Comments on: The good — and the bad — about the NYT’s Snow Fall feature http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/ Wed, 22 May 2013 02:02:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: freeform1999 http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1296507 Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:01:43 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1296507 Editing images, audio & video… even making the plumbing work isn’t as difficult as you make it sound. I for one could do all of that given a good story and source media. I’m 50 but I bet a lot of techy kids would say the same.

]]> By: Frank B. Edwards http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1293290 Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:31:26 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1293290 I was excited by Snow Fall at first glance but then had some doubts. Many of the multimedia elements were automatically triggered as the reader advanced through the text — it wasn’t possible to manipulate them independently (for example, to really explore the ski routes down the mountain). Too many elements were passively triggered so it wasn’t really interactive.

I was even more disappointed when I loaded the Byliner version onto my iPad only to discover that it was a text-only version, every bit as unattractive as a regular ebook.

A month ago, I launched Everest: High Expectations (http://bungalobooks.com) as an illustrated iBook on iTunes. It was a three-person effort that took several months using Apple’s great iBooks Author software — no need to for a 16-person production team for six months. We combined 140 photos with archival video/audio clips, and maps to tell a 50,000 word story that dealt with life and death during two mountaineering expeditions.

Admittedly Everest: High Expectations lacks the programming of Snow Fall’s online version but it certainly serves the iBook/ebook reader better — something worth consideration when it comes to making money from journalism and publishing. In the end, I would argue our story and presentation are just as strong as the NYT’s.

]]> By: Grace Carter http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1285891 Thu, 27 Dec 2012 19:40:29 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1285891 It’s important to remember that the rate of technological innovation means that what costs a lot of time, money, and effort right now will be cheaper and faster to recreate in the future. Thus, the complaint that this may not be the “future” of journalism should also consider a timespan — what does “future” actually mean, in concrete terms?

Think bigger than journalism. The future of WEB content as a whole is multi-media, and device-, browser-, and screen resolution-agnostic. In this sense, the NYT experiment gives us some great insight into what future experiences will be like…. in journalism and anywhere on the web.

]]> By: Jesus S. Matubis Jr http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1277854 Mon, 24 Dec 2012 04:32:07 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1277854 As a former journalist, I find New York Time’s Snowfall project highly commendable and worthwhile because it makes news/information dissemination interesting and captivating through the effective use of multi-media. About the comment that it seems counterproductive to be producing features like Snowfall because it involves a big staff and a long period of time, shouldn’t major news organizations like New York Times, precisely because it has the resources, attempt projects like these so that it can help push the envelope, so to speak? Having been involved in television news, I find Snowfall visually arresting and effective, and I really don’t mind it having commercials. Congratulations to the New York Times.

]]> By: Chris Taylor http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1276788 Sun, 23 Dec 2012 17:50:33 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1276788 My first moment of ‘a-ha’ was when I realized I could hear the wind blowing at the beginning of the story. From there, it was so well done that I took it to work and showed it to my marketing team. I said, “There’s the future and the NY Times just showed it to us.”

I also agree with Barry that the story was like a Krakauer novel and I also read first, played afterward. On the first pass, the banner ads didn’t cross my mind, so I don’ think they were so jarring.

What this piece did for me was to show me that we can give people content, wrapped in great artwork, and even include sound as a way to tell a remarkable story. Its the story that grabs people, but just like talking around a campfire, it can be the pauses and the crackle of logs burning that is as much a part as the words.

Thanks for writing about this. It felt like a milestone as I read it.

]]> By: Cindy Royal http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1274179 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:07:09 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1274179 The Philadelphia Inquirer did similar multimedia storytelling when it introduced the Blackhawk Down series in 1997 (which became the book and movie). http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/nov16/default16.asp. I wrote about the use of the Web for literary journalism in Newspaper Research Journal with BHD as the case study, published in 2004. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/15386191/literary-journalism-techniques-create-compelling-blackhawk-down-web-site. The tools are better, but this potential has existed for more than 15 years. Great projects like this remind us what can be achieved.

]]> By: iketches http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1273361 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 04:04:47 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1273361 Funny, like Barry, I read the article itself without the compelling graphics. I actually read a good chunk of it first on my BB and it felt like a damn fine article. Given I read most of the NYT on a cache-clearing BB, I probably would never have known about the graphics/multimedia if it weren’t for twitter. How’s that for the future of news?

]]> By: Matthias http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1273187 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:55:54 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1273187 Seems like a strange argument. Did the NYT claim that this is the future of journalism? If not, why blaming it for putting “too much” effort in one story? I commend any media outlet nowadays that is willing and able to put out prestige stories that never will make their money back. Otherwise there would not be much multimedia and no investigative journalism. So I’d say bravo NTY for putting out stories that show what is possible and building up your brand at the same time. Everything else looks like critizism from envious competition.

]]> By: jdvorkin46 http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1273173 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:39:44 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1273173 I shared “Snow Fall” with my students (1st and 2nd year at U of Toronto). They
were powerfully impressed by both the story telling and the visuals. They weren’t
bothered by the small banner ads (just part of their media landscape). And they
weren’t put off by the length. I think the Times is on to something here.

]]> By: Rich http://gigaom.com/2012/12/21/the-good-and-the-bad-about-the-nyts-snow-fall-feature/#comment-1273161 Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:34:07 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=597081#comment-1273161 “Snow Fall” is beautiful. But the ads are the visual equivalent of ads on TV that are five times as loud as the rest of the program.

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