how social media lets us "live in the moment"of these unfolding tragedies in a way that even live TV news cannot replicate.

There is something "eerily intimate" about watching a homemade YouTube video from the streets of an earthquake zone; watching an amateur camera pan crumbling buildings, broken glass, overturned vehicles and downed power lines with the slow, sifting rise of smoke as the only movement in the video. For me, that trumps a television reporter's commentary and professional pictures on the reality meter.  TV feels like TV but a YouTube feels like real life.

Live Twitter feeds from the scene of natural disasters also push some emotional and internal buttons because they are people's real, live thoughts at the moment of tragedy. You are privy to the first thing that comes to their minds by virtue of a tweet.

And then there are people sharing thoughts and information via blogs, Facebook posts and even photo sharing social media sites like Flickr. All of this adds a "reality layer" to the news coverage, giving it depth and meaning and context.

Traditional news is still good for the who, what, when, where and why. But social media is all about the "how" -- how does it feel to be there, how does it affect life at its most basic element (emotion and the soul), and how does it really look,sound and feel from the inside. Social media lets us go there and almost simulate what it is like.

Here is an interesting news report on social media in the wake of the Japan earthquake.

And here is one interesting homemade YouTube video among many.

The Real News Behind Charlie Sheen Going Live Tonight on Ustream

Regardless of what you think of him or about what is going on with him in the news right now,  actor Charlie Sheen made a powerful statement about just how game-changing social media is when he grabbd his Twitter account with 1.8 million followers and told people to meet him LIVE online tonight. The traditional press did not give him a forum, but he created his own forum. Now, he has become a story and the traditional press HAS to cover him. In a backhanded way he demonstrated the strategy that is continuing to gain traction today and is putting more people and organizations in charge of their message more than ever before. 

Again, you have to put aside the Sheen controversy and look at what he did with two simple tools -- he announced to "the world" when he was broadcasting ("meet me...") and then he did his own private broadcast ("I don't need 'real' news people...") and managed to say whatever it was he wanted to say to whoever was interested. I won't even attempt to be a judge of that. The audience at its zenith reached about 10% of the Twitter followers, which does not sound like very much. But now the whole event is a "story" all over the news and for those who did not "tune in," his message is still available to them as well.

Every day, large organizations (even smaller ones, and especially a smaller ones) with a legitimate message are getting more comfortable with this approach every day and the middle man ("the filer") continues to be cut out of the process. The upshot is that social media is not about reaching everyone. It's about reaching everyone who may be interested.  You may want to read this.