NEW MODELS FOR COMMUNITY MEDIA Susan Mernit, October 2010 CCT.org talk

Twitter: World’s latest breaking news source

Local video reaches across the world We don’t need foreign correspondents

News happens in real time Flickr: February 27, Saturday am: Chilean earthquake 8.8, 4:34 am

Via search & reputation, news is both grass-roots & filtered—almost instantaneously

Implications to think about

• Peers are our experts • Social media is our ecosystem • Mobile means access everywhere

EVERYONE USES SOCIAL MEDIA It’s the drumbeat.

Welcome to the social media ecosystem

  200 Million Americans are on Facebook   Roughly 44 million people use Twitter   There are over 2 Billion photos on photo-sharing

community Flickr

You are now connected to everyone on the planet via search & Facebook

This means: The game Has changed

• Even  beyond  Google,  everyone  is  inter-­‐connected  • We’ve  gone  beyond  centralized  authori:es  that  creden:al  us—newspapers,  universi:es,  affiliate  groups  • To  crowd-­‐sourcing,  networks,  and  the  wisdom  of  crowds  

-­‐-­‐Are  you  a  part  of  the  stream?  

 Who are you connected to? What do you stand for?

 You  cannot  hide  in  a  world  of  referral,  recommenda:on  and  reputa:on  

 And  you  have  to  connect  

How do you show up on the Net?

Social media has an amplifying power. Do you know how to use it?

Oakland Local: Case study in community engagement & social media marketing

Oakland Local Quick View

  Community news & media for Oakland, CA

  Non-profit with social justice mission

  First year’s budget: $58,000

  Focuses on issues, not neighborhoods

Oaklandlocal.com

Oaklandlocal.com: October 19, 2010

Who’s our audience?

People in the heart of Oakland*

Where do they live? • 49% live in the flatlands • 23% live in the hills

How old are they? • 44% under 35 • 28% between 36-45 • 30% over 45

What do they do? • 43 % Self-employed & small biz • 27.2% Non-profits • 18.5% Private sector • 17.3 % Tech • 14.8 % Teach or gov. job (*August 2010 survey)

Social media & OL

  Facebook: 4,300 friends; 950 active posters (Facebook Insite)

  Twitter: 2,500 + followers, 5-10 retweets daily   Flickr: Active flickr site & tags   Scribd: Over 5,000 downloads   YouTube, Vimeo, etc: Active video channels   Who posts? Team of 5 rotate responsibilities

What does this get us?

  Facebook & Twitter as top referrers   Powerful community connections: Facebook the AOL

of today; people hang out   Ability to engage, discuss, interact   Genuine connections with wide, diverse community   Ability to serve and empower

We MEASURE like crazy!

  Google analytics   Google search (reach, impact)   Facebook insites   Tweetreach   On-going analysis & course corrections

Some  of  the  lessons  we  have  learned  

Oakland Local Today

 1 YEAR OLD  308,000 VISITORS  1.2 MM PAGE VIEWS  42 local partners

 STRUGGLE IS OVER FUNDING: LAUNCHED WITH LITTLE $$$

Sustainability

  Ads, sponsorships, ads for events   Paid trainings: Oakland Local Academy, focused on

social media marketing   BAPP ad network (with Sac Press)   Donor campaign, 2011   It’s harder to build the sales & marketing team than

the training group or the editorial team

Observations

 As traditional news sites falter, new models emerges  Community foundations are NATURAL partners  Advocacy groups can use your platform, but you are NOT an advocacy group  Focus on issues not neighborhoods  Be lean

Build a platform for independent voices to be heard, issues examined

Oakland Local loves to share community strategies

Keep in touch

Twitter: @Susanmernit, @oaklandlocal Email: susan@oaklandlocal.com

Site: oaklandlocal.com Follow us on Facebook !