The phrase “social media” had barely been coined, let alone popularized, when Friendster hit the scene in 2002. The first big social network was ground breaking … until it wasn’t. Now, as the once great site hangs on for life, it’s unplugging the relics of its early life, deleting the memories of its original user base as it reimagines itself and role online.

For years the site has been fighting a — let’s admit it, losing — battle, first to MySpace, then to Facebook, to Twitter, to Flickr, to YouTube, to FourSquare, to ? … well there’s the rub. There are too many social networks already here, as well as those fading and just emerging. At their core they all do the same thing: Connect people to each other’s ideas and allow them to share their personal experiences and interests. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Sort of like what journalists strive to do each day by connecting to readers/viewers/listeners with their stories, pictures and videos? Turns out, journalists can learn from social networks, and not just pop culture or breaking news, but also broader lessons about how to do their job. So knowing that all good things have an expiration date, at least on the Internet, here’s what journalists should realize and remember as they tiptoe through social networking topics. Read more

Patch has gotten somewhat of a bad reputation in journalism circles — remember when USC journalism professor Robert Hernandez asked Tim Armstrong if Patch is “evil” at 2010′s Online News Association conference?  For those of you who have been living under a rock, Patch is AOL’s local news initiative that now has more than 500 sites in 20 different states.  Some newspapers feel threatened by a big tech company, some say it’s a waste of money, some say Patch is exploitive of its staff– but maybe it’s just too early to tell whether Patch is really going to make a big impact in hyperlocal news.

Despite the criticisms, I’ve lately noticed a few things that Patch is doing right to serve its communities. So whether you disagree with Patch or not, there’s a a thing or two you can learn from them about transparency and openness. Read more