A firehose of knowledge blasted through a garden sprinkler
This year’s NICAR conference will feature lightning talks: a series of rapid-fire presentations given by you on a mix of subjects selected by you. It’s called democracy, folks, and we want you to be part of it.
How does this work? It’s simple: Register an account to vote on the talks you’d like to hear. Or better yet, propose one yourself! It can be on technology or techniques — just about anything, really. There’s just one rule: It can’t be one second longer than 5 minutes.
OK, actually two rules: You must attend NICAR to vote or, obviously, give a talk. But that’s about all there is to it.
If you have questions, or problems with the site, drop an email to aron@nytimes.com.
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Guerilla tactics in crowdsourcing
A super-fast way to start building your own network of news sources using tools you already have on your computer.
8
VOTES
Journalist Expose': The Perils of The Beat
So you get a tip, you investigative it, it turns out to be true... what do you do next? A 5 minute primer on exposing the bad apples in our profession. Is it career suicide? (No) but some still think it is! Taking the high road when the personal attacks come (and they will!)
1
VOTE
The one thing: a lesson for both investigations and app design
Crafting award winning investigations and building prize winning online apps share one key lesson: focus on what makes it special, build out from there, and stray at your peril.
4
VOTES
Inspectors General
A quick demonstration of how to find reports by federal inspectors charged to investigate waste, fraud and abuse. It would show how to find them, how to sign up for email alerts for new reports, and how to find and request reports that are not on the visible web. It would include some stories that have resulted from the reports.
5
VOTES
Due Diligence: 6 Easy Steps
Don't miss important, sometimes obvious, details while researching and reporting a story. Follow this quick due-diligence checklist to explore a tip, vet a source, build a public records-based profile, bulletproof or fact-check a story.
6
VOTES
Make your online database even more user-friendly
If part of our role as data journalists is to open up public access, it's key that we enable users to link back to the discoveries they unearth in the data. I'll share some ways to accomplish this, as well as some cautions about how to avoid being so open you expose security vulnerabilities on your news site.
3
VOTES
Doing Things That Haven't Ever Been Done Before
Believe it or not there's a formula. Two formulas actually, but they're both pretty simple, and together they're about right for a five minute presentation. Make no mistake though, doing something that has never been done before is hard. Truly, if it was easy it would already be done.
5
VOTES
Build a news engine, not a data dump
It's nice to mount a database sidecar on your deep-dive story. It's better to build a news machine that manufactures news hooks as it steamrolls into the future. Keep pressure on your subjects longer than one Sunday front. Bear sustained witness to problems in your community. Build a news engine, not a data dump.
10
VOTES
Friend or foe? Social media for journalists
Tools you can use to interact with readers and promote your work. I'll discuss the top 10 iPhone apps for reporters, Top Twitter apps and reasons to use Twitter for reporting, reasons to use other promotional and interaction social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn.com, Youtube and Flickr. Other tools and websites like Posterous, Flavors.me, Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon and gadgets you need in your backpack. This presentation includes lot's of handouts and interaction.
2
VOTES
Five ways to make your online databases more effective
Great content is just the starting point for an effective online interactive. Design, information architecture and good editing are just as important -- particularly when you have nanoseconds to grab readers' attention.
10
VOTES