A great success

• Just to report that our meeting on Oct 16th was a great success – both in terms of the turn-out and the content.
  In attendance were (in no particular order and sorry if I got a job title wrong or missed somebody out):
  Sarah Hartley, Manchester Evening News
  Jon Barron, Yorkshire Weekly newspapers
  Oliver Luft, www.journalism.co.uk
  Chris Leggett, electronic editor MNA
  Ian Harvey, assistant electronic editor MNA
  Arup Biswas, Group Editorial Content manager, Johnston Press
  David Higgerson, diigial editor, Daily Post
  Rob Artisan, PR
  Steve Bennedick, head of SKY news online
  Nick Turner, CN Group
  Craig McGinty, freelance journalist and blogger
  Lee Swettenham, Guardian Media Weekly Newsapapers
  Shelina Begum, theasiannews.co.uk
  Mike Hill, Lancashire Evening Post
  Andy Dickinson, UCLan video journalism
  
  Andy Dickinson led a discussion about video journalism that was packed full of useful tips and useful info
  Craig McGinty then pointed the way for newspapers wishing to connect to the blogosphere
  Finally I kicked off a session on what drives web traffic
  
  Among the ideas and tips shared during the session were:
  Using Soundslides.com, Windows Media Player or Microsoft Photostory to create slideshow presentations that combine still pictures and audio
  http://www.sitbonzo.com/ which is created by the Croydon Advertiser is a good example of how to do this
  Videos posted on YouTube can be used to trail content in paper or on your website
  Why not make DVDs of your video content? If you make over 100 they only cost £1.50 each
  2-3 mins of video take 2-3 hours to produce
  http://www.podsafemusic.com/ is a good source of free music for podcasts and videos
  Some papers have begun to negotiate agreements to use sound clips of pop music in their videos. More information at: http://www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk/
  Help community groups to set up blogs which you can monitor through RSS and take copy from
  Set up blogs for interest groups such as fishing to help plug gaps in your coverage
  Ensure your pages, copy and videos can be linked to by bloggers
  Give clips of content to bloggers when you have content to promote eg an interview with a celeb who will have an online community eager to devour any content about their hero
  Use a Flickr account as a way to receive readers’ pictures
  Compile a directory of local bloggers
  White-label fantasy football (with password in print for transfers) has been a big traffic driver for some websites – sponsored by DIY store with their name incorporated into team graphics
  Check http://www.gonetoosoon.co.uk/ for memorials of local people which may lead to stories
  Nightclub pictures have proved so popular that a gallery of them has been sponsored and may lead to a standalone website
  Headlines using full names of sports players and other popular terms may lead to spikes in traffic thanks to google news alerts