EveryBlock – Database Driven Hyperlocal News
In the past we have praised those like Adrian Holovaty who use databases for news reporting. Holovaty left his job at The Washington Post several months ago to work on a hyperlocal site called EveryBlock.
It launched several days ago with database driven hyperlocal news and information reporting for Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco. To report information about specific neighborhoods it culls data from other sources and presents it in a logical manner.
For instance, it pulls pictures from flickr with geographical tagging and groups them by neighborhood. Check out photos from Tribeca in New York. In addition to photos it pulls data from sites like Yelp for restaurant reviews and local government sites for restaurant violation information. Other information includes: crime reports, graffiti, lost and found listings, and news articles.
You can see a screen shot below of a business review from Yelp on a map in New York.
Also, for those who use craigslist to find those missed connections (someone whom you saw on the train and are attracted to but didn't have a chance to even talk to), EveryBlock even collects this data and presents it in list or map form.
The genius of the site is not that it collects this data, but it organizes it in a way that people should find useful. People can search for multiple items by neighborhood for all this information in one place instead of having to visit multiple sites. This is much more exciting and user friendly than your typical database.
The Bivings Group on NPR
The Bivings Group was featured on an NPR segment that discussed Presidential candidates use of the Internet this cycle. Following is the teaser for the piece:
Through ring tones, viral videos and social networking sites, presidential candidates are relying more on the Internet than any of their predecessors. We explore the highlights and examine whether cyber-connectivity translates into votes.
In the interview, I talk about Barack Obama’s web program and Ron Paul’s fundraising ticker.
Using SEO to Select a CMS
My favorite SEO blogger, Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz in Seattle, has an excellent post titled “Choosing the Right CMS Platform for Your Website (from an SEO perspective).” It is about various aspects of SEO to consider when choosing a content management system (CMS) to build a site.
Instead of doing a comparison and contrast between different systems like Drupal and WordPress; Rand provides 12 issues to consider. These issues revolve around the ability of a site owner to control various design elements that search engines consider when assessing a site. These issues range from page title tags to CSS.
It is worth reading. Other than SEO, what are important issues you consider when selecting a CMS?
Networking for Wired Journalists
I learned about an interesting social network the other day that will interest Bivings Report readers who follow how news is reported on the Internet; it is for tech savvy journalists who want to improve their general reporting skills and better contribute to the field — even if they have few resources.
The network is called Wired Journalists. Check it out.
Wall Street Journal Content to Remain Behind Pay Wall
After the New York Times abandoned Times select last Fall, making all of the content on its site free, the assumption was that it was just a matter of time before the Wall Street Journal followed suit and went to a free model. Today, the Wall Street Journal rebelled against all those assumptions and confirmed that most of its content will continue to be behind a pay wall. Chairman Rupert Murdoch is quoted as saying:
We are going to greatly expand and improve the free part of the Wall Street Journal online, but there will still be a strong offering for subscribers. The really special things will still be a subscription service, and, sorry to tell you, probably more expensive.
I’m of the opinion that most publications should embrace the free content model online. But I also think the Wall Street Journal probably made the correct business decision here.
While technically a newspaper, the Wall Street Journal’s focus on finance makes it a must read for anyone interested in the topic. It is largely a niche paper providing coverage people perceive that they can’t get elsewhere. In addition, the niche they cover – finance – is one that people have repeatedly proven they will pay for. Bloomberg has made obscene amounts of money covering this sector. I have no idea what the break down is, but I imagine a significant number of WSJ subscribers are companies ordering multiple copies as a business expense. It is one of the two or three newspapers that I’ve gotten at every office I’ve worked at and can buy at any airport.
So it makes sense to me that the WSJ can charge for access to its content. But I think it is very much the exception and not the rule.