Scott Karp, cofounder and CEO of Publish2, just announced that the company has closed its first round of funding with Velocity. I’m proud to say that I’ve weaseled my way onto the board. From the first moment I heard that Scott was up to something, I had to know what it was. And when I heard what it was, I had to be involved. Publish2 is a social bookmarking service for journalists. I’m using Publish2 now to save and tag all my links for my book (I’ll publish them here soon) and I really look forward to seeing the community of journalists expand so we can discover what alchemy comes of that. Now, with funding in hand, the company will complete its already-impressive platform and then open up.
Scott Karp’s Publish2, though still in beta, did some neat work with some wired editors for election night using the social bookmarking tool to enable journalists to compile lists of the best links on election night. Here‘s Jack Lail of KnoxNews writing about how they’re using it and here is the latest fruit of their linking.
What I like about this is that it’s outward looking and linking for news sites but also that it is collaborative. The idea is that good reporters are gathering these links in the course of their work and now here’s a tool that lets them share those links with each other and their readers in the normal course of their work (without having to make time to put together that damned sidebar box). It’s also a glimpse into their work and their sources and that’s both interesting and usefully transparent.
(Disclosure: I’m on the board of Publish2. And while I’m bragging about portfolio companies — well, unlike Fred Wilson, I don’t have a portfolio, I mere have friends — here’s a mention of Daylife, where I’m a partner…)
Also check out Daylife’s tracking of the news coverage of candidates and issues. Clinton won more delegates last night, but Obama continues to get more coverage.
Note also the Daylife Issuedex, showing a sharp increase in coverage of health care. And a damned good thing..
(I’m involved in both these companies because I think they provide new tools for journalism and election night provides a nice illustration.)
Editors Weblog at the World Association of Newspapers notes that the Guardian now has a bigger audience online than the vaunted New York Times:
With 18.4 million users in October, the Guardian was ahead of nytimes.com, which registered 17.5 million users in the same period, according to Nielsen / NetRatings. This was a record for both sites, as The New York Times’ user pool grew due to the shutting down of TimesSelect, and the Guardian launched Guardian America. Considering these recent results, the Guardian seems to be winning its bid to become the referential international news site. Guardian Unlimited’s US readership was already very strong before the launch of Guardian America. And US readers are reportedly drawn to the British online editions.
Here I speculated on the impact on products and operations of once local or national news brands going international. This also raises questions about business strategy — it’s not easy selling advertising around the world. But the race is indeed on: Who will lead at least the English-speaking universe?
(Disclosure: I write and consult for the Guardian. So I’m rooting for them.)
Also: I found this clip via the still-in-beta journalists’ bookmarking service, Publish2.com from Scott Karp (and disclosure: I’m on the board there so I’m rooting for him, too. You’ll soon be there, too.)
LATER: Guardian writer Bobbie Johnson in the comments and another Guardian colleague in the email say that the Editors Weblog is comparing apples and kumquats here; the stats are not equivalent. It’s still great growth and impressive size for both and the international question is still fascinating. But the sun still does set on the British empire. For now.
My blogging friend Scott Karp takes the tarp off of his new venture today: Publish2 will attempt to gather the collective intelligence of journalists — small ‘j’ — with a combination of social networking and useful functionality. Scott sets the table and serves the meat in his introductory post; go over and dig in.
When I heard that Scott was cooking something up, I had to find out what he was up to because I’d learned through our blog discussions that he’s smart, incisive, and insightful — and I think that even though, or because, we sometimes disagree. When he let me in, I was excited with the many possibilities for what he’s building. And so I’m trying to give some advice to Scott and his cofounder, Robert Young (with whom I almost crossed paths when I was at Delphi, briefly — tiny world, ours). Howard Weaver of McClatchy was already giving him advice. And Scott wants more. So go to his new Publish2 blog and tell him your wants, needs, and ideas.
