Citizen Media Notes

I was asked by Mark Glaser to jot down some thoughts on what I've learned since I launched Muncie Free Press on July 4, 2005. It was a good opportunity for me to reflect back as I approach MFP's second birthday.

Things to Note:

* Boots on the ground - building face-to-face relationships with members of the community is very important.

* Niches - There are very active people in these small groups. Start with one or two (plant the seeds, water them, watch grow) then expand into other areas as interest sparks on the site. (Ideas - Car Shows, Politics, Local Music, community groups, environmentalists/activists, hobbyists, local sports events - baseball leagues for kids, etc...)

* Networking - It's very unlikely you're going to have all the skill-sets needed for a grassroots journalism site, but you can overcome this quite easily by making connections with other people in the area. This will happen more on a national/global scale as some of us break-through to profitability, but until then, take advantage of the web and any local networking opportunities.

* Bartering - Need something from a local businessman? Try trading them a banner ad for the good or service. You might be surprised how often it works if you approach it right.

* Customer Service - Large corporations have a reputation for having horrible customer service a lot of the time. For many reasons, giving good customer service is very important. This means actually listening and responding to all requests that come in, ASAP. In the beginning this is relatively easy, but it gets harder as the numbers grow. Keep this in mind when you start hiring people, because getting back to people quickly and sincerely really has a good effect on your image in the community.

* Software - In the beginning, you don't have to re-invent the wheel. I highly recommend going with something like Drupal, a free, open-source CMS (There's even a newspaper company making modules for it...) I made the mistake of launching with Scoop, which doesn't have as large or active development community. Of course, this let me concentrate on pure content for a while, but it's also very essential (and easy) to stay three or four steps ahead of old media when it comes to web technology. Take advantage of the fact you're nimble and can turn on a dime.

* DIY - Having a DIY attitude is a definite plus. I've seen lots of companies and individuals burn through a lot of capital on things like billboards, high-priced web design firms, etc. This goes along with the old spend less than you earn adage. Remember that Google also scrounged for spare computer parts in the beginning.

* Transparency - Being open and honest and sharing information with the community also often takes you one or two steps ahead of old media in the area.

* Tribbles Effect - I've found a lot of success in helping other people with websites of their own. The biggest example is ElwoodIndiana.org. There are many advantages to spreading the power around to several people/companies in a region. (We really don't want to end up with something worse than we have now in the media landscape, do we?) Some would say this is a bad decision from a business viewpoint, but I disagree. I've seen nothing but good come from the relationships I've built up with other people running similar sites. (Think of Hannibal tromping across the Italian countryside, rallying people from villages all over... ;)

* Politics - Politics on the local, small town level are as big a deal (sometimes an even bigger deal) as national politics. These people are routinely forgotten by their local print newspapers, though. Use this to your advantage and make politics one of your target niches. It's usually really easy to find someone willing to spend the time to post on your site - and as long as you make it known where they're coming from ( i.e. Democrat, Libertarian, Republican, etc.) they're great contributors to any site.

Watch out for:

* Advertising/Editorial - Trying to balance atop the editorial/advertising wall is quite precarious, and I wouldn't recommend it. The wall is there for a very good reason. Find a third party and give them a cut of the sales or go with 3rd party national ad networks until you can hire or find a dedicated sales rep.

* Overconfidence - Starting an independent news site isn't impossible, but it's also not easy. Unless you have large sums of start-up capital, you really have to think about whether you're in a position to be able to start and keep going through the lean months. Having a skill-set that lends itself to freelancing is helpful. It doesn't have to be programming or web design either. If you're a writer, try to spend some time trying to make money with freelance writing gigs. In the beginning, with no steady stream of revenue, you have to spend at least some time thinking about money coming in.

New Directions:

* Physical Location - Remembering all the lessons above, I've managed to barter for office space in a town centrally located in East Central Indiana. Having a place for training and one on one interaction is important. I'll be expanding this idea over the next year.

* Revenue - While I'm getting decent returns from national ad networks, I'm moving into selling local ads. Working with a 3rd party, I should have more revenue, which means more time to build sites and community, giving him more ad spots to sell, etc.

* Changing Laws - In my state (and surely yours) there's an official definition of what a "newspaper" is. This is primarily because of legal announcements (classifieds), but also sometimes related to ability to carry a portable police scanner around. The problem is, these definitions were written before the Internet and make no mention of it whatsoever. Now, if I have a certain market share in an area, why can't city governments run their legal announcements with me online and save a lot of money in the process? I know old media is going to fight this one tooth and nail, but it's a worthy battle for the survival of independent media. (And I do realize there should be some qualifications, but it shouldn't necessarily be tied to print circulation anymore...)

* Print - There's still a lot of money to be made in print in the next 5 to 10 years, imho. A free weekly printed edition is a good thing and something I've been working toward for a while now.

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From Al Jordan (ElwoodIndiana.org (has no journalism experience, but a little web experience and a lot of business experience...)

• Arrest Reports - Really increased traffic.
• Visitors love the local information.
• Loves Drupal.
• The hardest part is getting to know the people to get things going - networking difficult in the beginning - people not taking the project seriously because it's not a 'print newspaper'... - once you breakthrough, though, it's great because they start working with you.
• It's addictive (being a publisher and growing a community) and fun.
• he's done enough businesses to know if you stick with it, it'll work and make you money eventually (that's for any business...)

Thoughts?

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