Mobile microsites: Tools, strategies for community engagement

Having a mobile-friendly web presence is a great way to inform and engage your community -- it's more universally accessible because people can link to it. But it doesn't have to be just one website. Small, special-purpose, mobile-friendly microsites also can be a powerful and effective way to drive engagement. Here's how and why you might want to try this approach.

Partnership boosts accountability in New Orleans

The City of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana have a history of non-transparent governance and budgeting. But that is changing rapidly through a public media transformation — supported by a community foundation — that could be a model for other places reeling from environmental and economic storms. 

Quick & dirty survey for community mobile market research

What does "mobile" look like in your community? If you want to engage your community via cell phones and tablets, you must meet people where they are. This means learning about the mobile devices, network access, tools and channels they already use -- as well as their current mobile skills, interests, and preferences

Storify: Popular curation platform tells stories with social media

Curation is one of those buzzwords we all hear today, but what does it mean exactly? This post looks at newer curation tools that newsrooms focused on civic engagement are using and tells stories of best practices in how to use them.

How puppies, kittens and smartphones can engage communities

If you want to engage your community around important matters, it's important to offer news, data and information -- but by themselves, these tools won't get the job done. Attracting and keeping the attention and enthusiasm of your community means connecting with people emotionally and personally, not just informationally. This is where community-focused digital media projects can borrow a page from advocates and activists.

That means adding puppies and kittens to your community engagement efforts. Fortunately no newspapers or scratching posts are required.

Reduce, reuse, recycle: Civic apps start to spread

How can we tell if open data and civic hacking really work -- or if they're just a distraction? 

Lessons from EveryBlock

What stands in the rubble of EveryBlock? A ton of lessons.

Everyblock shows how NOT to shut down a community site

Today Everyblock.com -- a pioneering project to gather and present local information, and enable community engagement around that information -- was shut down without warning by its owner, NBC News. The content that had been on the site (including posts by community members) is currently unavailable, with no word on whether archives might someday be accessible or exportable.

Fostering community engagement: Kill the trolls!

Every community has its hot-button issues and sacred cows -- and often these are exactly the topics that community news/info sites should address. The catch is, if your site allows comments, the comment threads attached to such content often gets derailed into flame wars or off-topic meanderings.

In a recent post, Scientific American blog editor Bora Zivkovic offered some sound advice for how sites can improve the quality of reader comments -- as well as some striking research demonstrating why you should undertake this effort, if you hope for your site to play a constructive and influential role in your community.

Rocky Mountain PBS, I-News and KUVO radio merger puts local news first

A merger of I-News Colorado, Rocky Mountain PBS  and public radio station KUVO (89.3 FM) puts local reporting and the public's need for information first.