Tech Tools
The following online resources are available to help maximize and customize the web and social media experience of publications and their users. Also included are several pointers from media organizations on the best tools and practices of emerging technological platforms.
This collection is intended to provide information and ideas for our members to use, but AAN does not endorse any of the sites, products or services listed.
CMS Guide
Design Tools
Editorial Tools
Mobile Ad Networks
Social Media Tools
Web Tools
Tips and Tricks
Zeega is an open-source HTML5 platform for creating "interactive documentaries" and inventing new forms of storytelling. Zeega allows users to collaborate in producing, curating and publishing participatory multimedia projects on web, tablet and mobile devices. Sign up for updates and to become a beta tester. Also a web tool.
Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that features a zoomable canvas that allows for exploration of ideas and the connections between them.
Many Eyes provides web-based data visualisation tools from IBM. The site allows users to upload data and then produce graphic representations, from a variety of available templates and types, for others to view and comment upon.
Storyful helps to find people closer to the story. It works with those at the center of the action to capture turning points in history with words, pictures and video. Using the storybuilding tool enables users to publish on its site and reach a global audience.
Contently is a platform that works with brands to develop shareable content that promotes engagement with actual people, not search robots. The site promotes a high quality content strategy, as well as editorial tools and engagement tracking. Also features professional journalists and bloggers for hire.
Own Local provides state-of-the-art technology and design options for local publications' online platforms.
Designed by publishers and for publishers, Magazine Manager can help save time with its software that integrates sales, production, circulation and accounting workflow into one database, allowing users to monitor the entire process of ad sales.
Submittable simplifies file management and collaboration, making it ideal for accepting and reviewing various forms of content, such as editorial writing, resumes and applications. Also a web tool.
Google + remains a mystery to many. Here, The Huffington Posts gives 15 suggestions on how to navigate Google +. Mashable also has list of how journalists are using the site to connect to a new audience.
Storify is a real time curation platform that allows people to find and use relevant social media postings and turn it into a story. Creator Burt Herman shows how to assemble and share stories with Storify, then embed them onto other sites to increase reach and engagement in this presentation.
HootSuite allows management of multiple social networking sites through a singular dashboard. Other features include RSS integration, custom url creation and custom analytics creation. Also available for iPads.
SoundCloud shows real-time interaction with and reaction to a sound clip within online communities, websites and apps.
TweetDeck is an application that allows users to post, receive and search for updates on social networks. Anthony DeRosa, social media editor at Reuters, demonstrates how to use Tweetdeck for crowdsourcing in this video.
OnlyWire lets publishers, bloggers and website owners to auto-submit content to popular social media sites, managing one site.
SocialNewsDesk provides tools to increase user engagement, enforces best practices with a specialized interface and allows for cultivating content and interaction with followers through one centralized system.
Instagram, an iPhone app, lets users edit photos on their phone and send them to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr.
Empire Avenue is a "social stock market;" users discover interesting people online and invest virtual currency in their profiles, creating new connections.
Keepstream curates visual collections of the best web content found on Twitter and other social platforms.
Seesmic is a suite of social media management and collaboration tools that provide businesses and individuals with what they need to build their brands online.
NowSpots helps publishers turn social media into revenue.
dlvr.it helps publishers deliver their content to the social web, including Twitter and Facebook.
Shoutlet is enterprise social media management software. Social CRM for Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. HTML5 web apps. Facebook Page moderation and design.
KickApps allows users to socially enable existing sites, create a social site from scratch, distribute & monetize your video content and much more.
BranchOut helps users expand their career network to include absolutely everyone they know on Facebook.
Edit Flow allows users who use WordPress to create custom statuses, a calendar, editorial comments and more for sharing and collaboration.
TweetReach works with Twitter, to show users how effective their tweets are, breaking down such information as whoâs talking about it, how many people saw it, and who those people are.
By using the Twitter search function, you can see what others are saying about issues relevant to you, track your competitors and generate story ideas.
Traackr helps users find and follow the best experts relevant to their field.
