Storify and rebelmouse as curation tools in journalism

Storify and Rebelmouse as curation tools in journalism

Ivan LajaraOct. 8, 2013

What are they

Both Storify and Rebelmouse are best described as curation tools, which can serve greatly in the pursuit of journalism. But it should be noted that they are much more.As curation tools, they can be used to display curated content in either a static or feed-like fashion.Both are free, but have pro versions with extra features.

What stories benefit

• Breaking news;• Storms, floods,

emergencies;• Large gatherings:

Festivals, fairs, graduations, sports, parades

• Long-term events;

Storify

• Storify allows you to pull in content from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, Youtube, Flickr, Disqus, Tumblr, RSS feeds, Websites (and Tout!) from around the web.

• The free version is static.• There are three displays: classic, slideshow and grid,

the last two work well for images or videos.• You can build and write a narrative to add context

(you can even write a full story around curated content).

You can use hashtags and location in search!

Chances are, if people are talking about something in social media, there is a chance there will also be photos

Rebelmouse

• Rebelmouse allows you to pull in 25 feeds from Twitter, your Facebook profile or pages you manage, Instagram, Google +, Youtube, Flickr, Tumblr, RSS feeds from around the web.

• The free version constantly updates as much as you tell it to do, but you can ‘stick’ posts to chosen positions.

• All tweets without media (photo or video) go into your drafts.• You can also build and write a narrative to add context; single

posts with multiple photos.• There are five different design choices with several more

touches.

Rebelmouse channels

With Twitter, you can filter by @handle, #hashtag or even a domain name and with Instagram, you can filter by user or hashtag. But you can add RSS feeds, other social media content or even write your own from within the console, which allows you to add context to a post.

Rebelmouse’s feed, look and feel can be customized to your liking.

Bonus: It features responsive design

PRO-TIPS!

• Use Storify AS the search tool, that way you’ll save time.

• You can also mass-post in Storify from your own feeds, so you could have a specific event hashtag and feed it all at once.

• Rebelmouse can be left alone, but it should be groomed and filters should be included.

• EMBED! Use the back end of your site to create a page.

USE THE BOOKMARKTLETS!

• http://storify.com/tools• http://blog.rebelmouse.com/using_stick_this-

159492.html

Resources

Storify: • Updated guide for journalists:

http://storify.com/kellyfincham/the-updated-guide-to-storify-for-journalists

• Best practices: http://storify.com/ivanlajara/storify-best-practices

Resources

Rebelmouse• How Tos:

https://www.rebelmouse.com/rebelmouse/How_Tos/

• Getting started: https://www.rebelmouse.com/starthere/

Further reading

Storify and Rebelmouse in journalism: http://storify.com/ivanlajara/dfm-chat-on-storify-and-rebelmouse

Contact me

• http://twitter.com/ivanlajara• http://on.fb.me/ivanlajara• http://about.me/ivanlajara• ilajara@21st-centurymedia.com• http://storify.com/ivanlajara• https://www.rebelmouse.com/ivanlajara/