Media

"Social reading" centers not so much on the joy of reading or pursuit of knowledge, but a desire to build social capital on social networks. And now, it's coming to books.

Computer algorithms aren't the only thing contributing to the "Internet Filter Bubble." Who we choose to connect with in our social networks deeply affects who is "curating" the content we consume. Here's why diversity in your social network matters.

Get ready for the geo-tag - and a revolution in the way you use your phone to search the places around you!

Mobile devices will usher in a renaissance in local news. With Google, Facebook, Yelp and others building services to help us buy more local goods and services, there will be natural pressure for other kinds of location-based information and news as we layer millions of small posts, tags and comments onto our physical surroundings.

The new economics of local news distribution rests on linking and networking behavior, and that requires a whole new type of relationship with readers - one that treats them less like passive consumers and more like proactive partners in disseminating news.

The old business model for local news is deep in debt and essentially running on fumes. The notion of a truly mission-driven news entity is quite compelling. We see examples of it running quite effectively in the nonprofit world in entities such as YES! Magazine, Grist, and High Country News. While these organizations have editorial voices and geographic territories that make them operationally quite different from a local newspaper, they do paint a picture of what could be possible on a municipal level.

The web's unbundling of the local newspaper business model didn't occur all at once, but as a one-two punch of vertical marketplaces for easily aggregated data like car buying, and crowd-sourcing platforms to get at the fragmented, more difficult to aggregate information in local markets. In essence, what the Internet did was enable web-based businesses to cherry-pick the profitable pieces out of the local newspaper's business model. When that happened, the flow of money for reporter salaries came under increased pressure and newsrooms across the US were slowly eviscerated.

This is the first in a five-part-series on the decline, fall and possible renaissance of local news. In this first installment, I share key excerpts from a very interesting report on the state of local news by the Federal Communications Commission. The report is called "The Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age" and it's not your typical government bureaucracy report.

Like many of you, I use Twitter to help get the word out on things I’m writing about or things I find interesting. The problem is that I have lots of different interests and not everyone who follows me on Twitter cares about all those interests. Some people care about sustainability, but not social networks. Some care about CRM but ...