Web 2.0

As media companies continue to merge and grow, the news gets further and further away from ordinary lives and concerns. Independent, community-owned media becomes critical because they can cover issues in depth, shedding light on them until they are resolved. Neighborhoods without their own media resources have little access to local news and information. The local mass media does not provide a space where all viewpoints can be discussed.

“If anyone said we were in the radio business, it wouldn’t be someone from our company.
We’re not in the business of providing news and information. We’re not in the business of
providing well-researched music. We’re simply in the business of selling our customers products.” ~ Lowry Mays, CEO, Clear Channel (1200 stations)

Independent and alternative media production is critical to the overall community economic development since much of community development depends upon information sharing and communication. Independent media outlets are now demonstrating greater innovation, quality and ethics than the corporate media giants. As Joseph Pulitzer’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch no longer sets the standards for American journalism, the Pulitzer Prize Board now give awards for online content.

1. Hyper-Local News: The future of independent news is very much in the hands of smaller, faster and independent agencies or journalists, who can validate or feed news items independently of the major media conglomerates. The shift from large major commercial corporate players to smaller independent and more dynamic competitors capable of bringing to market more flexible, effective, usable and lower cost solutions.
2. Decentralized Infrastructure: Extending the information revolution is predicated not merely on providing affordable, equitable and utilizable access to technology and knowledge. It also involves the support, development and sustainability of infrastructure. Too often information, knowledge, expertise and technology are concentrated among developers or early adopters who have the financial means and people resources to access and use them. To gain the economic and social benefits it is necessary to provide technical assistance for under-served communities.
3. User-Generated Content: It is the creation of quality content that drives growth. Real sustainable economic growth and security will come from expanding the information revolution to all parts of society. Our community must be preparing the future workforce for careers and jobs that don’t exist yet. In today’s global environment, information assets are the new lifeblood of the economy.

User-Generated Content Drives Half of Top Fastest Growing Web Brands.
Users are creating some of the best content online! Content that can be sponsored. Advertisers who take advantage of this new vehicle will benefit from being that much closer to the consumer. Newspaper Web sites need massive audience and ad impression scale. They will need to be twenty times bigger in three years than they are today. They cannot get this growth through newsroom content alone; not by far. As Fast Company noted, newspapers need to be the place where everything local is posted, shared, discussed, criticized, or mashed up. That means lots and lots of user content and very little “publisher control.” That is what made MySpace and YouTube. That is the reality, and it must be faced.

News

• Gabbr.com
  Community based social networking news site.
• Spotback
  Personalized news site that tracks news preferences in order to deliver tailored views to each user.
• memeorandum
  Auto generates news every five minutes from a wide variety of sources.
• CrispyNews
  Web based application that allows users to create their own “Digg Style” community news site.
• Wikinews
  A news wiki brought to you from the folks at Wikipedia.
• Popurls.com
  Web link aggregation site that features links from popular news sources, plus images from Flickr and videos from YouTube.
• Newsvine
  Interactive news site that combines stories from traditional and non-traditional media outlets.

Podcasting

• PodShow
  Podcasting pioneer Adam Curry’s podcast directory / social network for podcast enthusiasts.
• Blubrry
  Blubrry is a community for podcast producers and subscribers that integrates many features of traditional social networks.
• ZapZap
  Podcast directory that uses a Digg style ranking system to highlight popular audio and video podcasts.
• WildVoice
  Free hosting for podcasts, blogs, photos and friends.
• WinPodder
  Free podcatching application for Windows PCS that supports audio, video, photo and plain text RSS feeds.
• VoiceIndigo
  Podcast directory / subscription service that delivers podcast content to mobile phones.
• ClickCaster
  Podcast directory and hosting service.
• Podbop
  Service that allows users to get audio podcast feeds of songs from bands playing in a selected local area.
• Evoca
  Create, organize, search and share audio with this service. Also records Skype phone calls for a $5 monthly fee.
• podOmatic
  Podcast creation and distribution portal.
• AudioBlog
  Commercial multimedia publishing platform that supports both audio and video podcasting. Integrates with major blog platforms and allows for publishing via upload, online recording or phone.
• LibSyn
  Create, manage and host podcast content via this low cost and easy to use service.
• LoudBlog
  Free podcast management application that you host on your own web server.
• PodServe
  A web based tool that allows users to easily create public and “social” podcast channels.
• Big Contact
  Find, publish or share audio and video content on this social podcast publishing site.
• Odeo
  Audio driven social networking site. Allows users to publish, subscribe, share and comment on audio podcasts.

