HYPERLOCAL JOURNALISM, MEET BUDDYPRESS

InJersey.com and a new model for citizen journalist engagement

WHO AM I?

• Ted Mann — ted@injersey.com / @turkeymonkey

• Digital Development Director for Gannett NJ

• Administer 164 WordPress MU staff blogs across five Gannett NJ websites: app.com, courierpostonline.com, dailyrecord.com, mycentraljersey.com, and thedailyjournal.com

WHAT IS HYPERLOCAL?

• News or content pertaining to a town or small community.

• Often involves collaboration between veteran journalists and community members or citizen journalists.

Hyperlocal Not Hyperlocal

LOTS OF DIFFERENT MODELS

• Citizen-run

• Professional Journalism

• Pro-Am (hybrid)

• Aggregator

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE

User-Generated Content

Some of the solutions ....

INJERSEY.COM

• Our simple solution: BuddyPress and Open Registration

OPEN REGISTRATION =OPEN ACCESS

• User profiles, ability to author posts, access to all sites

COACHING CITIZEN JOURNOS WITH BP

• Using PM’s to issue assignment requests and ideas

• Messaging to send feedback and revision requests

• Member profiles to ensure some degree of accountability

DEMO

http://injersey.com/about/

10 PLUGINS THAT MAKE BUDDYPRESS BETTER FOR HYPERLOCAL

1. Post Google Map

2. Adminimize

3. FeedWordPress

4. BP Blog Author Profile Link

5. Welcome Pack

6. WP Wall

10 PLUGINS THAT MAKE BUDDYPRESS BETTER FOR HYPERLOCAL

7. Event Calendar

8. TweetMeme

9. Cosmic BP User Signup Password

10. BP-Registration-Options

OTHER COOL HYPERLOCAL TOOLS

• SeeClickFix

• Outside.In

• FlyerBoard

CONTACT INFO

InJersey.com

Ted Mann: ted@injersey.com / @turkeymonkey

Personal Blog: turkeymonkey.com