This week we’ve been having a look at (link: https://newslab.withgoogle.com/ text: News Lab), a new site launched by Google that aims to connect content creators with programs, data and other resources to help them research, write, present and promote their stories in more accurate, engaging ways.
Billed as an effort ‘to empower innovation at the intersection of technology and media’, the launch of News Lab comes hot on the heels of several other announcements similarly focused on Google’s desire to play a bigger role in the world of journalism. These include (youtube: http://youtube-global.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/eyewitness-video-on-youtube-your-window.html text: a series of initiatives aimed at supporting and verifying news videos on YouTube )and the rollout of (youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaMIPk5GtosYNi32liVbRg text: YouTube Newswire) – a joint initiative with social media news agency (link: https://storyful.com/ text: Storyful) consisting of a curated and aggregated feed containing daily newsworthy events that have been published to YouTube. They have also announced partnerships with outlets like (link: https://newslab.withgoogle.com/programs/post/11 text: Matter) and (link: https://newslab.withgoogle.com/programs/post/12 text: Hacks/Hackers) and a (link: http://venturebeat.com/2015/06/18/google-launches-3-new-projects-to-help-you-find-and-verify-genuine-eyewitness-news-videos/ text: trio of projects) designed to engage citizen journalists. All of these projects are either hosted by or linked to from the News Lab site.
Whilst News Lab is primarily aimed at journalists and investigative reporters, many of the tools gathered together there can be of use to pretty much anyone involved with creating content – from tweeters and bloggers to professional PRs and content marketers.
With many people using Google tools such as Search, Maps, Analytics and Alerts on a regular basis already, Google are keen for more people to use them to their full potential. To encourage this they’ve created a comprehensive set of video tutorials and best practice guides, contextualising these under the headings ‘research’, ‘report’, ‘distribute’ and ‘optimise’. These are well worth a browse. Do you know how (link: https://newslab.withgoogle.com/lesson/11 text: to reverse search images) for example?
Here are just a few of the aspects of News Lab we’ve identified as useful for generating news and enhancing our brand storytelling:
Trend spotting
By expanding (link: https://www.google.com/trends/ text: Google Trends), Google is further opening up access to information about what people are curious about. One obvious use of Google Trends for us is to find stories relevant to our clients, identifying opportunities for them to add their voices to a conversation in a relevant, timely way. The new mapping feature, showing interest in the story by location, is a particularly interesting feature and could come in handy when prioritising local market pitching efforts.
Engaging with credible user-generated content
By partnering with a variety of organisations to locate and vet user-generated content, Google are working to ensure that trustworthy news rises above gossip and hearsay. As a result of reviewing content on the new (youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOaMIPk5GtosYNi32liVbRg text: YouTube Newswire), we may be able to identify relevant and timely user generated video that could be credibly addressed by our clients.
Cost-effective consumer surveys
Surveys can be a great way of gaining the insight required to support campaigns and secure media exposure. Google’s new (link: http://www.google.com/insights/consumersurveys/home text: consumer surveys) certainly appear to be easy to use and worth exploring next time we’re after a cost-effective way of getting quick results from a targeted audience segment. It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t a free tool, the price per respondent for standard surveys depends on how many questions you ask, with fully customisable surveys available for a flat fee.
Using data to tell compelling stories
One aspect of the site that initially got us excited but on closer inspection, still needs a lot of work is the (link: http://www.google.com/publicdata/directory text: Public Data Explorer). It allows you to mine a range of data sets and create interesting graphics, mapping trends over time and comparing metrics. Using data in this way can be a great way to strengthen a story or uncover a new angle. However whilst various national and international topics of general interest are covered, the types of data are fairly limited at present – hopefully this will open up over time.
Creating interesting custom visuals
From tools to create custom data visualisations, maps, videos to satellite or 3D Google Earth visualisations, Google are doing their utmost to make it easy for content creators to enhance their stories with compelling visuals.
(link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/home text: Google My Maps) and (link: https://www.google.com/earth/explore/products/desktop.html text: Google Earth Pro) are the standouts here, taking programs we’re familiar with and giving them further storytelling capabilities. With Google My Maps, you can input data and create interesting custom maps (without any programming knowledge!) These can then be used add depth to or increase audience engagement with stories – from a static map that effectively shares data, illustrating a trend to an interactive map that offers readers the opportunity to explore or examine data in more detail.
With Google Earth Pro you can design a tour on Google Earth than can be exported as a video and embedded online. There are lots of opportunities for customisation including deciding the angle you want to use for each location.
Final thoughts
As Google moves further into the journalism space, it’s clear that in our working lives, as in our personal ones, we may come to use Google for far more than we do currently. With the launch of News Lab and the plethora of linked partnerships and initiatives that have been announced recently, it is clear that Google is not only interested in providing tools and technologies to enhance journalistic practices, but to also play an active role in shaping the future of media. We’ll be watching with interest…