John Hazard

Pay Per Follower?

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:19:00 -0400

Dear reporter,

More and more, publishers hire a writer not just for the ability to report and deliver information, but for their demonstrated ability to reach and influence an audience — your dedicated readers + your social followers. And they want to pay for it.

Contently would like to ask some practicing journalists how much they would like to be compensated for their demonstrated audience influence and reach. In other words, after reporting and writing the story (and paid for it), what do you want to be paid, additionally, to distribute the content to your Social followers?

To kind of nudge the conversation, we’re not talking about paying you for the act of Tweeting, but more for borrowing your cultivated audience. We’re thinking of paying a rate per Twitter follower.

Your comments, here, on Twitter, Facebook and beyond are welcome. If you want to keep it private, writer me at john@contently.com.

Thanks for your help.

(Image by puuikibeach via Flickr, CC2.0)

While You Were Writing

Fri, 11 May 2012 14:46:25 -0400

While You Were Writing:

Introducing our weekly link round up of news you might have missed, but might help freelancers perfect their craft or build their business. From The Freelance Strategist and Contently.

Angry Birds cook book. Mark this day… when app culture...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:10:01 -0400

Angry Birds cook book. Mark this day… when app culture jumped the shark. (Taken with Instagram at Barnes & Noble)

Space shuttle spotting (Taken with Instagram at Contently HQ)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:57:45 -0400

Space shuttle spotting (Taken with Instagram at Contently HQ)

On The Bro'd: Chapter 1: Epic Beginnings

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:07:26 -0400

On The Bro'd: Chapter 1: Epic Beginnings:

Aside from the genius of the prose, this is a terrific marriage of print and online to create a content ecosystem.

onthebrod:

I first met Dean not long after Tryscha and I hooked up. I had just gotten over a wicked fucking hangover that I won’t bother to talk about, except that it had something to do with a six-foot-five douchebag and a beer bong. With the coming of Dean Moriarty began the part of my life you could call…

The only bros for me are the mad awesome ones, the ones who are mad to chug, mad to party, mad to bone, mad to get hammered, desirous of all the chicks at Buffalo Wild Wings…

Ollie, safe at the plate. (Taken with Instagram at Central Park...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 17:01:40 -0400

Ollie, safe at the plate. (Taken with Instagram at Central Park - Heckscher Field)

Happy Anniversary! (Taken with Instagram at Pasanella &...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:59:19 -0400

Happy Anniversary! (Taken with Instagram at Pasanella & Sons)

One year later, celebrating our anniversary. (Taken with...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:58:18 -0400

One year later, celebrating our anniversary. (Taken with Instagram at Pasanella & Sons)

artsfortransit: Grand Central Terminal, Dining ConcourseJim...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:42:08 -0400

"EAT" lightbox transparencies

Artist: Jim Dow

On view at Grand Central Terminal

artsfortransit:

Grand Central Terminal, Dining Concourse
Jim Dow: EAT
Lightbox transparencies

EAT is an exhibition of color images from roadside America, the restaurants and snack bars seen while traveling the nation’s far flung towns and cities. Each of the 18 large images exhibited presents a place to eat, an especially appropriate subject given the exhibit’s location in Grand Central’s Dining Concourse. Photographer Jim Dow used an 8” X 10” camera to capture the light, atmosphere, and color of American dining options, elevating and ennobling these quirky locations. His recent book, “American Studies” features several of the images seen in the exhibit.

EAT, named after a predominant road sign seen in the show, was made possible by the support of Kodak, and EMR Graphics, which printed the photographs. The photographs appear courtesy of Janet Borden, Inc.

Jim Dow studied at Rhode Island School of Design and was the last assistant of legendary photographer Walker Evans, during which time he developed an appreciation for architecture and roadside dining. EAT remains on view in the Dining Concourse through September 2012.

Click on an image above to launch the hi-res photo set.

