Tag: news

CBS Partners With Twitter For The Upcoming #DemDebate

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Furthering the integration of social media into live TV events, Twitter has struck a partnership deal with CBS News to create an “enhanced viewer experience” for the upcoming Democratic debate on November 14. Using the designated #DemDebate hashtag, CBS News will incorporate real-time data and live reactions from Twitter into its broadcasting, and some Twitter users may even get to see their tweeted questions answered in the debate.

What Brands Need To Do
In a bid to engage with viewers who seek second-screen experiences, broadcasters are increasingly incorporating mobile platforms into live events. CNN livestreamed the most recent Democratic debate via its website and mobile apps, while MTV opted to livestream this Sunday’s EMAs in 360-degree videos via its mobile apps.

As the line between the TV screen and the second screens begins to blur, brands can get a better chance at reaching their audience through cross-platform targeting. Tapping into the granular personal data available on mobile devices would be key for brands to reach their desired audience during live events.

 

Source: Variety

Twitter To Reinvent Itself With “Project Lightning”

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

Twitter has been undergoing some major changes recently, including a leadership change, eliminating character limit in direct messages, and officially rolling out its autoplaying video ads. And now, reports claim that Twitter has been working on a new project codenamed “Project Lightning” that could help twitter reinvent how people see and search for tweets.

This new project will bring a curated news platform to Twitter, shifting its content focus from user’s timeline to breaking news and events as they happen in real time. A group of editors at Twitter will be handpicking and sorting relevant tweets into various event-based channels, enhancing Twitter’s appeal as a go-to site for real time news and events. Although still a few months away from launching, we could already foresee brands getting on board with timely tweets to get a piece of the amplified attention.

 

Correction: An earlier version of the post misspelled “Project Lighting” as “Lightening”.

Are Wearables The Next Tool For News Gathering?

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: The Drum

The Guardian is reportedly exploring ways to use wearable technology as a news-gathering tool as well as a new consumption platform. Sources claimed The Guardian was experimenting with a variety of wearable devices such as smartwatches and Google Glass, adding that it was also considering how wearables could be used to create news, such as using unobtrusive audio or video recording.

Event Recap: AdWeek — What Is Newsworthy?

Posted on by Lab Team

On Monday, Michael Roth, the Chairman & CEO of IPG, moderated an Advertising Week panel with Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Wall Street Journal; David Pemsel, Deputy Chief Executive, The Guardian; Pete Cashmore, CEO & Founder, Mashable; and Greg Coleman, President, Buzzfeed; in which they discussed the future of the news and advertising’s role.

Trust and Mission

Throughout the event, panelists kept returning to the importance of trust—the need to consistently deliver timely but reliable information. Building and maintaining that trust with the audience is a challenge for both traditional publishers and digital upstarts; as Cashmore explained, “new media companies got the business model and distribution right and are now trying to get trust right; others got trust right and are trying to move into digital.”

If “trust” unites publishers, “mission” distinguishes them from each other: Mashable believes its community is an essential part of the platform, whereas The Guardian emphasized its 200-year history and commitment to independence.

Native Advertising

Of course, advertising remains a crucial (though sometimes controversial) revenue source for news publishers. Ideally, native advertising is simply a story about a brand. At Buzzfeed, in fact, “the creative team talks to the client… Sounds kind of like an agency,” according to Coleman. Brand sponsorship can translate into longer lead times and higher production budgets, resulting in high-quality content; Cashmore noted that some of the ads on Mashable are shared twice as much as original content. That said, panelists agreed that it’s important to maintain trust by making clear what’s sponsored content.

Organizational Culture

Attracting the best talent has always been difficult, but the popularity of startups has made it even more of a struggle.   Ultimately, though, it comes back to trust and mission: if people believe in what your organization stands for, they will be inspired to produce the high-quality content publishers seek to deliver.

Breaking News App Uses Proximity Tech Right

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After launching its iOS app back in June, NBC’s Breaking News app is now bringing its proximity-based news alerts to the Android platform. It clearly asks for the user’s consent to use location information to enable this feature, and provides them with an easy opt-out as well. The news could be as local as a specific neighborhood or broadened to cover cities in the wake of major stories. The app stands out for offering a highly personalized news experience coupled with well-defined privacy measures.

Russia Announces Mobile Photography Ban For 2014 Winter Olympics

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The Sochi Winter Olympics, coming this January, are reportedly coming with a ban on any mobile photography by journalists.  In fact, the ban extends to all non-professional equipment, ruling out the possibility for reporting via Instagram, Vine, Whatsapp, Frontback, and any other media-creating platform presently shaking up what it means to broadcast information and media online.  This attempt at placing tight controls on the flow of news out of Russia during the games is not new – London tried to ban social media during its turn hosting the Olympics in 2012 – but the question remains, how effective can it be? Will journalists and news outlets be willing to risk their credentials to reach consumers faster, more effectively, and more intimately than ever before during one of the world’s testing grounds for media coverage?

Report: Majority Of Americans Favor TV For News

Posted on by Lab Team

It can be easy to get caught up in the latest news feeds and aggregation apps and forget about how the average American still accesses their news: through TV. A new Gallup poll shows that a little more than half of the US still stays informed through TV, compared to 27% who consume news online. Not surprisingly, print has plummeted to just 6-8% of those 64 or younger. Check out the full report for the comprehensive statistics. 

Yahoo Relaunches iPhone App Summly

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Yahoo’s relaunched its flagship purchase, Summly, for iPhone and iPod touch devices this morning. The app uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing algorithms to deliver short summaries beneath story headlines. The new features are prominently on display in the “Visual” mode, wherein headlines and summaries are overlaid atop blown-up thumbnail backgrounds. You can now also specify your section and topic preferences, making your Yahoo news experience more personalized. Yahoo also gave the app a major upgrade to its video and image searches. This is another big app release for Yahoo, who also released Weather and Mail apps last week, and demonstrates their continued effort to penetrate the mobile app market. 

Digital Storytelling: NYT’s ‘Snow Fall’

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To see an example of a newspaper innovating their digital offering, check out the New York Times’ special Snow Fall project. Using interactive graphics, media and a well written narrative, snow fall details a freak avalanche in Washington State but more importantly demonstrates a new way of storytelling in the digital age. The piece has received 2.9 million visits and 3.5 page views to date.