Whenever you need news or information, the first thing you do is get your smartphone or tablet and open your most favorite app. Perhaps it’s Facebook to check your news feed or Twitter for what’s trending. Others go directly to news sites or open news apps to know what’s the latest. While news and information are easily available, there is the question of accuracy, truthfulness, and quality. The problem today is not access to news but how reliable a source is.
You see, it can be annoying when links to hoax articles are shared. Everyday, you probably see more than a dozen of news with misleading titles aka clickbaits. Those are the kinds that I think should be eliminated because they are ultimate time-wasters (but why are you clicking, anyway?).
In this day and age, quality journalism is very much needed. Information overload is a reality but it doesn’t always mean the information is correct and relevant. Sharing of news is important because it keeps communication open, brings truth to the people, and helps people make more informed decisions.
News gathering and sharing are very much different today compared in the past. It’s much easier now to get data because technology has advanced and has hastened the spread of information. Thanks to the Internet for changing the process of creation, distribution, and consumption.
Google has always been at the forefront of technological innovations. It started with web search and is now the No.1 search engine. It continues to improve on how information is obtained and has since ventured into other industries, ensuring accessible and quality information all the time. When it comes to news distribution, Google wants to make sure that more people are informed and that innovation will bring the right data and information everyone needs.
Google recently introduced the News Lab, a special program that aims to improve and integrate media and technology. The search giant plans to work with entrepreneurs and journalists to build the future of media through the following:
1. Making tools available to every journalist and newsroom all over the world
2. Obtaining helpful Google data sets from journalists everywhere
3. Programs created to build on current opportunities in the media industry
Google has all the tools to allow journalists better reporting no matter where they are. These include widely used apps and programs like YouTube, Google Maps, Earth, Fusion Tables, and of course, Search. Every newsroom in the world is provided access to these tools that can be used for a more effective storytelling and reporting. As part of the Google News Lab efforts, Google is giving access to tutorials on these tools. Video tutorials available at g.co/newslab were made specifically for newsrooms. Most videos will show case studies, tutorials, best practices from the top newsrooms that can greatly benefit a young journalist.
Google News Lab serves as a one-stop source for journalists. Google will regularly post updates on Google+ and Twitter and publish informative videos on YouTube. Aside from Google News Lab, there’s also the Google Trends platform that provides tools for analysis and broader, deeper, and real-time data. Feedback from all over the world are gathered and can be accessed from data journalists and newsrooms.
With Google Trends, journalists will also benefit from all the data and experiments from other partners, allowing them to tell stories more effectively. Google has started with several media startups like Hacks/Hackers and Matter. These two are lucky to receive help from Google engineers so they can expand their organizations’ reach.
Other plans include holding TechRaking summits in partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting. When it comes to citizen reporting, Google also wants to improve on the process by launching three projects: WITNESS Media Lab, YouTube Newswire, and First Draft. These programs will ensure that news content generated by users are always positive and beneficial. These three are expected to become great places to shared first-hand news content from around the world.
Initially, Google is pushing News Lab in the US, UK, Germany, and France. Google hopes to use all these platforms and technologies to provide information that matters.
SOURCE: Google