Reporters Wanted: Help Us Cover the Crisis in Sahel

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:08:00 -0400

We need reporters to help us help UNICEF.

As you know, our company helps publishers develop content. Many of them are nontraditonal publishers, like UNICEF.

The project is related to UNICEF’s work in the Sahel fighting a looming famine. Part of the problem is the story has been under reported. We intend to help UNICEF build its own content channel to raise awareness about the crisis through stories and images, and support their fundraising and lobbying efforts.

We need reporters to help produce the following:

stories explaining the crisis and some of the political events surrounding it
stories on some of the news events (very few of these)
stories on UNICEF”s work there to prevent a famine
commentaries on the media’s response to and coverage of the event

If you can help report and write a story or two to help us in this effort, please contact me at john@contently.com

Thank you so much.

For more on the situation UNICEF is facing:

A most welcome sign of Spring: When the clock strikes 5 and...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:27:19 -0500

A most welcome sign of Spring: When the clock strikes 5 and there’s still light in the sky. (Taken with Instagram at Contently HQ)

Content aggregation is fine, but BE FIRST whenever you can

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:49:00 -0500

Content aggregation is fine, but BE FIRST whenever you can:

“aggregation and curation are part of the new media ecosystem, and they can add a lot of value whether we like them or not.”

That might be true, but if you’re shooting for social traction and audience engagement, it’s worth very little.

Aggregation is a great way to cover the bases. It’s a great way to serve your audience like the old “Newspaper of Record,” and everyone should have some aggregation in their tool belt> It’s a terrific launch pad to provide unique analysis on news you didn’t break. But it does little to set you apart and cultivate return visits and a devoted audience.

BuzzFeed’s Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, said it well last week to NYT’s David Carr:

“No one is going to care if we come up with a story that is almost as good as someone else’s scoop four hours earlier.”

My mantra as an editor has always been this: If you aren’t the first to the story, don’t waste your time reporting what’s already been reported. Advance the story, link to what’s already been done and move on to something original that everyone else will have to link to when you are first. Be first whenever you can.

Brand Journalism vs Content Marketing

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:58:36 -0500

YouTube CEO: The Future of Content Is Niche Channels

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:06:33 -0500

YouTube CEO: The Future of Content Is Niche Channels:

The way consumers access and consume media is changing rapidly, YouTube head Salar Kamangar believes, and YouTube is evolving to accommodate it. “We’re entering the third wave of media,” Kamangar said during an on-stage interview with AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka in Laguna Nigel, Calif., Tuesday. …

Journalists Find a Ready Audience in Facebook "Subscribe" Feature

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:42:37 -0500

Journalists Find a Ready Audience in Facebook "Subscribe" Feature:

From MediaBistro’s Morning News Feed:

A Facebook analysis studying journalists’ use of the subscribe feature finds that the group has experienced a 320 percent average increase in subscribers since November. However, this feature only became available in September, and this analysis is only based on 25 media profiles. Inside Facebook: Facebook’s heavy push of the subscribe feature has apparently paid off, as thousands of journalists enabled subscribers after its launch in September, according to a note on the Journalists + Facebook page. 10,000 Words: Links accounted for 62 percent of posts, a call to action (promotional language like “check this out”) accounted for 30 percent, questions and input accounted for 25 percent, videos accounted for 13 percent, and photos accounted for 12 percent. paidContent: Before you think that subscribe has been taken over by those working in the world of blogs and digital-first news sites, think again. Facebook said that among those early adopters, the highest concentration of journalists using subscribe were from two of the most old-school publications: The Washington Post has more than 90 journalists using it, and The New York Times has over 50. Nieman Journalism Lab: Write about current affairs. Add in a little commentary (or a question). And, for the love of all that is holy, include a link. Those are three of the takeaways from some new data Facebook just released on the use of its subscribe feature — the social network’s way to let journalists and readers connect without broaching the knotty issue of “friending.” TechCrunch: If Facebook can get your favorite journalists publishing through subscribe, you’ll have less need for Twitter.

