If you haven’t noticed, social media has become an integral part of news reporting. By integral, I mean they can’t stop talking about it. But as of now, social media is far from being fully utilized in journalism. For the past year I’ve worked for an online news company, I was surprised to see much of the great content from YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook had gone unnoticed by mainstream media.

I can’t remember how many times we poked fun of a particular news anchor from a major news network for his Twitter reporting style. All he did was pointing the camera at his screen and start reading other people’s Tweets. If you watch “How I Met Your Mother”, think Sandy Rivers. The resemblance is uncanny.

Theoretically, technology has made it possible for anyone to become a journalist. Anyone can write a news article and publish it online, and if he’s close to the scene, he might even have exclusive photos or videos that mainstream networks don’t. But in reality few of us would be interested in writing a news story. Instead, we would much rather share photos and footage, because the process is simple and relatively effortless.

Using Social Media for Photos and Videos

Aren’t you tired of the same photos from AP or Getty Images? If you have access to them, everyone else does. Sometimes you can find surprisingly good footage shot by witness at the scene.

Note that the user might not have knowledge of what’s happening there. Choose broad search terms to avoid filtering out quality content. For example, for a school lock down incident, you can search for the school name, neighborhood, street names, or simply the word lock down (or “lockdown” and other variations). I’ve had success finding out what happened in a school lock down incident through the Tweets of students in the building.

If you are searching for footage from a foreign country, try searching in their language. Chances are these are the same footage the big guys will be using.

Social Media Platforms

Twitter is usually the fastest for first-hand reports and photos. It can take up to hours before footage show up on YouTube, because users may need to find a computer to upload their video. Photos on Flickr may take the longest to show up, because users need to transfer photos from their cameras to a computer before they can upload.

Twitter

For breaking news, Twitter is your best bet for first-hand reports and photos. Many Twitter users own iPhone, Blackberry, or other types smart phones that enables them to send reports and photos at the scene.

An effective way of finding photos on Twitter is through PicFog. Technically the photos are hosted by different service providers, but PicFog pools them together for easy browsing. Twitter users can upload videos using services such as Twitvid, but as of now they are uncommon.

Sometimes you can find photos of celebrities through their family and friends. Try searching for their first names because friends rarely refer to each other by their last or full names.

YouTube

When searching for YouTube videos, use broad search terms as well, and sort videos by uploaded dates. Be cautious not to pick copyrighted videos for your coverage. Some news agencies do upload their video footage to their official YouTube channel, and in this case, you are free to use them.

Flickr

Similar to YouTube, a good idea is to sort photos by uploaded date and search by location. Flickr is an excellent source for high quality photos. Since most Flickr users are amateur photographers, if you ask nicely they may grant you the permission to publish their photos for little or no fees.

Facebook

A Facebook fan page search may turn up interesting discussions worthy of reporting. Many celebrities, organizations, and businesses have set up Facebook fan pages. It’s usually the place where you can find the people who are affected by or feel strongly about the incident.

Hi I’m back from slacking off.

A lot had happened in 2008: the Olympics, the elections (yes, there were more than one), and the market going apeshit. I’d say 2009 will be an in-between year though. It’s not quite 2010, another symbolic coming of a new decade and the much anticipated Winter Olympics here in Vancouver.

Instead, if the predictions are correct, 2009 will be one crappy year to live through. People worry about how long the recession is going to last and more signs of trouble in environment front.

I remain hopeful though. Could it be that we are in a healthy state of fear?

In 2001, after the dotcom bust and 9/11 attack, people were fearful, governments were able to push through major decisions. Well.. that didn’t go so well. At the same time it showed that, in crisis, people are more willing to cooperate or compromise. If the leader leads, people will follow because the status quo is not working.

Now in 2009, I really really hope Obama and, more importantly, the big brains around him don’t screw up. They have the golden opportunity to make big changes and push through the necessary policies for future generations.

Thomas Friedman says the best. We need a Reboot.

Starbucks has just launched a campaign. Here is a paragraph taken directly from the (RED) campaign website.

The much anticipated Starbucks Holiday beverages will turn (RED)™ from November 27 through January 2. Customers’ daily visit to Starbucks can directly help saves lives in Africa. For every purchase of a (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE beverage – Peppermint Mocha Twist, Gingersnap Latte and Espresso Truffle – at participating stores in the U.S. and Canada, Starbucks will contribute five cents to the Global Fund to invest in AIDS programs in Africa. Additionally, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day, on Monday, December 1, Starbucks will extend the five cent contribution to every hand-crafted beverage purchased at participating stores as a continued way to save lives in Africa.

Every company should be very careful when they do cause related marketing (CRM). Doing it wrong would be counterproductive. Here is consumers’ perception: “I pay $4 or $5 for your (overpriced) coffee, and you are only giving out 5 cents? That’s only 1%. I might as well donate money to charity myself!” (but probably end up forgetting it)

Now consider this: Starbucks is in a crisis mode now. Their net income has dropped 97% due to economic slowdown and store closures. Their operating profit margins is now at 0.6%, comparing to 10.2% last year. Yet they still decided to push this campaign forward. Some say it’s just a marketing ploy in an effort to boost sales and get good publicity. I don’t know. Maybe Howie really wants to help Africa, and he can, considering in 2007 their revenue was $9.4 billion, and even 0.5% of that in one month is $4 million.

But I think they got it all wrong. Starbucks should be helping customers to do the right thing, instead of asking customers to help them do the right thing.

People might have an unreasonable expectation toward Starbucks, and they can never be generous enough. At the same time, we probably don’t want to put our retirement fund in a company that donates 100% of its profit. Therefore, the responsibility for generosity should be placed on customers, not Starbucks.

So how could Starbucks do differently?

Starbucks can have their cashiers ask customers if they would like to donate their change. For example, $4.10 could be round up to $4.50 or even $5.00, that is 10% and 22% respectively. MUCH better than 1% right? Most people would do it. I mean, who doesn’t care about Africa, especially when we are asked to donate only few cents for the world’s most underprivileged.

This is an old tactic, and it has a few drawbacks. First, it might be too intrusive. Second, it will slow down the line because it takes time for cashiers to explain the whole thing. Third, it’s only good for a short period of time. Having it last too long could create donors’ fatigue. Lastly, it’s not effective in boosting sales.

So I have an even better idea. Why not issue a new line of Starbucks Card called “Round for the World” or something.

When you use this card, every time it automatically rounds up for donation. On the receipt it will say how much you have donated to date. You can register the card online to enter the hall of fame (of philanthropist / coffee addict) or vote on what projects to support. It could be a gift that carries more significance than a regular gift card. I am no accountant, but perhaps the interest of the unearned revenue from these cards could be donated as well?

Most importantly, this program would be on-going. It will be part of the Starbucks brand, and the center piece of the company’s social responsibility effort.

Of course, I am not just talking about Starbucks here.

Do you think this will work? Any drawback I overlooked? Other ideas?

Update [Dec. 7, 2008]: Just submitted the idea to Starbucks Idea website. I’m hoping it doesn’t get buried by suggestions about mug designs or installing fish tanks. So if you like the idea, go bump it up! I actually want to see this happen and not just talk about it.

Featured in Terry*: Philanthropic Consumption: Starbucks’ (RED) Campaign and What They Should’ve Done