Blogging

• Textpattern
  Free, web based content management system that can be utilized to create a blog hosted on your own server.
• TravBuddy
  Community site that provides free blogs with tools for creating and managing a travel blog.
• LiveJournal
  Easy to use web based blogging application.
• CoComment
  Blog comment integration service that helps users to more easily track and share comments and responses.
• WordPress.com
  Completely web based version of the WordPress blog management application.
• WordPress
  Free, open source pubishing application that users host on their own server. Highly suitable for both blogging and podcasting.
• Typepad
  Commercial, web based blogging application that offers several levels of service starting at $4.95 per month.
• Blogger
  Free, web based blogging app that utilizes a variety of templates to automatically generate html web pages on their server or yours.

Bookmarks

• folkd.com
  folkd.com is a social web service that is completely integrated within your browser and provides free access to various contents and functions always related to the pages you are actually surfing.
• Blue Dot
  Web 2.0 site that combines features of social bookmarking and social networking.
• Wink
  Bookmarking service that allows users to tag pages and create collections that they can then share with others.
• TagTooga.com
  Open source link wiki that allows anyone to add or edit content.
• Supr.c.ilio.us
  Save and tag bookmarks to items on other social sites that use tagging.
• Blabb.com
  Social bookmarking site that uses AJAX to allow users to preview websites and RSS content without departing the viewed page.
• StumbleUpon
  Browser based toolbar extension that allows users to connect share and rate bookmarks.
• Listible
  Social bookmarking site that uses tags to generate lists of relevant items.
• LiveLocker
  Social bookmarking and rating site geared towards rich media.

Images

• Picasa Web Albums
  Google’s entry into the online social photo sharing space.
• Tabblo
  Social photo sharing application that allows users to stitch photos together to create stories.
• Bubblesnaps
  Image sharing website that allows you to add call outs to pictures and then share them with others.
• Slide
  Extracts images from RSS feeds and allows users to share results via RSS and embeddable flash players.
• Riya
  Free image hosting and sharing service that incorporates mapping and facial recognition technology to help users locate relevant photos.
• Amiglia
  Photo sharing with tools designed to connect families and create family trees.
• Zooomr
  A social photo sharing site in the vein of Flickr. Has some nifty features not found on Flickr, like audio commenting and mapping features.
• BubbleShare
  Social photo sharing website that features photo zoom, audio captions, blog integration and photocasting capabilities.

Multimedia

• folkd.com
  folkd.com is a social web service that is completely integrated within your browser and provides free access to various contents and functions always related to the pages you are actually surfing.
• dabble
  Search for, collect and organize vides from all over the web, including sites like Google Video, YouTube and Blip.tv.
• imeem!
  Social network that combines instant messaging and multimedia.
• MySpace Videos
  The 900lb. gorilla of social media introduces a fast growing video sharing site.
• blip.tv
  Social video sharing site that offers free storage and RSS feeds to support video podcasts.
• vSocial
  Video sharing community.
• STICKAM
  Web based, multimedia publishing service that allows users to easily insert a communication module into almost any web page.
• Eyespot
  Host, edit and share videos on this video site that allows users to create personal video blogs or contirbute to a group.
• Google Video
  Free video hosting and distribution from this Web 2.0 giant.
• Video Bomb
  Video sharing site that allows users to submit videos, comment and “bomb” videos that they like.
• Last.fm
  Social music sharing site that allows users to create online radio stations.
• YouTube
  Social video sharing site that offers free hosting of videos. Displays videos and makes them sharable via an embeddable flash player.
• MSN & Windows Live Messenger Status Image Generator! To generate yourself an image for use in your signature or blog or wherever you like, simply fill out the following fields. Entering a display pic URL is optional & you must enter your username without spaces.
• Speedtest.net

Ready to Start Blogging?
TechSoup’s guide to setting up and running a blog for your nonprofit.
Building a Strong Online Community
CompuMentor’s downloadable guide to using blogs, tags, and RSS to broaden your reach.
Pro Blogging Guide
Michael K. Bergman’s comprehensive guide to professional blogging.
Nonprofits and Weblogs
Nonprofit Online News’ introduction to nonprofit blogging.
Be a More Productive Blogger
A guide to creating successful content from To-Done!
Make Your Blog More Valuable to Readers
How to Save the World’s tips for making your blog truly informative — hence valuable — to your readers.
Blogging Workflow
How to Save the World’s guide to making blogs a real medium for communication.
Blogging for Beginners Series
Pro Blogger’s introduction to the basics of blogging.
A Nonprofit’s Guide to the Blogosphere
Nonprofit bloggers share their blogging recommendations.
Ten Ways Nonprofits Can Use Blogs
NetSquared offers ideas for your organization’s blog.

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