Who needs a full time web developer?

Hire a company to do it for you.

I had an interview today with Jean Dubail, the AME/Online at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. They've been working with a California-based company called Caspio. Basic idea is that you get them your data through a wizard on their servers. They will then generate html code that you import onto your pagees. Readers can then search the database from your site, pulling information from their servers. Cleveland.com has used this a great deal for campaign finance information, crime, etc. Seems like a great way to get the developer in your hands when you need them most.

Couple examples built with the help of this Caspio technology:
Guitarmania http://www.cleveland.com/guitarmania/
A United Way fundraiser - like the cows or the rocking chairs Charlotte had a while back. Start from this database, pick the guitar you want to look at and it pulls the vitals from the database and then maps the location for you.

The King James Statistical Bible http://www.cleveland.com/sports/lebron_stats/
One of Dubail's favorites, this one lets you take a look at Lebron's stats in any number of ways.

Earthquake report http://www.cleveland.com/weather/earthquake_report/
A minor earthquake a couple months ago. The website asked readers to add their information to the database. It's then mapped on a Google map.

Cleveland.com's top hits are routinely sports - with the Cavs in the NBA Finals that's off the charts right now. Browns fans can't get enough. Dubail gave me today's stats: the top 5 stories were all sports. About half of Monday's unique visitors went to sports pages and accounted for about 45% of the page views.
They're developing a database of all things Browns that will encompass the 60-some year history of the team. It's taking a lot of manpower, but they're aiming to have it running in time for preseason. The hope is this database will let you search game by game for stats AND for stories from the PD. There's also one in the works for a huge high school sports database of schedules, records, results and the like.
For a town where sports traffic means big business, these two seem like fabulous ideas.

Facebook and identity

Howard Weaver has started a Facebook group for McClatchy. (Registration required, you can use your work email address if you're not already on Facebook).
He's my first friend. Trisha O'Connor from Myrtle Beach is on there too. She was in Charlotte long ago.
Try it out if you're brave, though the time involved with creating and choosing an identity there, along with maintaining a profile at LinkedIn, seems unwieldy and overwhelming.
LinkedIn is a business-oriented grownup kind of Facebook. Many people whose work depends on networks use it heavily. Like: real estate people, IT people, investment advisers, consultants.
The addition of Facebook to the mix raises all kinds of questions about self-awareness, defining your community, and even spying on your kids. Unlike LinkedIn, Facebook users generally show pictures of themselves. Rather daunting when one is gray-haired.
Bonus: If you have a UNC email address and join the UNC network on Facebook, you can see the wall postings of your kids' friends who are going to that fine institution. Gads, say the kids. But they need to be aware....
I'm unsure whether UNC alums with alumni email become part of the same network as current UNC students.

Facebook appears to have been a place for folks of a certain age previously. It'll be interesting to see whether more experienced folks go there, and how they interact with the younger ones.

Overheard...

... from an intern training session. Intern was asking about what video editing software we use:

"I haven't done a print-only story since freshman year."

Which is interesting. I've talked with people who say they're seeing J-school students coming out with NO multimedia experience. But, I've also talked with people who are impressed with the caliber of multimedia skills students have. One in particular mentioned the strength of the program at UNC.

My contact at the Tampa Tribune's site tbo.com, told me in an email interview:

"We recruit recent graduates for our corporate multimedia intern program, in which participants spend time in all three parts of the operation. It's been a great success, with several of the interns getting jobs upon completion. Surprisingly, we're seeing only a small proportion of students with broad multimedia experience, although that number is growing."

Here's hoping we give this class of interns some room to stretch into more than just print only stories. What other schools are doing great things with multi-platform journalism education?

Biking to work and pie in the sky

Rumor has it a 50-something editor is planning to join the bike-to-work crowd.

If he can do it, maybe I can too. Hey, a mentoring website offers help, with links.

Wish we had a web place at charlotte.com to link together all these nonprofit resources out there. Maybe we could help them sell ads to fund their work.

Pie in the sky. I need to just step away from the computer and go work out....

Newspapers working on newscasts

From Broadcasting & Cable, examples of papers in Roanoke, Va., Naples, Fla., and Wilmington, Del., that are producing daily webcasts with bits of the day's news.

In the race to capitalize on the popularity of broadband video, newspapers are continuing to take a page from TV stations’ playbooks by producing increasingly sophisticated newscasts and other Web programs. And although the newscasts may not pose a threat to stations’ ratings, newspaper executives are hoping they will help secure their lead over broadcasters in the battle for local ad revenues on the Web. ...

When it comes to online advertising, papers have the upper hand: According to a study from Borrell Associates, they control 36% of all locally spent, online advertising, well ahead of TV stations’ 7.7%. ...

The Roanoke Times offers a daily afternoon program produced in a new multimedia studio and control room. The Naples (Fla.) Daily News produces 30-minute daily “VODcasts” on its online channel, Studio 55. And Gannett’s Wilmington, Del.-based News Journal offers the twice-daily Delaware Online, which features a dedicated Web anchor.
(Click above to see the videos.)

I'll betcha we already have the resources and technology to pull something like this off. Maybe make the most of that WCNC partnership...

The idea of traffic

If you're ready for some heavy-duty reading about traffic and the structure of websites, see Buzz Machine from May 29.
If you'd rather have some edgy eye candy, try We Are Sharks and We Never Stop Swimming..
One of those pages links to a multimedia presentation on the effects of Chernobyl. Go there if you have a home high-speed connection and audio turned on.
Chernobyl photo essay.

Who's reading?

If blogging has its narcissistic elements, why not add voyeuristic as well?
The Naked City has added a little Sitemeter bug at the bottom of the blog, and now Mary Newsom can see where her readers are, when they're visiting and where they're coming from.
Other visitors can click on the bug as well.
Actually, there is business value here: We always say it's important to know who your readers are. And this feature allows bloggers to measure their traffic, to answer Cheryl's question, "What Drives Traffic?"
Perhaps an added bonus: Will such a little bug deter nasty posters?
Bonus No. 2: Don't go to the other Naked City blog by mistake. Unless you're about to spend an academic year in Boston.