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I reflected back to a previous panel session during which a speaker asked, "Will we see a Craigslist for news?" Hiding in the back of the room, Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, shook his head and quietly said, "Not from us."
During an earlier session, Robin Miller from Slashdot stood up in the audience and said, "I'm a writer and need to make money. There are investment professionals talking about supposedly great plans to build site and feed aggregators. But why aren't I hearing them say that they want to pay people for creating content?"
A venture capitalist responded by saying, "We do realize that we need to highlight the experts that are passionate about certain subjects, but classic editorialized articles are not getting eyeballs. Community and tools get the most traffic on the websites in our portfolio."
I was brought back to the present moment as Nolan called on me to talk about the combination of media strategies.
"I'm surprised that today's discussions have focused on one versus the other, and us versus them, such as editorial versus blogging and big publishers versus citizen media," I said. "At Real Girls Media Network, we believe that all voices can coexist.
"For example, our first site, DivineCaroline.com, fuses editorial, user-submitted stories and community. It gives all women a platform for expression and connection, and everyone feels worthy of being heard."
Success of a Shared Vision
While no single formula seems to be leading the new media landscape, a blend of old and new models is starting to take shape and create substantial revenue, and many investment professionals don't mind being patient while entrepreneurs test out a few models. As one venture capitalist added, "YouTube only recently started figuring out a revenue model."
A Twin Cities Herald executive said, "We're trying to do the public radio model in which we take community stories and other interesting tidbits, but we're still trying to find the right business model."
Another audience member said, "We're using a donation model for news. People can donate dollars for stories that they want to see happen. We're trying to persuade volunteers to give their knowledge and time to this effort. I don't think anyone should rely on thinking about money and only money."
Serving the community seemed to be a common theme among writers and visionaries hoping to make waves in today's age of access.
"The success of shared vision depends on serving a specific audience's needs," said Gaby Bruna, a University of Miami student and head of the Media for Change project. "Look at how Facebook lets college kids connect when they're not on campus together, or how DivineCaroline allows women to find a philanthropic cause they're passionate about. It'll be a great day when the internet as a resource can guide an individual to take action in her community and see a real transformation."
Alan Rosenblatt, executive director of the Internet Advocacy Center, wholeheartedly agreed that the internet can inspire action.
"The internet can do a lot of things," he said. "But it is most empowering to use it to inform people, influence others and corporations and change policies for the common good. People have come to expect just talk, talk, talk. Let's take action."
The audience cheered as I sat wondering and hoping that the age of activism was finally upon us.
Rebecca Weeks is director business development at Real Girls Media, a new media network that aims to create the leading destinations online for women and girls. Read full bio.