TV Rethunk

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:13:26 -0500

TV Rethunk:

WhiteHouse YouTube to broadcast enhanced version of SOTU w/ embedded graphics, data, stats. That’s TV/Content rethunk.

"Glad to see lots of journalists out against #SOPA & #PIPA, but not sure I understand how..."

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:21:00 -0500

“Glad to see lots of journalists out against #SOPA & #PIPA, but not sure I understand how it’s in our interest.”

- me

Huffington Post's print edition

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:32:49 -0500

Huffington Post's print edition:

I hope more small papers seek out well done journalism wherever they can find it. At TheLadders we tried to send our articles to small papers to reprint for free. We sat on a cache of profiles from people in big and small towns nationwide. We wanted to feed local stories to whoever could use them locally. Ultimately, we envisioned a sort of syndication service covering labor issues for papers that couldn’t afford to.

We had pretty limited interest from publications. I think they didn’t trust the independence of our operation under the banner of a brand with something to sell.

Hopefully more small pubs will look to alternative sources like the Huffington Post, TheLadders and other non-traditional (HuffPo is pretty trafidional) sources of content.

Do you correct your social feed?

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:30:00 -0500

Here’s a pickle. You link to a story. The story + HED are later corrected. Do you correct your Facebook & Twitter posts? Real life example:

I recently linked to a story from another publication on The American Lawyer’s Twitter stream as well as our morning newsletter. The story and headline turned out to be inaccurate and was corrected.

Because we treat the newsletter as a unique published item, we ran a correction in the next day’s edition.

Do we consider our social feeds a publication? Even if the link takes the reader to the story, where they can read an accurate version plus a correction, our Twitter feed remains inaccurate.

A link on The American Lawyer Facebook page went up much later using an accurate headline, but I could this could present a more of an issue on facebook, where the Page is a destination and the inaccurate Headline would be glaring at readers for ever.

What to do?

My inclination is to correct inaccuracies—using the comments on Facebook and a Retweet on Twitter.

Where's our "solo incubator" for journalists?

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:51:00 -0500

At Pace Law School, recent law grads entering the field on their own as “solos” can opt to do so on campus, with the supervision of professors and experienced lawyers and access to resources like office supplies and research tools.

The Pace Community Law Practice is the fourth so-called “Solo incubator” launched nationwide, according to the National Law Journal. The first was a program at City University of New York School of Law (National Law Journal):

The school offers low-cost office space in midtown Manhattan and staff support for up to two years to a select number of graduates aiming to establish themselves as solos or launch small firms. The program offers more than office space; participants have access to a large network of experienced solo practitioners who function as mentors, and they enjoy an internal support network among their colleagues in the incubator, which helps to reduce the isolation many solo practitioners experience.

Where is the “solo incubator” for journalists?

OK, journalism isn’t really a for-hire business (freelance assignments aside). The best work continues to be done by reporting and editing staffs working together at news organizations.

But as the idea of content as a product evolves, and the universe of potential employers of journalists expands, perhaps a “solo incubator” could become a hive of journalism activity that companies can approach to hire at will.

“Need two reporters, an editor and an artist for 10 days to complete a research project? Ours are sharp and well-directed.”

“Need a site publishing in one month but you don’t know how to find a staff? We can help.”

“Need an editor to help define your audience and design a coverage plan? Sure thing.”

The fellas at Contently are doing so already and may have beaten academia to the punch in many ways. CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism Entrepreneurial Incubator is the right idea, but limited to students. There’s room for an Ivory-Tower version of the “solo incubator” and there are enough recent, and not-so-recent J-school grads without a job or an office to hang out in all day.

It could also be a great hive of inspiration for journalists dedicated to freelance and research projects or those among us who are entrepreneurs to collaborate and share expenses (a la coworking at Hive at 55 and New Work City), plus get the guidance of experienced journalists and educators.