The brief: Disruption in the newsroom, dramatic viral video and Google Currents
Been a quieter day today, but here's some of the stories and tweets which have caught my eye. Including a very dramatic video, a timely and insightful post about disruption in the newsroom and Google launching a new news app.
Investigative video channel to launch on YouTube
Following the announcement that YouTube had funded some high quality fashion shows from Hearst, this second announcement really confirms the shift from YouTube being the place for swinging cats to being a place we'll consume much more long-form media.
It's a good move from the two not-for-profit news organisations as YouTube will most likely pass on a very high monetisation rate for the type of content they will be producing - as it's rare to find this kind of content on YouTube. Most importantly it's a whole new network of distribution for hopefully some high quality and in-depth reporting which deserves a big audience. Let's hope YouTube surface and share it accordingly.
A cracking viral video, and a clever one at that
Saw this tweeted by my good mate and video guru Jamie Cuff, and it's a fantastic example of using video to get your message across and also have some fun at the same time.
There's something about the unbridled stupidity of the video below that makes it work and also because I always thought nothing ever happened in Belgium.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=316AzLYfAzw&w=600&h=335]
Disruption in the newsroom isn't always a bad thing
Re-structuring, redundancies, change, change, change, all the time in newsrooms across the world. It's mostly a picture of doom and gloom, but this timely post from Alison Gow (soon to be editor-in-chief at the North Wales Daily Post) reminded me that with online journalism there's actually a whole world of untapped possibility.
It was the paragraph at the end when she revealed a conversation with a reporter who explained the piece they'd written about things to do at Easter in Wales was the most-read article she'd written. Forget the scoops, the sniffing out council exclusives, but a simple list of fun stuff to do.
It reminded me that it's ultimately about content, and if you've got good content that people are looking for then they'll buy it. It's quick to say a paper is a failure because it doesn't have a good splash, but yet it's the entertainments listings which boost sales because that's what the audience wants. The thing with online is, we can see what's working well and we can react and adapt to it quickly - but this needs to be balanced with providing the core local information and news readerships expect.
Google Currents launches in the UK
Another day, another new app to download. Google Currents is now available and claims to will re-define the way people consume news - giving newspapers a more 'magazine' feel via tablets and mobile. I guess what it shows us is that Google is very good at making things look beautiful, and putting things in one place. Is this Google News for the mobile generation?