Comments on: My obligatory EveryBlock post http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/ Notes from the classroom and observations about today's practice of journalism online Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:37:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Ground Zero » Blog Archive » Adrian Holovaty’s Everyblock. http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7492 Ground Zero » Blog Archive » Adrian Holovaty’s Everyblock. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:08:35 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7492 [...] are lengthy compliments and complaints here and there about issues of Everyblock.  I do think their web structure has a little problem of [...] [...] are lengthy compliments and complaints here and there about issues of Everyblock.  I do think their web structure has a little problem of [...]

]]> By: Adrian Holovaty http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7436 Adrian Holovaty Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:21:39 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7436 Stephen Rynkiewicz said: "But if a record is locked in a file cabinet or even behind a CAPTCHA filter, it’s not here." Stephen, we go beyond crawling Web sites. A few of our sections, such as Chicago film locations and San Francisco restaurant inspections, include data that has never been published on the Web. In fact, one of the people on our team works full-time on building relationships with government officials, submitting FOIA requests, etc. We have MUCH, MUCH more coming in this area -- not all government agencies could meet our launch deadline (understandably), and we'll be posting more data that has never been on the Web. Adrian @ EveryBlock Stephen Rynkiewicz said: “But if a record is locked in a file cabinet or even behind a CAPTCHA filter, it’s not here.”

Stephen, we go beyond crawling Web sites. A few of our sections, such as Chicago film locations and San Francisco restaurant inspections, include data that has never been published on the Web. In fact, one of the people on our team works full-time on building relationships with government officials, submitting FOIA requests, etc.

We have MUCH, MUCH more coming in this area — not all government agencies could meet our launch deadline (understandably), and we’ll be posting more data that has never been on the Web.

Adrian @ EveryBlock

]]> By: Mindy http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7395 Mindy Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:23:01 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7395 Nice post, Patrick. I like your point about the wave of vandalism in your old neighborhood -- I never thought about it, but it's entirely true that if a bunch of neighbors realized soon enough that their area had become a target, they could rapidly organize a citizens' crime watch. Even people who read the local newspaper faithfully would probably not find out early about a mini-crime wave of that type. Nice post, Patrick. I like your point about the wave of vandalism in your old neighborhood — I never thought about it, but it’s entirely true that if a bunch of neighbors realized soon enough that their area had become a target, they could rapidly organize a citizens’ crime watch. Even people who read the local newspaper faithfully would probably not find out early about a mini-crime wave of that type.

]]> By: patrickbeeson.com http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7383 patrickbeeson.com Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:43:16 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7383 <strong>Thoughts in defense of EveryBlock...</strong> This entry points out some of the flaws in the negative comments about the innovative new data-driven site EveryBlock.... Thoughts in defense of EveryBlock…

This entry points out some of the flaws in the negative comments about the innovative new data-driven site EveryBlock….

]]> By: Stephen Rynkiewicz http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7377 Stephen Rynkiewicz Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:32:26 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7377 Everyblock is a handy hyperlocal news reader. When Chicago msm and blogs reported on citywide school closings, it culled the stories that mentioned my local school. It's also a handy filter for police blotter and licensing data in jurisdictions that already post to the Web. But if a record is locked in a file cabinet or even behind a CAPTCHA filter, it's not here. Everyblock is a handy hyperlocal news reader. When Chicago msm and blogs reported on citywide school closings, it culled the stories that mentioned my local school. It’s also a handy filter for police blotter and licensing data in jurisdictions that already post to the Web. But if a record is locked in a file cabinet or even behind a CAPTCHA filter, it’s not here.

]]> By: Brian Cubbison http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7374 Brian Cubbison Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:15:50 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7374 A few of my thoughts: Should a local newsroom tag its information so that EveryBlock will pick it up and send readers to it, or will EveryBlock eventually get Peoria restaurant inspections and police blotter directly? Should a newsroom say, we won't wait for EveryBlock to get to Springfield or Syracuse, we'll do our own (Easier said than done, I know)? After saying that newspapers need to format their information into database-able pieces, Adrian now seems to be saying, He'll take care of the database, you go write the stories. (He was probably right both times.) I love the clean look and I disagree with those who want more of a designed, hierarchical homepage. In an age of streams and feeds, I want the news, not the page. In fact, I'd like to see it stripped a little more. I'd be looking at one block each day, or more often. The latest news item about my block is more important than the header that says Business License. If it becomes such a heavy information stream, I might want some ordering, but mostly, I want a news alert, not a designed homepage. "New on EveryBlock today" for my block would be my homepage. A few of my thoughts:

Should a local newsroom tag its information so that EveryBlock will pick it up and send readers to it, or will EveryBlock eventually get Peoria restaurant inspections and police blotter directly?

Should a newsroom say, we won’t wait for EveryBlock to get to Springfield or Syracuse, we’ll do our own (Easier said than done, I know)?

After saying that newspapers need to format their information into database-able pieces, Adrian now seems to be saying, He’ll take care of the database, you go write the stories. (He was probably right both times.)

