This month I have been working on something that will hopefully be of interest to my fellow JRC employees and probably of very little interest to the rest of the world. So I apologize to my non-JRC friends, but there is plenty of material on the Royal Wedding out there so you better get to it.

My current IdeaLab project is to spread the gospel of site metrics - useful not only to see how we are doing but also to guide how we position our stories and coverage to maximize the audience. Unlike the old days where we could publish our stories and photos and throw them out there hoping that lots of people would look at them, now we have the ability to analyze how many are reading each story, for how long, where they came from, how they got there, how they navigate ours sites and where they go when they leave. And many other useful facts.

The purpose of using this information isn't just to guide what we cover (yes, we know fire and crime stories always rise to the top), but also how to draw readers into stories they might not know about, even if they visit our sites. We have many ways to do this - social media, cross-linking, updates, SMS alerts - but what actually works, and when should we use these tools? Using metrics, we can see spikes in traffic at certain times of the day. These spikes are good opportunities to reach our audience with new material - either fresh or re-organized on our home pages to bring different stories to their attention.

We can see what search terms are bringing readers to ours sites - useful for writing headlines that will grab their attention and that of the search engines.

By looking at article view numbers from other sites in the chain, an editor might find a good story that would be of interest to their own readers with or without localization.

We can measure how effective our social media efforts are - posting a few links on Twitter or Facebook is good, but watch how the hits multiply when we engage our audience in a discussion about a topic or an unfolding news story. And posting to social media at strategic times could bring readers back to our sites when they might otherwise not do so.

Does paginating our web pages cost us readers? Did a recent contest really bring them in? Are a lot of hits coming from a local corporate domain? The answers to these questions can all be found in site metrics and used to guide our online efforts.

This isn't just a popularity contest - it is a way to bring extra content to our readers that they might actually want to read. It is not a substitute for good news judgement or local knowledge, but a way to KNOW our audience even better and reach out to them more effectively.

For this project I created a 'dashboard' in Omniture for each of our daily sites that do not have them yet. Dashboards are a quick and easy way to share site metrics via email on a regular basis with the staffs at all our sites. They are customizable reports that can be automatically generated and emailed, so recipients do not have to log into the Omniture system to view them. I will be sending written and video instructions to publishers and editors on how to use and customize their dashboards via email (I'd post them, but they contain some proprietary information not good for a public forum).

These videos will also be made available to weekly editors, and I would be happy to assist them in creating dashboards if needed. If anybody else in JRC would like to view the videos, please email me for a link.

I've been playing around with a new Android app called Photaf, it can make panoramas like this:



It's not perfect yet, but is very easy and fast to use. I made this panorama at the Phillies opening exhibition game on Tuesday. The photos took about 2 minutes to shoot and the app processed the images into a panorama in about 5-7 minutes. The app uses the camera's compass and level to line up the individual photos, then stiches them automatically.

As part of my work for IdeaLab, I have been asked to learn and share my knowledge about some items on a long list of free online tools useful to journalists.

From the list, these are tools I have actually used in my daily work:

- Audacity: One of the most useful free programs ever. It can do everything from simple audio editing to complex audio editing to audio conversions. I just found how to make it record streaming web audio (from any source!)

- Aviary: A great suite of online tools for image, audio and video editing. Despite not having music lessons for the past 30 years or so, I managed to create some decent music for videos here.

- Foursquare (not): I know, it's the best app ever and I'm supposed to love it. I just can't get into it, however. I just don't care who is mayor of Starbucks.

- TweetDeck: This is my addiction. I could stare at it all day, and sometimes do.

- WidgetBox: I actually created an iPhone app with this in an hour. It's crazy easy to use, but you still have to pony up the Apple developers fee to actually see you app in the app store.

- Quora: A database of questions and answers. A great place to find some good advice.

- SurveyMonkey: Create embeddable online polls quickly

- UStream: Free online live video streamer turns everybody into a TV network. Works with iPhone and Android, too. Or try out Justin.tv or the somewhat more professional Livestream.

Here's some accordian music recorded live at the Philly Folk Festival

- Google Voice: I use this for phone conferences, interviews, and calls to Mom. The sound is great, and it's free.

- Evernote: Good way to organize notes on your gadgets.

- Kaywa QR code: Use this to generate those zippy little bar codes for mobile phones.

- Zamzar: Convert files into something you can use. Stick it to Microsoft and their DocX's.

- Animoto: Creates effects-laden slide shows. Lots of fun, a bit gimmicky.

- PhotoSynth: I just started playing with this. It automatically stitches photos together to create a panorama. Does in seconds what used to take me hours to do.

Honorable mention (other freebies not on the list): GIMP photo editor, Google Maps-Fusion-Docs, Dropbox (the single-most useful app EVER), SynthFont (another great way to create music for free), CoverItLive. I'll think of more later.

And which ones do I want to learn more about? Aviary, Dipity, Google Fusion, WidgetBox, CrowdMap, Google everything, geocommons, fx.

I'll be posting examples of stuff I create as I explore some of these great online tools.

The music on this video was obtained directly from the musician, a friend.

