Google Wave - the Future of News?

At this point every major news organization is using Twitter to release their news as it happens. It helps readers stay informed instantaneously, and helps drive traffic to respective news organizations.

The Seattle Times took this premise to the next level early this month. Instead of using Twitter, they used Google Wave, a relatively new program that is described by Google as “an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.”

Some background: On Nov. 29, four Seattle police officers were killed and it was suspected that a man named Maurice Clemmons was the shooter, and on the run. The Seattle Times decided to report the story through Google Wave, which allowed the news organization to give real-time updates and the Times’ readers to take part, offer comments if they had any information about the suspect’s whereabouts, and stay engaged.

From the Seattle Times story:

Some elements of the Wave included links to police scanner audio, live video, information about road closures, school lockdowns, suspect information and more. A manhunt map was created inside the Wave and updated by participants. And a map was linked inside the Wave that seattletimes.com then used on the site. It was useful to producers updating the site because they could put information out and get tips back, instantly. We then could pass the tips on to the Metro desk and follow along that way. It was like using Twitter with a real-time response and rich content.

This method of reporting and following a story definitely had distinct positives. For one, close to 500 people participated in the wave and offered comments, feedback and help in finding the killer. The man was eventually killed by an officer on Dec. 2, although the story doesn’t make it seem like Google Wave had any effect in finding the suspect.

The constant updates via Google Wave also helped SeattleTimes.com enjoy a record day of traffic to its website. And this seems like the perfect way to really utilize all of Google Wave’s abilities.

Gizmodo had this to say: Due to Google Wave's real time updating capabilities, this is actually a rather fitting use. People are posting everything they know, from information about the suspect (right down to his old pictures and Twitter accounts) to news from police scanners.

Using this program wasn’t a homerun success though either. All of the activity often caused the Wave to slow down quite a bit, and in some cases, crashed browsers. The Wave also wasn’t moderated, which could lead to spam or messages and comments that had nothing to do with the investigation. The Seattle Times conceded that at times the Wave “took on the characteristics of a chatroom.”

Still, I think The Seattle Times should be commended for trying something new and jumping head first into the digital age. It’s far from a perfect science, and there’s still plenty that needs to be learned and discussed before this type of procedure for reporting news becomes the norm, but it was certainly worth giving a try.

At the very least, the media is starting to think in the future, which should ultimately help them in the present.

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Is there something you want discussed in the blog? Hated the last thing I wrote? Want to see something done differently? I want to hear about it all. Email me at stefen@maroonpr.com. You can also follow me on twitter at SLovelace24.