Baseball season has been in full swing for more than a month, so this seemed like a good time to check in and see which teams have been doing the best job growing a following of fans on Google+.

It’s clearly a list of haves and have-nots. A handful of teams have been circled by more than 100,000 people, but the majority of teams have been put in less than 5,000.

Here’s the list (Note: If you are interested in following any or all of these teams, use this shared circle):

It looks like the teams at the top are the most active. The San Francisco Giants have already posted 27 times in May. At the bottom of the list, the Atlanta Braves have posted just once in May.

I’m a sucker for a good gadget, and my latest find is the Brinno GardenWatchCam. This camera takes individual jpg images at set intervals and puts them together into time-lapse videos.

This camera was originally created, as the name suggests, for making time-lapse videos of your growing garden. It even comes with a stake to mount the camera into the ground (it also can be threaded onto a tripod). But it has value well beyond your garden.

The camera runs on four AA batteries and records to an included 2GB flash drive. As something meant to be used in a garden, it’s of course weather-proof. You can take photos at intervals of 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours or 24 hours. Or use the custom setting to create your own interval (from 5 seconds to 12 hours).

And it couldn’t be easier to use. Just set it for either a close-up or a far-away shot, then press the button until you hear a couple beeps. A light will indicate each time a new photo is taken. The camera retails for a bargain price of $140, although you can likely find it for close to $110.

There are a couple drawbacks. The camera is bigger than I expected – roughly twice the size of a Flip camera. And the fact there is no LCD screen means you can’t easily frame your shots (you need to set it up, record, then remove the flash drive to see if you got it correct). But a future version appears to have added an LCD screen.

Here are a couple test videos. I’ll continue to share future videos as well. The first video was show in 5-minute increments over the course of five days. The second was shot in 30-second intervals over the course of a few hours.

Need a little time-lapse inspiration? Read this post from 10,000 Words.

If your job includes tracking Facebook and Twitter followers – your own or your competition – then you should try out a new service from Wildfire.

Wildfire’s Monitor lets you track up to 10 Facebook pages and 10 Twitter accounts on one page.

It shows a graph and a list comparing growth for each account. You can also sign up for weekly email updates of how your feeds are performing.

Once you’ve set up a search, you can bookmark that page and return as often as you like.

See it in action here.

QR codes were big in 2010. And with the number of smartphone users continuing to grow, there’s every reason to believe they will be even bigger in 2011.

A QR code looks a lot like a barcode. Users scan the code using their smartphone camera, and it in turn redirects them to a web page or a video (YouTube videos work great). QR codes are a great tool for connecting print readers with your mobile content – whether you are trying to grow awareness of your mobile site or trying to show off great mobile content.

With that in mind, I brainstormed 39 ways that newspapers (or other media companies) could use QR codes to drive engagement and readership. (Make your own QR codes here.)

1. Ask a “question of the day” in print (a lot of sports sections do this already), and let readers see the answer by scanning the QR code.
2. Link to the correct answers to today’s crossword puzzle.
3. Link to expanded box scores in your sports agate.
4. Does your newspaper do a weekly video program? Run a QR code that links to the video.
5. Trying to cutback on newsprint cost? Run shorter stories and link to longer versions of your stories.
6. Allow readers to enter a contest.
7. Simply run a QR code in print that links to your mobile home page. That crazy-looking QR code will get their attention
8. Add QR codes to your staffers’ business cards.
9. Put a QR code on your website rotating into an ad position. It’s gotta be better than most of the filler ads you’re running already.
10. Print out a giant QR code and place it in a window or on your building where the public can see.
11. Put one on the side of a bus. Or on an ad inside a bus (or subway).
12. Next time you’re printing t-shirts for a company event, add a QR code.
13. Put them on  your newspaper racks – on street corners and in stores.
14. Have a local coffee shop put them on their coffee cups 0 or place one on their counter.
15. Put them on all of your marketing material – posters, pamphlets, etc.
16. Run a poll in print, and let users scan in the QR code that goes with their answer. Example: Ask who will win the Super Bowl, and offer a QR code for each team.
17. Put QR codes in advertisements.
18. Run a QR code that links to movie times.
19. Newspapers have ads all over local sports arenas, use a QR code there to link to your coverage of that team.
20. Create a scavenger hunt in the paper using QR codes – with new segments every day (to encourage daily readership).
21. Create a scavenger hunt in your town using QR codes placed at your advertisers locations all around town.
22. Ask readers to scan in code to review the same restaurant your critic reviewed…
23. Or to see the menu…
24. Or go to a page that shows recent reviews near you (using location-based services).
25. Link to a how-to video with a cooking story.
26. Use QR codes with listings in your real estate section to see more photos of a house.
27. Put QR codes at historic/important places around town. Link them to articles where your local experts give info on each place.
28. Have a QR code that users can scan in to send breaking news to the newsroom.
29. Do you have a booth at the state fair or other events? Give out QR code temporary tattoos.
30. Do your reporters or editors give presentations to the public? Put a QR code on one of your slides.
31. Put one next to your garage sales listings to see a map of sales.
32. Run one with a photo that links to a full photo gallery online.
33. People want weather news on their mobile. Link one to your mobile weather page.
34. Link to election results on your mobile site.
35. Allow readers to sign up for breaking news text alerts.
36. Get local cell phone stores to put up a QR code in-store. Potential phone-buyers can test them out while testing out phones.
37. Do some guerrilla marketing and put them on bulletin boards around town.
38. Put one with a story so readers can easily share the story with friends.
39. Do you have a story that will drive a lot of discussion online? Use a QR code to link to where that discussion takes place.

