How can tech support quality journalism?

(Photo credit @nickmorrison)

#techtopic

With the rise of online advertising, social media, amateur news bloggers, and online news sites, the state of quality journalism has declined. First problem: how do we define news these days? 

The Pew Research Center includes a huge variety of things under “news media” (including audio, podcasts, network news, cable news, digital news, newspapers and public broadcasting) - all with the goal of providing news and information to inform the public about the important events of the day. Digital news is probably the murkiest area of news as it’s so hard to know who wrote the articles you’re readying and where they sourced their articles. 

Second problem: how do we know if we can trust the news we read online?

One step is to identify who owns the outlets from which you’re reading. You can also check out my recent blog on combatting fake news. For the recent US presidential election, the AP News used blockchain to help certify results and distribute them widely through their API. 

Third challenge: what tech is being used by tech companies, journalists & news media to do the work of news-making more effective & efficient? My college friend Jeremy just wrote up an article describing Google’s new Journalist Studio, a suite of tools to help journalists with data visualization. Another former Google colleague’s startup Brief is a news app that combines content from journalists and organized by algorithms (and recently launched a Supreme Court tracker). This is similar to SmartNews and Flipboard who are sites which aggregate the news -- but I found SmartNews to be actively combatting the ‘echo chamber’ problem by using algorithms to encourage discovery, especially with local news. There are definite pitfalls to be aware of (see the huge bust of JImmy Wales’ WikiTribune) but more needs to be done to bolster local and national news media to ensure important news of the day is being reported on properly. 

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Create your business culture

(Photo credit @cowomen)

Last fall, Tim Ferriss interviewed Ben Horowitz, the co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The initial topic was Ben’s new book What You Do is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture.  For anyone who wants to nerd out on ancient history and how it connects to building a company today, this talk will be very informative. 

• Podcast episode with transcript 

• Highlights:

  • “One of the key insights from Bushido is that a culture is not a set of beliefs, it’s a set of actions.”

  • How do you distinguish between leadership and management? Leadership is the art of getting people to follow you (and as Colin Powell said, if only out of curiosity.) Have a vision, be inspiring, create a feeling among people that you care about them, their goals and objectives. Management is about operationalizing that vision that you articulated and communicating with the right people to get things done. Leadership is a little more on the creative side, management requires a little more discipline and systematization. 

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#random

9,000-Year-Old Burial of Female Hunter Upends Beliefs About Prehistoric Gender Roles

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Take a listen to these podcasts on leadership, company building, & creativity

(Photo credit @cdx2)

Last week was the longest year of my life. (Yes, I am so tired that I’m quoting memes!) 

Last week drained many of us in the US, so this week is aimed at getting you advice via voice. Take a moment to check out a couple of podcast episodes that I really enjoyed recently. Listen and enjoy! 

#techtopic

Earlier this week, Jessi Hempel of LinkedIn interviewed Natalie Nixon about cultivating creativity on the podcast ‘Hello Monday.’ I really enjoy starting my week listening to these conversations as Jessi does a great job connecting with her guest, and bringing unique stories and perspectives to the conversation. Creativity is such an integral part of the DNA of how a tech company operates that I wanted to highlight this conversation. 

• Podcast episode (~30min)

• Highlights:

  • The definition of creativity: "It’s our ability to toggle between wonder and rigor to solve problems."

  • On fostering creativity: "It's much more about being equipped to fall in love with process versus being solutions based and solutions-oriented.  We can exercise and cultivate creativity through what I call the three 'I's. And the three 'I's are inquiry, improvisation, and intuition."

  • Creativity is a muscle that anyone can exercise, and more people should as it will help you to be a better employee.

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