An easy way to map your community

Dan Gillmor and Arizona State University journalism students used the power of GPS, smart phones and Flickr to assemble a map (in real time) of Phoenix’s “First Friday Art Walk.”

Gillmor explains how easy it was to put together what looks like a valuable community resource, using technology that offers opportunities for civic journalism and crowdsourcing:

Putting this together was absurdly simple: We combined the capabilities of the Google/T-Mobile G1 smart-phones and services provided by the photo-sharing site Flickr. (Note: Google provided us with the phones and its carrier partner, T-Mobile, gave us airtime.)

Saved searches come to Twitter

Good news if you’ve discovered the power of using Twitter to work on stories.

Beatblogging reports that Twitter has now developed a Web interface allowing users to save their searches.

What can journalists map in Tampa Bay?

The Houston Chronicle has an nice interactive map that allows users to submit areas where Texas wildflowers are blooming. Think of all the things news sites could ask users to map in Tampa Bay — Traffic jams. Beach parking. Hipster sightings (yes, I’m looking at you, SoHo Starbucks). What else?

And are there any Twitter-friendly apps that could update a map in real-time?

Patriot-News reporter asks readers for news ideas

How’s this for interacting with your readers? Patriot-News reporter Daniel Victor is taking a bold initiative by calling on readers to submit ideas recommending the stories he should be covering:

I’m starting this blog to ask readers for their ideas of community-based, next-door stories that deserve attention. I’m looking for stories of personal triumph, innovative classroom projects, new businesses opening, emerging trends, or anything else that shines the spotlight on a corner of your community that you consider a hidden treasure.

You’ll submit your ideas as comments in the blog. I’ll take some of the best ideas, throw them in poll form, and allow all readers to vote on which story I should tackle next. And that’s the story I’ll tell, in both the blog and the print newspaper.

Twitter, TweetDeck and you

If you’re at all intimidated by Twitter, or haven’t been convinced of its usefulness as a reporting tool, you just might change your mind after visiting Beatblogging.org’s latest screencast.

Patrick Thornton goes over the importance of Twitter for him as a reporting tool, and offers advice to get others to follow you. He also introduces TweetDeck (which looks great) and describes why it has value (breaks down tweets into column view, ability to monitor Twitter for story ideas, a dedicated search column).

Oh, and when he gets to the TweetDeck presentation, keep an eye out for the handsome guy in the third column.

Organizing the online newsroom

Gina Chen at Save the Media offers the second part of “What’s an online-first newsroom.” A few highlights of Chen’s recommendations:

• The best of the Web should come back to print
• Fellow reporters should follow each other on Twitter to cross-post tweets
• Traditional walls between editorial departments need to come down so that reporters can work together for the benefit of readers
• More writers than a traditional newsroom
• Organize the website along topics
• A thoroughly revamped print product

Ingredients for an online newsroom

At Save the Media, Gina Chen offers six attributes of an online first newsroom. Her list includes immediate blogging and Twittering, interactivity, getting journalists to work on multiple platforms, connecting with readers, curation and crowdsourcing.