How else have you seen QR codes used? Please share your ideas in the comments area.

Wondering what to get your favorite online editor or multimedia journalist for Christmas this year? Here are some techie tools they can’t refuse.

Flip UltraHD

$199 | More info

The latest Flip camera features image stabilization and can hold up to two hours of high definition video.

But the coolest thing? You can make sure your Flip is completely unique by designing your own cover. Just upload a photo or a design through the Flip website.

Radtech sleeve

$25 | More info

Protect your laptop while on the go with these laptop sleeves from Radtech. They double as a screen cleaner and are machine washable. Or choose from Radtech’s impressive selection of bags, cleaners and screen protectors.

Chumby

$150 | More info

What’s a Chumby? Good question. It’s kind of like a mix of an iPod Touch and an alarm clock. The Chumby lets you run apps – “from sports scores to stock quotes, from video clips to interactive games, from photos to trivia.” Put one  next to your bed or on your desk.

Google TV

$300 | More info

It’s Google TV. How will this not be a success? Or perhaps you would prefer Apple TV or the Roku. Either way you’ll bring the power of the Internet (and Netflix streaming) to your TV.

Glif

$20 | More info

Take your iPhone moviemaking to the next level with this product that makes your phone tripod-friendly. Or use it to prop up your phone for easily viewing movies and e-mails.

Owle Bubo

$170 | More info

Put your iPhone moviemaking on steroids with the Owle Bubo. Your iPhone fits right into this device, giving you an external microphone and a much easier-to-grip camera. It’s also tripod friendly.

Holga camera

$27 | More info

Go back to your photography roots with this plastic camera that leaks light and requires you to manually advance the film (film!). That’s right, complete creative control is yours! Enjoy. Especially enjoy that classic Holga vignetting effect.

Photo paddles

$10 | More info

Everyone looks better with a mustache or a cowboy hat. These photo paddles from Photojojo can help make that happen. Be sure to check out all the fun photo accessories (camera lens bracelets!) available in their store.

What tech toys are at the top of your list?

You’ve mastered Facebook and Twitter. You’re blogging like you’ve never blogged before. You’re posting live video and hosting live chats. You’re sending text alerts and updating your mobile site.

So what is the next big technology media sites should be using? My vote goes to Tumblr, which is something between Twitter and a blog.

Here’s what they say:

Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop, email, or wherever you happen to be. You can customize everything, from colors, to your theme‘s HTML.

Why you should start a Tumblr

1. It’s easy to post, and your updates are already pre-formatted depending on what you want to share (a quote, a link, some text, a video, a photo, etc.).

2. It’s already mobile. Go to your page from a desktop site and you’ll see the normal view. Go to it from your smartphone and you’ll see the mobile view. And it’s easy to share from your mobile site using the tumblr app.

3. It’s niche. Readers subscribe to your tumblr, which brings everything you post into their stream. This works well with niche content, because people are more likely to subscribe to content that they are passionate about (a sports team, politics, etc.)

4. It goes into readers’ feed. I mentioned this already, but tumblr uses the same feed style that has worked well for Facebook and Twitter. Once you subscribe, updates go into your main feed so you’re sure not to miss them.

5. Everybody else is doing it. Check out tumblrs from Washington Post Style, Newsweek, The Today Show, The Atlantic, The Detroit News, ABC News Radio and Life Magazine (to name a few).

Some ideas for your first Tumblr

• Post interesting quotes that make their way into your publication (and link to the full stories).
• Follow a great local high school athlete who went on to play college and pro sports elsewhere (using links to stories and videos).
• Have your design desk post an image of the paper’s front page each day, and discuss the story play and challenges that went into the news decisions.
• Your photo desk could post a photo of the day.
• Your features staff could post interesting links they find as they’re researching their next stories.

Do you have other ideas for news tumblrs? Or know of news orgs using them well? Please share in the comments area below.