I love the clean look and I disagree with those who want more of a designed, hierarchical homepage. In an age of streams and feeds, I want the news, not the page. In fact, I’d like to see it stripped a little more. I’d be looking at one block each day, or more often. The latest news item about my block is more important than the header that says Business License. If it becomes such a heavy information stream, I might want some ordering, but mostly, I want a news alert, not a designed homepage. “New on EveryBlock today” for my block would be my homepage.

]]> By: Lucas Grindley http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7368 Lucas Grindley Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:55:53 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7368 The lack of place, the lack of presentation, the general lack of user ownership that Matt and Mindy describe is exactly right. The solution is to create a more effective home page. I've summed up reaction across the Web and added my own about the home page <a href="http://www.lucasgrindley.com/2008/01/roundup_of_reaction_to_holovatys_everybl.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>. The lack of place, the lack of presentation, the general lack of user ownership that Matt and Mindy describe is exactly right. The solution is to create a more effective home page. I’ve summed up reaction across the Web and added my own about the home page here.

]]> By: Adrian Holovaty http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7359 Adrian Holovaty Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:12:05 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7359 Thanks for all of the comments, guys! This is exactly the kind of feedback we're looking for. Obviously we have a long way to go, in terms of organization/prioritization, linking related items together, adding context, and, yes, even enabling readers to make connections on their own. Each one of these is a challenge we look forward to solving. Thanks for all of the comments, guys! This is exactly the kind of feedback we’re looking for. Obviously we have a long way to go, in terms of organization/prioritization, linking related items together, adding context, and, yes, even enabling readers to make connections on their own. Each one of these is a challenge we look forward to solving.

]]> By: Teaching Online Journalism » Discussion about EveryBlock http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7353 Teaching Online Journalism » Discussion about EveryBlock Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:10:16 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7353 [...] are several interesting comments on my EveryBlock post from yesterday. Feel free to join [...] [...] are several interesting comments on my EveryBlock post from yesterday. Feel free to join [...]

]]> By: Matt http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7351 Matt Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:34:37 +0000 http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/my-obligatory-everyblock-post/#comment-7351 I am blown away by EveryBlock's breadth of information and I think it will redefine (or energize) citizen journalism in a lot of ways, but I think the design of the site and presentation of the information will need to change significantly for the general public to digest EveryBlock as a source of neighborhood news. While EveryBlock is neat and clean enough for curious, data-minded citizens and reporters, the various feed pages are no more engaging than an RSS feed in my Google Reader. Holovaty describes the site's content as "news" and I would probably agree with him. Much of this content is "relevant" to these neighborhoods in the same way that actual journalistic content is relevant. The key difference between EveryBlock and any other news source is the lack of a clear priority for the information. The media (print, online, broadcast, whatever) must present complex-yet-important information to the public in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. In its current form, EveryBlock bowls me over with the amount of information that is now at my fingertips, but does nothing to prioritize the data or even aesthetically draw me into it. If the information were presented in a more visually appealing way (Flickr photo box with recent photos from the neighborhood, as alluded to above) or a more familiar news-oriented way (with a neighborhood home page divided into sections like a well-designed online news source, not a sterile RSS Feed text list), I think it would be much more engaging. Right now, every block you browse looks like every other block and I doubt that's what the site's name is meant to imply. I'm also curious about EveryBlock's ability to link content from its various data sources. If a restaurant recently passes an inspection, there should be a link to a review of that restaurant on Yelp. When one source of data relates to another, it would be useful (and probably not too difficult?) for that data to be tied together on EveryBlock. I think the site has a lot of potential and I'm sure it will continue to evolve as it grows and gains more data sources. I am blown away by EveryBlock’s breadth of information and I think it will redefine (or energize) citizen journalism in a lot of ways, but I think the design of the site and presentation of the information will need to change significantly for the general public to digest EveryBlock as a source of neighborhood news.

While EveryBlock is neat and clean enough for curious, data-minded citizens and reporters, the various feed pages are no more engaging than an RSS feed in my Google Reader. Holovaty describes the site’s content as “news” and I would probably agree with him. Much of this content is “relevant” to these neighborhoods in the same way that actual journalistic content is relevant. The key difference between EveryBlock and any other news source is the lack of a clear priority for the information. The media (print, online, broadcast, whatever) must present complex-yet-important information to the public in a way that is engaging and easy to understand. In its current form, EveryBlock bowls me over with the amount of information that is now at my fingertips, but does nothing to prioritize the data or even aesthetically draw me into it.

If the information were presented in a more visually appealing way (Flickr photo box with recent photos from the neighborhood, as alluded to above) or a more familiar news-oriented way (with a neighborhood home page divided into sections like a well-designed online news source, not a sterile RSS Feed text list), I think it would be much more engaging. Right now, every block you browse looks like every other block and I doubt that’s what the site’s name is meant to imply.

I’m also curious about EveryBlock’s ability to link content from its various data sources. If a restaurant recently passes an inspection, there should be a link to a review of that restaurant on Yelp. When one source of data relates to another, it would be useful (and probably not too difficult?) for that data to be tied together on EveryBlock. I think the site has a lot of potential and I’m sure it will continue to evolve as it grows and gains more data sources.

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