Recently my wife was doing some freelance marketing work for a music licensing business. Besides learning a bit about this HUGE market (which is changing rapidly, like most of the music business), I also started listening to the space behind the dialogue on TV shows and commercials.

Whether you realize it or not, it is often filled with music. Sometimes just generic 'elevator music' and other times popular songs you might even recognize. The music drives the visuals, sets the tone for the video, and can be the difference between a home video and something closer to professional (and watchable).

Videos posted on YouTube mashups featured so many popular songs that YouTube just cut deals with some music sites to easily license use of songs on the site.

But for journalists, using licensed music is not an option unless you have the budget to pay for it. Under Fair Use copyright laws, you can keep SOME background music in a video (like the music playing at a dance competition, for example) but only in very limited quantities (generally 20 seconds or less). In this example, the music would reflect what is happening on the screen - the dancers are actually dancing to the song on the sound track in real time.

Fair Use does not allow you to use that background music under an ENTIRE video highlight reel, for example, even if the song was playing at PART of the event depicted in the video. So, in our example, if you used a copyrighted song recorded at the competition as a continuous soundtrack under B-roll video of the dancers arriving, preparing, an interview with an organizer, and finally the dancing itself - that song would need to be licensed. If the music was only heard in short clips showing the dancers actually dancing to it, you would be covered under Fair Use.

And remember, even a local band covering popular songs is included in Fair Use laws. The performance may not be copyrighted, but the song is. And to confuse things further, an orchestra playing a public-domain song (music free of copyright restrictions because of its age) could still be considered restricted, since the PERFORMANCE might be copyrighted. Using sound from a local string quartet playing Mozart is only acceptable if the quartet has agreed to let you use their performance, even though permission isn't usually needed for the music itself.

I need to put in some legalese here - I am not a lawyer and don't play one on TV. Many attorneys make their living on copyright law, since it is complicated and full of exceptions. For a good summary of Fair Use laws, I suggest looking HERE. Another good discussion HERE. Much has been written about Fair Use, and the definitions are changing all the time. Do your research.

So if you want to use some music in your videos but don't want to get sued, what are your choices? Here are some suggestions:

• Find local music and get permission to use it. Some local bands, composers, and students would be happy to provide music in return for a link to their web sites and/or a credit on the video. This can be an opportunity to build their reputation and use the publicity to seek paid gigs.
• Use non-copyrighted material. A good example is a local band 'jamming' at a concert (assuming you have permission to use their performance). Another I have used extensively is high school marching bands warming up before a game. The drum lines and percussion often play beats for several minutes, providing a great backdrop for action footage of the game.

Example of HS marching band drums used as a musical intro


• Purchase a royalty-free disk. For a set amount (which varies based on the quality and quantity of music provided) you can purchase disks or downloads of music which can then be used without further compensation in your videos. Many web sites (such as Magnatune) also sell royalty-free music with the same purpose - pay one amount, use the music however you want. Be aware: Royalty-free is NOT copyright-free music - instead of licensing it for a specific project, you are buying the rights to use the music outright. Many web sites advertising 'free music' are actually selling royalty-free collections. You still have to pay.
  
• Use Garage Band, MIDI or other music creation programs. New versions of Garage Band are so sophisticated that with even with just a little musical aptitude, you can knock out a driving loop for a sports video or a simple tune for a how-to video. Some of the 'samples' are virtually self-contained songs in themselves. Another music creation resource is Aviary - a web-based music tool (which also has some other interesting creative tools).
  
  Music on this video was created from a public domain score found on the Internet, then rendered on a free MIDI editor, SynthFont.
  
  
• Use music from musicians that have posted copyright-free material (using a Creative Commons license). Read the rules of use carefully - some ask for a credit on the video, some ask for nothing. Here are a few such sites:

www.incompetech.com: One of the oldest and most widely-used freebie sites with a HUGE selection of background music

www.audionautix.com

www.jewelbeat.com

http://dig.ccmixter.org: You can search this site for free commercial use music.

Journal-Register CEO John Paton on AOL, Patch and The Huffington Post

Much has been written (and Tweeted) over the past few weeks about the acquisition of the Huffington Post by AOL as part of their strategy to trade the 'dial-up' Internet business for the rather more progressive content business.

Part of that strategy is their other recent purchase of Patch, a string of hyper-local web sites that started in New Jersey and has now expanded to over 750 sites across the country, including right here in good ol' Lansdale (yes, no link, what, do you think I'm going to make it easy for you?).

Reaction to both has run the gamut, from predictions of doom to declarations of brilliance and lots of guessing in between.

Certainly AOL has their work cut out for them - the Internet is an increasingly crowded place with many players grabbing for a slice of the advertising pie. Patch is an attempt at tapping what AOL calls the 'underserved' local market, and the billions of dollars from local advertising that they say is just there for the taking.

I tend to think it has more to do with good old-fashioned demographics - I would hesitate to label the upscale suburbs of cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago as 'underserved'. Many of these communities already have local news sites, though perhaps not always as narrowly-focused as the Patch sites.