Storify is a great new tool that lets you easily embed posts from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube to your blog.

Here’s what they say in their FAQ:

Storify is a way to tell stories using social media such as Tweets, photos and videos. You search multiple social networks from one place, and then drag individual elements into your story. You can re-order the elements and also add text to give context to your readers.

It has several uses for news sites, including organizing public reaction to events or news in your coverage area. To test it out, I put together some info related to Tony Romo’s injury on Monday Night Football last night.

Here’s the result:

I have a lot of interest in the iPhone (and the new iPod) as an all-in-on multimedia journalism tool. So I decided to put my iPhone to the test at Drake men’s basketball media day today.

First, the bad news: Lesson one was to make sure you are perfectly comfortable with the tools you will be using. I recorded audio of the coach’s press conference using the application Monle. As I left the presser and started to listen to the audio, I couldn’t find the audio. My best guess is that I hit the wrong button when going to save the audio, and it never was saved.

Video: I recorded two videos, both interviews with players. For the first video, I used the built-in microphone. For the second, I used an external microphone.

The audio seems about the same with both, although the external mic seemed to help cut down on background noise. The second video is a little shaky, likely because I was holding the mic with one hand, leaving just one hand to steady the camera.

Photos: I also shot a few photos. These aren’t worthy-of-the-front-page shots, but I certainly wouldn’t be embarrassed to post them to a website or blog post.

The results

Negatives: Clearly losing the audio from the coach press conference was a big one. And the shakiness on video No. 2 was less than ideal.

Positives: The big positive here is speed. Even as most reporters are just leaving media day (it started 90 minutes before I am hitting publish on this), I already have edited and posted two videos and four photos. The quality is good considering I was shooting indoors with no external flash or light.

I’ll look for a chance soon to truly test the audio to make up for my error there.

I’m a big proponent of using free, readily available tools to enhance coverage on your news website.

Today, the Des Moines Register showed us that sometimes you get what you pay for when using free tools. Their use of a pop-up ad, side-of-the-page ads, live video and a live chat on the home page created a tsunami of advertisements that likely turned off even the most dedicated of readers.

[Note: As a former web editor at the Register, I complete understand why this happened (using two free tools, both of which include their own ads). But as a reader, it was frustrating to deal with.]

What happened: President Obama was in Des Moines today, and the Register pulled out all the stops with live video and a live chat related to the event. The problem: They use Livestream for live video and CoverItLive for live chats, and both of those services insert their own advertising.

Combine that with the Register’s own high-impact ads, and this is what readers saw:

1. A pop-up ad for the Fireplace & Stone Center.

2. Side-of-the-page pillar ads for the Fireplace and Stone Center.

3. A 15-second pre-roll video add before the live video started.

4. A 30-second pre-roll video before you could enter the live chat.

But wait, there’s more. Once you make it past these four ads, you’re not home free. Two more ads pop up as the video plays (5) and live chat continues (6):

So what is the lesson here?

Should we avoid free services? Absolutely not.

But we have to understand how these services affect the user experience, especially when we start to combine them.

The Register was doing a good thing here: giving readers live coverage of an important event. And to some readers, it might have been worth wading through all of the advertising to get to the content. But I’m guessing that wasn’t worth the time for many readers.

Apple’s announcement last week of a new iPod touch was a big one. The three biggest new features were the Retina display, Facetime video calling and HD video.

That third one, for the journalism world, is a winner. With the addition of a camera, the iPod touch now becomes the do-it-all device no journalist should leave the office without (at least those who don’t already own an iPhone).

When I was at the Des Moines Register, we debated whether reporters should all have iPhones. While the easy answer was yes, the monthly cost was a bit steep. The new iPod Touch gives you almost all of the tools of the iPhone without that pesky monthly cost (Of course, you’ll need a wifi connection to actually publish using these tools).

Video: Users can record HD video from the built-in camera, then edit their footage in the iMovie app ($4.99).

Audio: The free Voice Memos app allows you to record and e-mail audio. For more audio recording features, step up to FiRe – Field Reporter for $5.99. When you’re done, you can edit your story together using Monle ($9.99).

Photos: It’s a little disappointing that the iPod Touch has a .7 megapixel camera and not the 5 megapixel camera available on the iPhone. So don’t expect to get stellar photos – but do expect to get good enough photos for the web and to run small in print.

Applications: If you use WordPress for your site or blog, you can use the WordPress app to file your stories/blog posts directly from your iPod touch.

Do you use CoverItLive for live chats? Us the CoverItLive app to run your chats directly from your iPod Touch.

Game Center: You can’t work all the time. When your shift ends, go play some games.

Are there applications you use for journalism? Please share in the comments area below.