Zombie Journalism

These are my recommended links for the past couple of weeks (sorry, I’ve been busy!):

• New ‘WSJ’ Conduct Rules Target Twitter, Facebook – These rules for WSJ staff could and should be applied at any news organization. You want your reporters to be out there in social media – but there’s so much potential for disaster if they don’t conduct themselves very well. These are good rules to live by.
• Why journalists deserve low pay | csmonitor.com – Not that I’m advocating to be paid less, but they have a point: If we can’t find a way to provide unique value in this new world, the pay may not last long.
• Twitter’s Big News has Huge Implications for Search – Website Magazine – If this plays out, web pages could be ranked according to user interest and relationships rather than relying on incoming links and SEO. In short – you should start promoting your content on the social web as if your job depended on it (cause it might).
• How a 1995 court case kept the newspaper industry from competing online – Excellent analysis about the early days of newspapers getting into online communities – and royally screwing it up for years to come thanks to fear established by Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy.
• The Top 7 types of Twitter avatars :: 10,000 Words – I always stress to the reporters and brands in our company that they HAVE to get a Twitter icon. I don’t care what it is – but it can’t be the default. I wouldn’t assume the person tweeting was any sort of professional if they didn’t have an image of some sort.