Recommended reading on start-ups, tech & social media

I’ve been all over the place with my reading of late. Here’s a few notable bits I wanted to pass on before this week really jumps off.

• Google Fast Flip may not be great for media – Google’s roll-out of Fast Flip and improvements to Checkout aimed at a micropayment model for newspapers sound like great ideas for an industry lacking them – but the SF Gate takes a critical look (and rightly so).
• Inside Word: For Media Companies, The ‘Package’ Is More Important Than The Contents – If news sites were to package their news in innovative and eye-catching ways that make it more appealing to readers, maybe they wouldn’t go looking for content elsewhere.
• Nieman Reports on Social Media and Journalism – The Nieman crew has turned out a great report examining the use of social media in journalism (and vice versa) and what it can mean for the future.
• Howard Owens shows how journalists can become successful news entrepreneurs – Owens gives out so much knowledge of what one can expect at a journalism start-up. As big media companies layoff more journalists, they might look to his model to get themselves back in the field.
• Video: Rafat @ USC Annenberg On Entrepreneurial Journalism – Rafat Ali, publisher and editor of paidContent and ContentNext Media, talks about entrepreneurial journalism in a discussion at USC Annenberg.
• What news websites are missing: useful, real-time municipal traffic and transit reports – Newspapers can compete with TV and radio on traffic news. These days, you don’t need a helicopter to get real-time traffic data – the key is making it easy for the average user.
• Ten reasons why you should unfollow me – It seems like a good policy for everyone on Twitter to have a mission statement in this vein. If you are doing a mixed professional and personal account, say so.