Chris Snider

In the world of presidential politics, Iowa goes first. Which also means the Des Moines Register goes first – first to test out latest digital tools in its caucus coverage. I asked Register Digital Editor Julia Thompson to reflect on how some of those tools worked out on caucus night.

I know several “print” designers who have yet to take the leap into web design. Heck, I doubt some of them ever will. Even if they never decide to learn HTML and CSS, there is an easy way for print designers to make their company’s better: Infographics.

Want to gain more Facebook Likes? Strike a deal with one of your rivals. That’s what the University of Iowa and the University of Nebraska did in connection with their Nov. 25 football game (the schools’ first meeting since Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference).

I noticed a couple instances today where reporters did a great job using social media, and I felt it was worth pointing them out. The first one was from Tony Leys of the Des Moines Register. Leys wrote a story about a cemetery that is still in need of work after the 2009 floods:

I was looking for a session called “The breakout technologies of the next four years – and how media companies should use them” at last week’s South By Southwest interactive conference in Austin. But apparently it was nowhere to be found. Fair enough. I was going to have to work harder to find the next [...]

This is part of an occasional series dedicated to the ideas that pop into my head: When a sports team wins the SuperBowl/World Series/state bowling title, it’s fairly common practice for the newspaper that covers said team to put out a book. Next time your team wins it all, why not take your photos, videos [...]

This is part of an occasional series dedicated to the ideas that pop into my head: If you run a website where readers have to create their own accounts, why not sell your default avatar as an advertisement (Tastefully done, of course). Obviously people can upload their own avatar to make the ad go away. [...]

Fox 8 News in Cleveland is approaching 150,000 Facebook fans. Meanwhile, The Cleveland Pain Dealer newspaper’s cleveland.com Facebook page has a whopping 7,143 fans. That means the TV station has the potential to reach 21 times as many people on Facebook anytime it posts news or information. And has 21 times the potential to draw [...]

College football season kicks off this weekend and pro football the next. Which means your football coverage plans are likely in full swing. So here’s a checklist to make sure you’re ready for the opening kick. The basics Schedule page Roster page Historic results, statistics page Desktop wallpaper (could be schedule or just photos of [...]

The New York Times ran an article Sunday about media companies using Tumblr to increase their social media reach. Over the last few months, other media outlets have caught wind of Tumblr, which is free to use. The newest recruits include The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, BlackBook Media Corporation, The Paris Review, The Huffington Post, Life [...]