ReFollow works with Twitter to connect users to those more relevant to them to establish and maintain useful relationships.
ArgyleSocial allows users to multitask with one dashboard to monitor their Facebook and Twitter accounts and delegate tasks.
With Tweetlevel, users can search specific hashtags and determine others' social media influence, among other things.
SocMetrics is a tool that allows users to identify influencers, interact with them and monitor social media campaigns.
Social Scope is an app for Blackberry, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile users that creates one dashboard for both their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
NewsCloud is free, open source software platform that provides a suite of Facebook-connected interactive features to help users create a vibrant online community for any environment.
Shareabouts is an open source mapping application for crowdsource gathering.
Sprout Social gives users comprehensive data on how and how often others interact with their social networks.
This collection is intended to provide information and ideas for our members to use, but AAN does not endorse any of the sites, products or services listed.
Design Tools
Visual.ly allows users to create infographics and visualizations that give readers a new way of experiencing data. Organizations such as The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN have used the site to help illustrate points in their reporting.Zeega is an open-source HTML5 platform for creating "interactive documentaries" and inventing new forms of storytelling. Zeega allows users to collaborate in producing, curating and publishing participatory multimedia projects on web, tablet and mobile devices. Sign up for updates and to become a beta tester. Also a web tool.
Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software that features a zoomable canvas that allows for exploration of ideas and the connections between them.
Many Eyes provides web-based data visualisation tools from IBM. The site allows users to upload data and then produce graphic representations, from a variety of available templates and types, for others to view and comment upon.
Editorial Tools
iThenticate is the leading provider of professional plagiarism detection and prevention technology. The site allows publishers and researchers to upload and scan documents, manuscripts, research and other professional works to compare against 14 billion web pages and 110 million content items from leading academic publications.Storyful helps to find people closer to the story. It works with those at the center of the action to capture turning points in history with words, pictures and video. Using the storybuilding tool enables users to publish on its site and reach a global audience.
Contently is a platform that works with brands to develop shareable content that promotes engagement with actual people, not search robots. The site promotes a high quality content strategy, as well as editorial tools and engagement tracking. Also features professional journalists and bloggers for hire.
Own Local provides state-of-the-art technology and design options for local publications' online platforms.
Designed by publishers and for publishers, Magazine Manager can help save time with its software that integrates sales, production, circulation and accounting workflow into one database, allowing users to monitor the entire process of ad sales.
Submittable simplifies file management and collaboration, making it ideal for accepting and reviewing various forms of content, such as editorial writing, resumes and applications. Also a web tool.
Social Media Tools
Facebook's suggestions for Social Design, or making your site more interactive. Also, this analysis shows how news pages keep readers engaged.Google + remains a mystery to many. Here, The Huffington Posts gives 15 suggestions on how to navigate Google +. Mashable also has list of how journalists are using the site to connect to a new audience.
Storify is a real time curation platform that allows people to find and use relevant social media postings and turn it into a story. Creator Burt Herman shows how to assemble and share stories with Storify, then embed them onto other sites to increase reach and engagement in this presentation.
HootSuite allows management of multiple social networking sites through a singular dashboard. Other features include RSS integration, custom url creation and custom analytics creation. Also available for iPads.
SoundCloud shows real-time interaction with and reaction to a sound clip within online communities, websites and apps.
TweetDeck is an application that allows users to post, receive and search for updates on social networks. Anthony DeRosa, social media editor at Reuters, demonstrates how to use Tweetdeck for crowdsourcing in this video.
OnlyWire lets publishers, bloggers and website owners to auto-submit content to popular social media sites, managing one site.
SocialNewsDesk provides tools to increase user engagement, enforces best practices with a specialized interface and allows for cultivating content and interaction with followers through one centralized system.
Instagram, an iPhone app, lets users edit photos on their phone and send them to Facebook, Twitter or Flickr.
Empire Avenue is a "social stock market;" users discover interesting people online and invest virtual currency in their profiles, creating new connections.
