November 20, 2004, 7:05 PM ET
Grokking Googlezon
At a Poynter workshop I went to earlier this year, Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson did an incredibly cool and thought-provoking presentation about the future of online media, which culminated in a discussion of Googlezon and Epic -- Google and Amazon's future foray into media. Now, I'm particularly excited to see they've posted the full presentation online.
Check it out -- and be provoked.
November 18, 2004, 9:29 PM ET
Registering a complaint about Web news polls
Poynter's E-Media Tidbits mentioned a month ago how polls on news Web sites are inaccurate and are meant just for fun.
Yes, there's much that can be improved about them. Particularly on sites that have implemented mandatory registration.
The Chicago Tribune, for instance, requires readers to register an account in order to vote in polls (example poll). And it requires each registered user to have a valid e-mail address not used by any other user. But you can vote as many times as you want -- as long as you clear the appropriate cookie between votes.
The case appears to be the same on AJC.com, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Web site. (Disclaimer: I once worked there.) On a story with a related poll (example story), you can vote as many times as you want, as long as you clear cookies. And you have to be a registered user to be able to vote.
This is inefficient. Why not tie the two systems together, so that a registered user can only vote once?
Everyone would win. The quality of poll results would increase (although it would still be non-scientific), and registered users would have an incentive -- albeit a small one, but these things add up -- not to share their account information.
If you're going to require people to register to vote in a poll, you might as well tie their vote to their registration.
November 15, 2004, 8:22 PM ET
Job opportunity: Web editor in Florida
This is a paid advertisement.
HeraldTribune.com, the Web site of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida, is seeking a Web editor.
Ideal candidates will have a strong background in journalism and Web development or technology. HeraldTribune.com is in the heart of the newspaper's newsroom, one of the only converged newsrooms in the country that includes print, Web and television operations from SNN-Channel 6, the paper's 24-hour news channel.
We are seeking candidates with strong communication and writing skills who are able to innovate. Solid news judgment is essential. This position will cover the weekends and requires someone who can work independently as well as with reporters on weekend projects. Experience working with the Publicus content management system and work with the integration of video online are definite pluses. HTML experience is required.
Send cover letter, resume, references and URLs to Lucas Grindley, Web Editor, lucas.grindley@heraldtribune.com. Please write SARASOTA WEB JOB in the subject line. No phone calls, please.
