Craig McGinty

Get mappy with it

Skymapping: early concept
Originally uploaded by s i m o n d

ONE of the websites I follow is that of journalist, new media strategist and now interactive map guru Simon Dickson.

He has announced the launch of a Google map style tool for news websites that can draw on text, photographs and video from a key event.

Once live it will allow readers to click backwards and forwards through a story in a timeline format, a really imaginative way to tell a story.

I'm sure he has already got something similar in the pipeline, but imagine this hooked into Google Earth that uses the GPS built into mobile phone cameras to place you where the person themselves stood as you watch their video clip, so you can look all around you.

And then move onto the next location and the next... a bit like Google Maps Street View.

Feed me, feed me now

ONE of the key elements of the internet today is the ability for website publishers to provide a simple way for interested readers to stay in touch with their new "stuff".

Whatever you produce be it words, artwork, music, video or actual items to buy if you don't have your site updates linked into RSS feeds you are missing out on where the internet is going.

I have written about it before where I was highlighting how to grow a community, but things have changed and whereas I wrote in that piece that you could use these tools to allow people to link up on your own site, that is not the only place to look nowadays.

Through RSS feeds people can place small buttons to display your new "stuff" wherever they want to; on their own sites, in their email signatures or on their social networking pages.

And as Jeff Jarvis writes today, looking further into the future and beyond the days of the home page, you could be keeping interested readers in touch with your work whenever they choose.

Watching my media diet

IT is cold and wet outside, so I thought I'd put together a few thoughts and pointers on my "media consumption" after getting a polite nudge from Linda.

Looking at things from a distance and you could say I am welded to the computer, spending most of my work time reading websites, researching articles and pursuing ideas with others.

Over time I have used a variety of software packages and web based services, as well as read countless books and documents on improving your work flow.

But it seemed that I would still get very little done and drift off down internet alleyways losing track of time.

I still do this as I think it is the best way to discover new thought and ideas, but it is because the tools, add-ons and set-ups I use allow me to "consume media" more efficiently, here's what I do:

Public Relations, good and bad

FOR some reason I seem to have crossed a number of insightful articles covering both the good and bad side of PR and their work with the press and journalists, take a look:

How not to follow up a press release (Rob Baker)
This is how not to use read receipts and similar in email unless you are happy to never see your client featured in a publication ever again.

Media relations for beginners: Ten run-of-the-mill, really not rocket science tips on how not to do it (Linda)
As my pal used to say "rocket science is quite simple really", so are these tips from Linda.

The top ten reasons why PR doesn't work (Margie Zable Fisher)
How one PR practitioner works with clients to both ensure they receive a good deal and enjoy strong coverage in the press.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? (Smith & Smith PR)
What to do when the Mail on Sunday comes looking for blood.

The dawn of the hyper-networked PR era (Steve Rubel)
Maybe the PR bods highlighted by Rob above should take five minutes to read over this view of public relations in this new connected online world.

On watching online video

ARE you watching more online video, be it music, news or even mini-series? I have found myself doing so.

But the common theme very often is that I am not seeing things on YouTube or similar first, but on other sites who embed clips or link across to interesting finds.

I am currently hanging around my RSS reader almost every day waiting for the next instalment from the ichannel, a great Kafkaesque tale for the internet world that I found via NewTeeVee.

Manchester NUJ members challenge Israeli boycott

THE recent passing by the NUJ of a resolution that called for a boycott of Israeli goods caused a great deal of disappointment amongst many members, and anger from others.

At the Manchester branch of the NUJ a meeting was held last week to discuss the boycott and the steps that could be taken to block the resolution. Below is a report from the meeting by an attendee:

Having been successful in mandating the Manchester NUJ branch delegates to vote against the anti-Israel resolution at Annual Conference, members of the branch have now succeeded in having a resolution passed at branch level to seek a way to prevent the resolution being put into effect.

OpenCoffee Club, Manchester

JUST a quick pointer to the OpenCoffee Club meeting taking place in Manchester city centre tomorrow morning (May 22), see 10 am start for OpenCoffee Manchester.

I can't make it myself but it could prove useful to drop in on if you have ideas and thoughts from a tech or online perspective - it'll only cost you a coffee.

Courses to improve your writing

I DON'T normally promote things on this site but if you are keen to improve your writing skills then you may want to check out a couple of courses being offered by Judi Goodwin.

Judi is set to stage two courses this summer and I know a number of people who have taken part in classes in the past, for example Andrea Wren.

On offer is a two day course at Manchester University titled "Don’t get it Right – Get it Written" which aims to develop your skills and confidence to get that first draft down onto paper.

Website links and pointers

I HAVE a number of interesting websites and online resources that may prove useful for some, so here goes:

Free privacy policy from the ContractStore
If your small business website or blog does not have a privacy policy then this document will prove a handy starting point.

Digital Editors' Network
I attended the first meeting of a number of digital editors from a variety of backgrounds that aims to share knowledge and information.
Personally I think established media groups can learn much from online communities and blogging networks, and I'm sure in return the editorial skills many media groups possess would prove invaluable to many.

Commissioning editors - what do they want?
The Wordsmith offers some very valuable advice on what a commissioning editor wants, especially one who oversees a smaller publication and is tight on resources.

My life at war - Notebooks
Julia tells the real life story of her grandmother and her experiences of Russian life during the Second World War - start at the bottom of the page and work your way up.

Purely Man City
I admit I have an interest in this site being Sky Blue through and through. But I also wanted to show the depth and range of articles Andrew Keenan produces for his site.

Stand alone pages in TypePad

AN important new addition to the TypePad service has been announced that allows you to create stand alone pages, for example offering contact details.

In the past the only way to do this without using Advanced Templates was to create a page and back date it so it didn't appear on the front page and make any updates when required.

But as TypePad explains it is now a simple option of writing a "New Page" instead of post, giving it a file name and then linking to it from a sidebar.