Keepstream curates visual collections of the best web content found on Twitter and other social platforms.
Seesmic is a suite of social media management and collaboration tools that provide businesses and individuals with what they need to build their brands online.
NowSpots helps publishers turn social media into revenue.
dlvr.it helps publishers deliver their content to the social web, including Twitter and Facebook.
Shoutlet is enterprise social media management software. Social CRM for Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. HTML5 web apps. Facebook Page moderation and design.
KickApps allows users to socially enable existing sites, create a social site from scratch, distribute & monetize your video content and much more.
BranchOut helps users expand their career network to include absolutely everyone they know on Facebook.
Edit Flow allows users who use WordPress to create custom statuses, a calendar, editorial comments and more for sharing and collaboration.
TweetReach works with Twitter, to show users how effective their tweets are, breaking down such information as whoâs talking about it, how many people saw it, and who those people are.
By using the Twitter search function, you can see what others are saying about issues relevant to you, track your competitors and generate story ideas.
Traackr helps users find and follow the best experts relevant to their field.
ReFollow works with Twitter to connect users to those more relevant to them to establish and maintain useful relationships.
ArgyleSocial allows users to multitask with one dashboard to monitor their Facebook and Twitter accounts and delegate tasks.
With Tweetlevel, users can search specific hashtags and determine others' social media influence, among other things.
SocMetrics is a tool that allows users to identify influencers, interact with them and monitor social media campaigns.
Social Scope is an app for Blackberry, iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile users that creates one dashboard for both their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
NewsCloud is free, open source software platform that provides a suite of Facebook-connected interactive features to help users create a vibrant online community for any environment.
Shareabouts is an open source mapping application for crowdsource gathering.
Sprout Social gives users comprehensive data on how and how often others interact with their social networks.
Web Tools
- From the 2012 AAN Web Conference: Cool free (or nearly free) tools for data, documents and publishing (Sarah Cohen, Duke University)
- Google Forms allows for users to create forms that can then be used in a spreadsheet. They also have the potential for crowdsourcing, as demonstrated by ProPublica's Amanda Mitchel. Also an editorial tool.
- Topsy displays real-time results in social media for related terms & articles, trending topics, identifies "experts" for any queried term and shows trackback pages for everything in its index, displaying what everyone is saying about that query. Bing Social also allows you to search social networks.
- Quora lets users create and edit a collection of questions, with the goal of becoming the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about the question.
- Newsbeat tracks activity of every page published in real time, while algorithms predict the path of each story and alerts publishers to unusual activity, so they can know what to act on, when it matters most.
- IgnitionOne is an online marketing tool that utilizes a âclosed loopâ Digital Marketing Suite, offering multiple solutions to improve online performance within a single interface, from managing and optimizing online advertising.
- Marin Software provides an online advertising management platform for advertisers and agencies to manage paid search, social, display, and mobile campaigns.
- Instapaper allows users to simply save web pages for reading later, through whatever medium they choose--computer, smartphone or old-fashioned paper.
- UMapper makes it easy to create, manage, distribute and monetize online maps.
- Dropbox is a free service that lets users upload photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them.
- Posterous is a publishing platform where users can manage a website and share it with small groups or the world.
- Using Crowd11, anyone can create a list on any topic, add items to lists, and vote on the items. The result is a live, relevant and ever-growing collection of socially created and ranked opinions. Currently in beta.
- MediaWiki is a free software open source wiki package. Pages use a wikitext format, so that users without knowledge of XHTML or CSS can edit them easily.
- Mobify is a tool for developing a mobile optimized version of an existing website.
- OpenX is an independent provider of digital advertising technology that enables businesses to manage and maximize ad revenue.
- Shazam's Killer "Revenue App": Combining User Behavior and Email Marketing
- Disqus is a global comment system that promotes discussion on websites and connects conversations across the web.
- Mashery is a provider of API management services, enabling companies to focus on building their core software.
- Trove is a personalized news engine that lets users customize the way they view online stories.
