just tristan.

...this is, without a doubt, a game changer

@jack, I agree. I love this iphone app. I mean, i absolutely love this app. If you havent downloaded this app yet, you are missing out, big time. Retail merchants, pay attention. This service will change the way you interact with consumers and build brand loyalty. My work on the twttr 101 sparked my obsession to help local businesses offer an innovative, unique customer service value proposition. 4sq is that channel. It’s live, and it’s real time. This is going to be big. more later.

...twttr 101.

finally finished my first year @stanford business school. learned a ton, and had the opportunity to meet some really dope people. also, had an amazing time working with Twitter this spring, under the guidance of Anamitra Banerji, the new Product Manager there, and Santosh Jayaram, head of Business Operations. Two brilliant guys with a great vision for the company. I led a team of three GSB students to help twitter develop its 101 for business. Here it is: business.twitter.com. Check it out. Even my favorite TechCrunch writer liked what he saw! #win!

“Another thing that immediately jumps out about Twitter 101 are the case studies. They come from the likes of Dell, JetBlue, Teusner Wines, Current, Tasti D Lite, CoffeeGroundz, Etsy, NAKEDPizza, America Apparel and Pepsi. They are pretty well done…” — MG Siegler

ill take a “pretty well done” from MG Siegler any day.

later.

another shot at citizen journalism. take 2.

You know, it’s funny. I never thought I’d be thinking so much about the news industry, but each day I hear about reputable orgs going (or soon going) under (rocky mountain, sf chronicle, etc). And it’s sad. The industry is in shambles and needs a savior. But you know what? I really believe that the organizations, themselves, can be their own saviors.

Richard Gingras visited the d.School to chat about the future of journalism. And the man knows what he’s talking about. I sat, listened, put pen to paper and then let my mind run wild. Let me know what you think.

——-

Richard and I both strongly believe that  news organizations really need to rethink the content architecture. The content, itself, is just fine. But major news orgs have to answer the following questions:

1)   What is the day-to-day role of the reporter when creation and publication can be in the reporter’s own hands?

2)   What is the day-to-day role of the editor in an edition-less environment, with a crowd of participants to lead, guide and harvest?

New organizations can start to answer these questions by no longer thinking of ephemeral streams of articles. They need to start thinking about articles as living resources (which Wikipedia does so damn well), always changing. Like Wikipedia, the companies can (and must) leverage the trusted crowd to create rich, compelling content. Richard would definitely agree. He says “Sure we will see some chaff but also a hell of a lot more wheat.” News organizations should learn to harvest high quality, self-determined work. They have the power to lead work into areas of interest or need and can certainly provide guidance on ethics and style. If they can then develop appropriate compensation models, there will be a huge benefit to those who develop the skills and processes to do this well.

At the end of the day, I am a true believer that ‘people trust people, and not institutions,’ and institutions are shrinking!

So, how can this be done?

1)   The organizations’ value and values should be clear.

2)   Delineate ethical policies and editorial processes.

3)   Author’s bio/past ’work’ & contribution history. (this is something I have always wished Wikipedia would incorporate into their service. I would like to know how reputable the source is through some kind of feedback loop/system). Show the name of everyone involved, including the editor.

4)   Give the editor ownership of their page/article.

5)   Encourage the content providers to bring their followers to help in the creation of their content

6)   Database Journalism. This is key. Create databases and build ongoing resources that are ever-changing

7)   Pay based on page views/traffic

8)   Watch the Marc Andreessen interview with Charlie Rose (about 17 times…and then 4 more times after that)

9)   Read # 8 again.

Here it is. No excuses.

Peace.

a little twitter humor.

shameless plug: you can find me on Twitter @tristanwalker

peace.