J-Lab's look at how to define impact for civic news sites.

"Early efforts to measure digital and social media focused almost exclusively on web analytics. I would say the majority (80%?) of social media measurement in 2009 still focuses on web analytics, although many other forms of data and research are being used by leading organizations and practitioners.

Today, the frontier in social media measurement is evolving toward measuring the conversations and behavior patterns occurring within social networks. The third area of interest is in tracking and connecting online and offline behavior and actions."

"I’ve started to pay close attention to how I tweet by making a concerted effort to see if the author of a given article, blog, etc. is on Twitter and then naming them after the URL. It just feels proper and professional, the way printed media would accredit sources. PLUS, I’ve gotten great follows as a result. Yes, people whose work you’ve attributed will actually take interest in following you. Common courtesy, really.

With all the debate over the accuracy, authenticity and overall professional lacuna of citizen journalism and crowdsourced factoids, attributing your tweets to a source would, in my mind, at least show some form of respect to that source (be it accurate or not): that it was not your own original thought/idea you are sharing. Does it matter if it’s accurate? Not really. But at least you’ve made it clear it’s not proprietary to you."

Yow, a zinger of a book review!
"But after beating the drum for giveaways throughout most of his book, Mr. Anderson eventually acknowledges that his idea is in fact not viable. Such are the perils of his sloppily constructed sweeping argument. No, he doesn’t envision an economy based entirely on giveaways. 'Free may be the best price, but it can’t be the only one,'” he says. He advocates the balancing of differently priced versions for different markets, acknowledging that this tricky balance is not easily achieved."

But progressive publications weren't represented at recent related meetings. How come? They've done some of the most aggressive and accurate investigations of the last several years.

"We need new models whose sole criterion for success is not profit maximization. News isn't just another commodity. Journalism is an essential public service and critical infrastructure. Like many public goods, journalism has never been fully supported by the market; it always has been subsidized. But the advertising-subsidy system no longer works."

New outfit launched by Obama campaign veterants: one to watch

The answer? Kinda…

Interesting blow-by-blow from the creator of a popular feminist mashup:
"The remix has been posted on hundreds of websites and blogs, and is still circulating through Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. It has sparked a wide-ranging and timely online conversation about how obsessive and predatory male behavior passes for romance in too much of our pop culture. Some of my favorite debates about the mashup have appeared on Pandagon.net, Smartbitchestrashybooks.com, Pixiepalace.com, and there are also long discussions on many Twilight fan blogs, such as Hisgoldeneye.com. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that the exchange on YouTube – where I often dread reading obnoxious comments on videos about gender – has also been exciting and constructive."

Important points for those figuring out social media strategy. Also has great analogies "Seeding/Feeding/Weeding" in building/managing that strategy.

"This underscores a fundamental truth to social media that many organizations underestimate–being social means having real live people who actively participate in your initiatives. It's difficult to automate and a challenge to scale, but it can also help move your business forward in ways that produce leveraged outcomes such as new/better products or services."

While not top in TV ratings, top online. Which will be more powerful in the long run?

"MSNBC.com has managed to score a top ranking among other news sites, which its general manager credits to the site's devotion to video and key partnerships across the media spectrum.

During the 12-month period between June 2008 and May 2009, MSNBC.com had the most unique visitors among current news and global events Web sites, according to Nielsen Online, topping Yahoo! News, CNN Digital Network, which is owned by Time-Warner and FoxNews.com, which is owned by News Corp."

""We're also the main news site for MSN, and we have key partnerships with Newsweek, the New York Times, and parts of the business news space," Tillinghast said in an interview. "We are the news site for all of NBC News. That's the difference between us and CNN. CNN is a Web counterpart to its on-air product. MSNBC cable's online component is just a subset of what's available at MSNBC.com."

App Developers and Advertisers–What do you think of this?

"AdSense for Mobile Applications allows developers to integrate AdSense network ads into their mobile applications and to allow advertisers to bid for placement in their apps. Previously, Google AdSense ads showed up only on Web pages rendered by mobile phone browsers.

"[A]dvertisers are looking for ways to reach potential customers when they are engaged with mobile content, and application developers are looking for ways to show the best ads to their users," Google VP of product management Susan Wojcicki said in a blog post. "We have already had a successful trial of this service with a small number of partners, and are excited that we can now offer this solution to a broader group."