- Brightcove Video Cloud is a video hosting site that gives users everything needed to deliver professional quality video to audiences on every screen.
- ReachLocal helps local and national businesses reach more local customers through Internet advertising and online marketing services.
- Demand Media is an online media company that informs, entertains and connects users.
- Blekko uses slashtags (keywords prefaced with a "/" to restrict searched sites to various topics and offers public site statistics for webmasters.
- Fathom is an interactive knowledge organization, combining major world wide universities who manage this searchable database. Project is presently launching.
- Quantcast and allows advertisers to view free audience reports on millions of web properties.
- Vuze is a searchable site for downloadable and playable HD video.
- The Atavist is an online publishing house producing original, long form nonfiction stories for mobile reading devices.
- MapBuilder is a tool that allows users create customizable maps that can then be embedded into a website.
- amMap is another mapmaking tool, that also creates animated, multiple-level maps using Flash.
- OpenPlans is a non-profit that builds open source software in an effort to open up government and improve transportation systems.
- MapBox, a mapmaking tool that offers visualizations made from open data and provides and a platform for publishing maps on web and mobile applications.
- Code for America is a non-profit that provides web-based solutions for various city projects.
- Razoo allows users to create and manage fundraising campaigns, as well as contribute to others.
- Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects.
- Community PlanIt, a project by Emerson College's Engagement Game Lab, is a an online engagement platform for local planning efforts that uses online gaming.
- Nettuts+offers web developers and designers tutorials and articles on technologies, such as HTML, CSS, Javascript, CMSâs, PHP and Ruby on Rails; as well as other skills and techniques to improve designing and building websites.
- Learn the secrets of HTML, CSS and other tools with Code Academy.
- Stay up-to-date with Smashing Magazine's coverage of innovations for Web designers and developers and the latest trends in Web development.
- Learn site development with W3Schools Online and Codex Lessons on WordPress.
Tips and Tricks
- Common Keyboard Commands: Use "CTRL/Command + F" to find a word or phrase in a document or web page.
- Reuters: Using Tweetdeck to crowdsource
- Have you heard of StumbleUpon? It can be very effective in bringing readers to your site through social media.
- Using data from the Library of Congress' "Chronicling America" project, Stanford University created this visualization, plotting over 140,000 newspapers published in over three centuries in the United States.
- Poynter: 5 small steps journalists can take to build a bigger, more engaged audience
- Advice for reporters: Your beat on social media
- Poynter: 8 must-have iPhone & Android apps for covering breaking news
- Six Digital Tools That make life easier
- Suggested mobile and tablet apps for journalists
- Mobile Journalism Tools Blog
- InfoWorld: 10 technologies that will change the world in the next 10 years
- Quotse: How to effectively search for breaking news video on YouTube
- Poynter: Conversational tweets drive clicks, while automation drives retweets
- The Psychology of Sharing, a New York Times study, explores the fascination and use of social media.
- MediaShift: BBC Social Media Summit Fixates on Creating 'Open Media'
- Mobile Journalism Reporting Tools Guide from Reynolds Journalism Institute.
- Idealware, a nonprofit, serves as an online guide to help other, smaller nonprofits chose software that will allow them to be more effective. The site provides thoroughly researched, impartial and accessible resources about software to help nonprofits make smart software decisions, such as how to use software to help manage emails and understanding social networking and mobile phone text-messaging in fundraising strategy.
- The 10 Most Commonly Confused Words: An Email Glossary, from MediaPost's Email Insider blog, explains some common email delivery terms to help to know if your message is getting through or not.
- MediaStorm offers workshops and resources that will help you develop visual storytelling skills.
- Mindy McAdams' Teaching with Technology sheet of useful websites and tutorials from the AEJMC 2012 Chicago conference.
- Story Guide's tips for producing compelling videos.
- Sean Patrick Farrell of the New York Times shares what he thinks makes great video journalism.
- NYT Lens Blog: Learn how the law's relationship with photojournalism is changing from Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association.
