In this week’s edition of II’s summer guest blogger series, Steven King takes us inside the News Innovation team at The Washington Post. He details recent projects of the “web ninjas,” and answers reader questions.
We sit in the Arlington newsroom in a pod that is crowded with multiple screens, extra computers, an Xbox 360, and even a newspaper circulation box. Our meetings consist of impromptu spinning around in our chairs to discuss database models and server load issues to arguing over the latest plot turns on Lost, or even critiquing the latest Star Trek film.
Our News Innovations team, internally known as the Web Ninjas, is tasked with rapidly developing new and creative ways to tell stories and present information in a form that brings revenue to the site. The team consists of three guys with various talents and distinct roles, but the ideas, innovations, and enhancements stem from everyone and grow in the collaborative environment.
Jesse Foltz is the front-end developer who works primarily in ActionScript 3, JavaScript and HTML/CSS. Lee Trout is responsible for all back-end processes and databases. He works in Django, Python and JavaScript. My role is to integrate our projects with the rest of the company by working directly with section editors, the advertising team, public relations, and the other technology teams. That is why I wear a coat and tie and Jesse and Lee can wear t-shirts and jeans. We also work very different hours depending on personal preference and the development state of the current project. Most days I’m in before 9 a.m., Lee comes in about 11 a.m., and Jesse makes it in around noon with the most productive coding days ending around 3 a.m.
One of the reasons we are able to keep the creative freedoms and relaxed atmosphere we enjoy is because this year so far we have generated close to $2 million in revenue for our projects and hope to move that number to $4 million by the end of the year. Although revenue is not the only measure of our success, it is easier to justify future projects when previous projects have brought in dollars.
Latest Project:
Our latest major launch was the technology to deliver a “scheduled delivery” video show or special video project interface such as onBeing and Mouthpiece Theater. We created three modular tools/features that can be used together or independently in future renditions:
Fluid: A 3-D media navigation tool that allows for hierarchies and multiple types of displays. Built on Flash Actionscript 3 and using Papervision 3D, Fluid can display numerous videos in 3-D space allowing users to navigate without scrolling.
Web-Com: A threaded and user-moderated comment system that provides a visual representation of the most valuable comments and conversations among users. The comments are cataloged in a database and displayed via Flash. The most liked comments become larger and conversations (replies) gravitate to the center. Users who like a more structured view can switch modes to see them in a list.
OmniViewer: The Flash video player can display live broadcasts and progressive streaming at any size and in full screen. The new controls provide an intuitive interface that also allows users to quickly move through the video without buffering delays.
Each one of these technologies is managed through a Django interface and OmniViewer contains an extensive JavaScript internal API that allows other developers across Washington Post properties to use a single video player, speeding up development for future designs and projects.
Our team’s goal is not only to create cool interfaces and features, but also to build them as frameworks, APIs or with administration tools that allows other developers or newsroom editors to use the technologies for themselves.
Coming Soon:
I would rather not say exactly what we are working on, but we tend to be doing a lot of work with video, user generated content and mapping so you can expect to see some new things in all of these areas or maybe a combination of all three. Also, we plan to make some upgrades to TimeSpace and are considering a couple of ways to allow the public to build their own TimeSpace projects.
Please comment below if you have questions and I will try to answer them.
Steven King is currently the editor of innovations for washingtonpost.com where he and a team of developers and editors work to produce new and creative ways to tell stories.
King returns to The Post after two years of being based out of Chiang Mai, Thailand serving as an overseas correspondent for the International Mission Board.
Hhe article's content rich variety which make us move for our mood after reading this article. surprise, here you will find what you want! Recently, I found some wedsites which commodity is colorful of fashion. http://www.scarf8.net
nike dunk shoes
Hhe article’s content rich variety which make us move for our mood after reading this article. surprise, here you will find what you want! Recently, I found some wedsites which commodity is colorful of fashion. http://www.scarf8.net
Marksmith585
I would rather not say exactly what we are working on, but we tend to be
doing a lot of work with video, user generated content and mapping so
you can expect to see some new things in all of these areas or maybe a
combination of all three. Also, we plan to make some upgrades to
TimeSpace and are considering a couple of ways to allow the public to
build their own TimeSpace projects
Anonymous
In this week’s edition of II’s summer guest blogger series, Steven King
takes us inside the News Innovation team at The Washington Post. He
details recent projects of the “web ninjas,†and answers reader
questions.
Steven King is currently the editor of innovations for 
Pingback: Wardrobe designer
Pingback: Espritblog
Pingback: Andreas H. Lunde
Pingback: Wardrobe designer
Pingback: Steven King