Newsvine Hits the Bigtime - Where does that leave You and Me?

Unlike some folks, I'm actually pretty excited about the recent news that Newsvine got bought by MSNBC. Yes, they're the big bad mainstream media. If Mike and the gang had to give up creative control over newsvine as a part of the deal I'd be packing my things and heading out - I hear reddit is lovely this time of year.

But the idea seems to be that newsvine remains quasi-independent. There are a few things that could change, but The Big Fear as far as media goes has always been censorship and having read what's been written about this I am not afraid that this will somehow lead to Rupert Murdoch personally screening my articles before they go live.

Looking at this for a moment, here's what newsvine gains:

• Stable servers with a huge corporation making sure that things are up and running and (hopefully) faster than they've been.
• Exposure exposure exposure. This deal made the AP wire, is making the rounds on all the main blogs, etc etc etc. We are going to have lots of new readers tearing down our doors, so now would be a good time to dust off that old article idea you had but were too lazy to write and to start getting interviews.
• A larger community (ok, we're not sure how positive this is going to be. The newsvine community does not have a long history of "plays well with large new blocks of users." If we're honest with ourselves we'll admit that we may have a rocky transition ahead - so I'd like to urge everyone to be open-minded and welcoming. We've got the best user community on the internet, for my money - and I firmly believe that if we stick to our guns and do what we do best (that is, interact with respect and civility and genuine insight) then those values will prevail. What we don't need is anyone swaggering over and saying "Alright, noobs, listen up. Here's how we do things around here, and you'll do it or get out..." cuz that trick never works. Ok?
• Hopefully more resources in general. I'd love to be able to upload video and audio streams, to phone in breaking news stories, etc. I'm actually told there's a whole whiteboard with some crazy ideas on it - Calvin, we get to see those implemented now, right?

Ok, so that's out of the way. Now let's get to the meat of the matter, because I get the sense that this is going to be a big @!$%#storm until things settle down. We've seen what we gain - what are we going to lose?

So far, nothing has been said. We know Mike will remain CEO, but he now reports to MSNBC. What does that mean, exactly?

Here are my concerns, which may or may not be born out. I'd like to see them addressed and discussed, and if you think of something that I haven't please leave a comment.

• Censorship. The idea of "quality content" has been flung around like so much monkey crap lately. I've been a big flinger - I want to see us rid of divisive, idiotic, false and inflammatory articles and seeds. Some people have accused me of favoring censorship, but there's a difference. I'm opposed to such things regardless of content.

  What I'd like to have some assurance of is that as we go further into this buyout, the content of a seed or article won't become a factor if we are evaluating its quality. I'd like some assurance that there isn't some boardroom exec, accountable to corporate stockholders, who has a big red button to delete any content that said stockholders don't like. What we all love about newsvine is that we get stories here that don't make it to cnn.com or fox.com or msnbc.com - we get quirky analyses and crazy conspiracy theories and we discuss them. I'd like to know that that won't change.

• Money. Calvin, in one of a flurry of comments today, has said that the ad rev scheme won't change for now - but that some changes may be coming in the future. I'd like to know what those changes will be and to what degree they are a reflection of this new deal. Earnings have tripled in the past few months and I for the first time feel like with a few solid articles I could pay my credit card bills with newsvine. I don't want that to change, and I'd like some assurance that any changes to the ad rev scheme don't have a detrimental effect on my earnings.
• New Users. I addressed this above a bit, but anyone who was around when the NYT crew joined newsvine remembers that drama. More users are great - but I'd like to see the much-discussed modifications to the code of honor and I'd like to know how the team expects to integrate a deluge of new users without falling victim to mob commenting mentality. We don't need a new crowd (from left or right) making idiotic comments on political articles, and if buyout is as successful as it sounds then that may become a concern.

I'd like to wrap this up with one more comment - things look like they're about to change. Newsvine got bought, and as much as people tell us that it'll be just like old times (which is what the staff is supposed to say in such a situation, it's in the "so your social news site got bought out, eh?" handbook) you and I both know that it won't. We're in for some turbulence, and that means we have a choice:

We can embrace it, roll with it and adapt to it, or we can dig our heels in and resist it. Well, from where I'm sitting it looks to me like resistance isn't going to change much. So my advice to anyone who has concerns is simply this: look on the bright side and figure out how this is going to work for you. If you have a negative attitude you'll have a negative experience and will in turn do your part to ruin it for everyone else. If you have a positive attitude, you'll have a positive experience and do your part to save it for everyone else.

I'm not saying we should put on rose-colored glasses and greet our new overlords with open and unquestioning arms, but there's no reason to shoot first and there's no reason not to give them the benefit of the doubt. The newsvine staff has made a lot of complex and difficult decisions since this site started and I have to give them credit - they're usually pretty damn good decisions.

(except for chat, that blew.)

Anyway, the choice is ours, so let's make the best of it - cool?

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	How Can We, As Newsviners, Help With This Transition And Related Questions	Scott (Scoop) Butki	Mon Oct 8	16
	The Future of Newsvine and What it Means to You	Calvin Tang	Sun Oct 7	324
	Welcome New Users (No really!)	spiffie	Mon Oct 8	55