And despite a perception that newspapers are fading as new technologies leave them in the dust, the reality is that most local newspaper publishers now embrace the web and have growing readerships between the print and digital products. This has been a tough transition, and is far from over. But as the web matures, so will the 'legacy' news sites. Editors and reporters are learning new skills - everything from using video, social media and online tools to embracing readers as partners in the news-gathering process. Readers expect more, and will judge our progress with a click of their mouse - or swipe of a finger on whatever new mobile gadget comes out next.

Patch can join a long list of competitors that have challenged local newspapers and their revenue stream over the years - everything from radio and television to direct-mail and competing newspapers. But I wouldn't count the 'legacy' media out quite yet. These old dogs are learning some new tricks pretty fast.

Is your legislative district gerrymandered? We have some pretty odd-shaped districts here in Pennsylvania, and other states are known for some, er, creative map making.

An online database, redistrictingnation.com uses map-based geometry to rank Congressional and state legislative districts. Here is a screen shot for the 13th District of Pennsylvania:

The map itself shows the highlighted district, and the bar charts on the right rank the shape of the district using several geometry-based formulas (which are explained). Districts that rank 'low' on these charts MIGHT be gerrymandered - other factors play into districting, of course (for example, Cape Cod ranks pretty low, but the ocean probably has something to do with that).

This is a good basis for questioning and research.

You know they're out there...but can you find them?

Community blogs are pretty easy to find in the city. Go to Google, search for an urban neighborhood + 'blog', and you should get a few hits. But try this elsewhere, and you're likely to find more pizzerias than community news sites.

So how do you find blogs outside the city based on their location? Like most things in the suburbs, they're out there, but are often hidden. And if they are issue-oriented blogs, they likely won't be geo-tagged.

Here's a few ideas to help find blogs created in a particular area:

1. Yes, you can start with a good old-fashioned Google search. Search for towns, neighborhoods, local businesses, or community groups, scroll past the pizzerias and see what pops up. Google also offers a dedicated blog search page to help narrow your focus.

2. Use Twitter: By using geo-specific Twitter searches you can find bloggers that are tweeting their latest posts. Twitter itself offers geo-centric searching in their advanced search options, or you can use services like ChirpCity, NearbyTweets, Twellow, and TwitterLocal. Various Twitter apps for computers, iPhone or Android also have localized searches.

3. Outside.in: Shameless promo: This site has partnered with my employer, Journal Register Company, to build an online portal in Philadelphia (the actual JRC-oriented site is still in development). Hundreds of local blogs are included in the effort, which posts links to both established media and community blogs. Content isn't limited to Philadelphia, however - the site links blogs from throughout the country.

4. Links: One of the best resources I have found is searching the 'links' page found on many blogs, media sites, or community group web sites. Bloggers are interested in other bloggers and freely list them. You will have to spend some time and effort opening the links to look for outdated, missing or dead blogs (blogs are like restaurants...only a select few last). So once you find a local blog, don't stop there...keep looking.

5. Dedicated blog-finding sites: Some are better than others, but these sites offer the ability to list and find blogs -

• Placeblogger.com: This Massachusetts-based site was desgined for journalists, but seems to have a fairly limited listing of blogs. Still, some are there.
• FeedMap.net: Another geo-based blog search engine.
• Technorati.com: Offers a blog search for over a million blogs. Not geo-based, but could be useful for looking up local topics.

6. Blog hosting sites: You can search using geographic terms at WordPress, Tumblr (sign-up required) or others. Blogger is owned by Google, so their own blog search is the best bet there.

7. Ask readers or community leaders what their favorite blogs or local web sites are. Then see item #4 above.

Got any more suggestions? Let me know and I'll add them to this post.

The San Jose Mercury-News, known for their high-quality reporting and photojournalism, is taking a leap into crowd-sourcing by partnering with Tackable to create a geo-based photo app. In fact, according to an article at the Poynter web site, the Tackable developers are actually working in the Mercury-News building.

The app will be social in nature - the developers hope to motivate contributors with 'leaderboard' competition and even coupons.

Here is an info video about the project, which has aspirations beyond the SF bay area:



This project is interesting because it deals with one of the biggest problems getting reader-generated content to media web sites and print - actually getting people to contribute. When somebody gets a photo of something noteworthy, they are quick to post it on Facebook for their friends to see. But sending it to the local newspaper has a higher threshold - it is simply not up there on most people's priority list. This app promises to take on that problem by building a community, fostering friendly competition and even offering some minor physical rewards.

UPDATE 2/15 : Google has just discontinued their real estate map function, citing low usage and an abundance of other sites that carry RE listings. Too bad, since most of those sites are geared toward purchasing homes as opposed to foreclosure research.

This information is available in map form on Hotpads.com, but their map is not embeddeble. It is good for research purposes (to find current foreclosures). A full search would involve a trip to the county land records office to build a database from their records).

Try this Google map trick:

Search for an address in Google maps, and add the word 'foreclosure'

You will get a map like this:



View Larger Map

As far as I can tell, these are just foreclosed properties that are for sale, many more are likely in various stages of foreclosure that are not this advanced.

There is also a 'foreclosure' checkbox under 'show options' on the left side of the Google map page, but though this worked for me last week I am not having any luck with it this week. The result is the same, however.