30 Aug 2009

Lifestreaming: Newspaper Uses Posterous to Solicit and Publish Reader Photos

You're probably sick of me talking about Posterous, but it's been about a year since I have been this excited by a new platform and its potential to change how we publish. I don't know what the future is for the company (and no, they aren't a client), but I love its simplicity, its hub and spoke model and its collaborative features. But don't just take my word for it. Check out how others are innovating.

John Bridges, a reporter with the Austin American Statesman, today is using Posterous to solicit and publish reader photos documenting a "day in the sun." Readers can submit their photos via email to post@austinheat.posterous.com and then approved images get added to an aggregate Posterous site you can find here. Brilliant.

I bet that others in the media will catch on soon and realize what you can do with this elegant, simple platform. We often overlook that the media helped Twitter go nuclear. Friendfeed was a bit to geeky to engender the same response, but Posterous I bet is simple enough that the media will start to put it to use in creative ways. This is the first example I have seen.