Public Media Camp offers new ideas for old practices

Even if you don't know what Drupal is or what it means, if you're reading this article, you're using it right now.

Organizers used old technology to showcase different new media sessions - Photo by Andy MediciDrupal is the platform on which the American Observer is based. And other social media and news sites are following suit--NPR is just one site that uses Drupal to manage Web site content. Social media and programming were both topics of discussion at the Public Media Camp, a two-day gathering of social networking professionals and new media outlets.

Public Media Camp presenter, Ken Rickard, dedicated a session to explaining the widely used but rarely recognized platform known as Drupal.

During his presentation, "What is Drupal and Why Should You Care," Rickard explained the two major schools of thought when it comes to programming--the "Cathedral" and the "Bazaar." In the "Cathedral" style, used by Microsoft as one example, the code is protected and for users, untouchable. There is no way for the average citizen to alter the program. However, in the "Bazaar" model, which Drupal relies on, any user or group of users can collaborate on the software to fix bugs and add extended applications to it.

He said that Drupal accomplishes something very similar to what social media is trying to accomplish now.

“Drupal is similar to public media,” he said. “It's all about getting people who wouldn't otherwise be heard to get involved in the system. This is why we should use Drupal.”

Amy Wielunski, from WTMD in Baltimore, said in another session that while social networking is a great way to reach an audience and potential donors, it is not something that can be accomplished and built up as a spur of the moment project.

"We do a lot of things quickly, we do a lot of things haphazardly," Wielunski said.

She said one of her web projects to solicit new donors from social media was not a success at first, but she notes that it can still be a great project in the future, with the proper time. It was a case of too much, too soon.

"This isn't the kind of thing that's going to be effective when you do it that way," Wielunski said.

At a session about social media and saving local journalism, Mark Bertolet, from WDUQ, spoke about new social media and its potential for outreach and engagement.

He talked about use versus exploitation, and whether or not the concept of "looks" could duplicate traditional payment to reporters and editors. He said his station's coverage of the G20 showed the number of stations unable to provide their own original coverage, and they were able to serve a broader audience because of that.

"Everybody is looking for ways to use us for free," Bertolet said. 

Bertolet said that his station helps fill holes in the news staff by soliciting grant money to hire reporters for specialized projects. He pointed to a two-year grant that allowed WDUQ to hire a health reporter. He said that this might not work for everyone, or even a lot of people.

"I don't want to say that this is the answer," Bertolet said.

In another session, local bloggers and mainstream news media producers convened to discuss intersections of their content.
 
Bloggers and citizen journalists argued they cover local news better than mainstream organizations. Representatives from legacy media raised concerns about standards and ethics.
 
One blogger, in a direct comment to mainstream media reps, said: "We don't want to volunteer for you. We want to partner with you. No one is talking about partnerships."
 
An NPR producer told him she would want to pay him --- if he were actually freelancing.
 
"I have no interest in that. It takes away my voice," the blogger said.
 
Despite the heat, both sides mixed in a flurry of conversation promptly after the moderator ended the session.

Participants in another session geared towards including gamers in social media outreach brainstormed ways to use games to get people involved in community dialogue.

One of the most popular suggestions was for NPR to make a real-time version of their popular gameshow, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. Andy Carvin, the original tweeter of this idea, was retweeted by several other participants.

Other ideas participants posted to the session wiki included an NPR fantasy league, political fundraising games that really raise funds, games that encourage players to improve their communities, and games for mobile phones that combined geocaching with a real time event or museum tour.

Event curator Nina Walia, a gamer herself, acknowledged that gamers often slip through the cracks of public media targeting and must be targeted.

"The gamer demographic is one that public media needs to reach. It's where we lose a lot of people," she said.

"Social Media in Developing Countries," an intimate session on the first floor, called on participants to discuss the potential of social media--such as Twitter--to promote freedom and improve quality of life in the developing world.

Participants agreed that cell phones are the key to reaching people in developing countries. USAID Food for Peace information officer Kristina Libby spoke about the "technology leaps" that these populations take--they'll skip the age of computing. She referred to an Internews report she read recently about how the ubiquity of the cell phone is fast approaching.
 
Although experts may have identified the necessary communication tool, identifying why and how it is used remains a challenge. One thing seems sure--these populations are becoming efficient users of their phones. Libby said in Kenya, people transfer money between bank accounts via cell phone. "I couldn't do that," she said.

"I think we underestimate what these people in developing countries can do," Libby said. "Maybe they...need to teach me."