Changing media landscape adds yet another challenge to archivists of born-digital news content

On Nov. 2, just shy of the yearlong anniversary of his presidential victory, President Donald Trump’s Twitter account seemingly dissolved into history. For a fascinating and exhilarating 11 minutes, murmurs and conspiracy theories swept the internet: Was it a technological glitch? Had President Trump deleted his own account? Or had Twitter interpreted Trump’s digital demands … Continued

FL#180: Building interactive timelines with sponsored content from Tline

Interactive timeline tool Tline Tline is a new tool for creating interactive timelines that brings together publishers and advertisers. The timelines include sponsored advertisements and can be shared on social media or embedded on a site. Publishers have control over which ads are displayed on their timelines and receive a 50 percent share of the … Continued

FL#179: 6 favorite digital tools from Reported.ly

The Reported.ly team’s favorite digital tools Reported.ly was a news operation that covered breaking news primarily on social and distributed platforms. It was also the first place many people turned to verify developing stories. But in August, its parent company, First Look Media, pulled funding and shut down the site.   The Reported.ly team was … Continued

FL#176: NowThis innovations: Chatbots and Facebook Live

NowThis has been a pioneer in delivering video news exclusively on social platforms, and it grew quickly thanks to an ability to find new ways to reach young audiences. Now the company is pushing forward with technologies like chatbots and Facebook Live. Reporting by Hailey Godburn For more information: NowThis did away with publishing content … Continued

My internet, my right

My first computer was a Packard Bell with a 486DX2 processor that ran on Windows 98. I inherited it from my cousin when I started the third grade. I used the internet for the first time on that colossal machine. I would click the connection icon on the desktop, that infamous dial-up sound would echo … Continued

FL#170: Lessons from Reported.ly

Lessons from Reported.ly For 20 months, Reported.ly adopted a grassroots approach to telling stories by sourcing from social media to get perspectives from people around the world. But on Aug. 31, Reported.ly was shuttered after its parent company, First Look Media, pulled its funding. We spoke with Reported.ly founder and editor Andy Carvin about what … Continued

One more time with feeling: A new way to look at the presidential debates

With apologies to gone-viral Ken Bone, most Americans have decided who they’ll be voting for on Nov. 8. Some have already cast their vote. Therefore, this year’s three presidential debates may be more for show than substance. It’s probably also fair to say that most folks who watched the first two debates viewed the responses … Continued

FL#168: Electome from MIT Media Lab

Electome from MIT Media Lab Electome is a new tool from the Laboratory for Social Machines at the MIT Media Lab that uses data to help capture and analyze social media conversations around the 2016 presidential election. The system uses machine learning and natural language processing to analyze hundreds of millions of Tweets every day. … Continued