Crowd-sourced commissioning: Community for publishers isn’t all about commenting
Long-form Science/tech journalism start-up Matter has been consulting subscribers over what to write about next.
I’ve been blogging quite a bit over the last few days about the communities on media websites, whether it is the closing of the BBC Archers message board, or the comment threads underneath articles at the Guardian. Building relationships with the audience isn’t always about given them the opportunity to post blobs of text however, and Matter have recently taken an interesting approach.
Matter is the science/tech journalism start-up founded by Bobbie Johnson and Jim Giles, who publish a slow but steady stream of long-form journalism about “the future”. They recently opened up a small consultation with subscribers as to which stories they should be commissioning next.
The survey was done using All Our Ideas, and simply presented subscribers with a couple of story idea options. They then expressed a preference for one over the other. There was also an option to freely submit additional ideas.
It was a very light-touch consultation, and the experience was beautifully optimised for mobile consumption. I got the email invitation and expressed a few preferences all on my phone in the space of a few moments.
There’s an interesting point about digital publishing pricing structures here too. At merely $0.99 monthly, I’m happily subscribed to Matter, but I’m one of those probably puzzling subscribers who has never read any of the pieces. In my head I’m happy to keep funding the site, and having a small say in their editorial direction, whilst having all the content theoretically on my “to read on holiday” list.
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by Martin Belam, February 18, 2013 
I’m a designer and journalist, and the founder of Emblem, a digital consultancy offering user experience design, information architecture and training services. I’ve spent over a decade building products for brands like the Guardian, Sony, Vodafone and the BBC, and now work with clients in the publishing, media, arts, heritage and culture sectors. To find out about working with us, please email.
Hannah Waldram points out to me via Twitter that the Guardian similarly used All Our Ideas to ask readers what coverage of the NHS they’d like to see in March 2012.
I also like how Matter run Q&A sessions with the writers a short while after an article has been published – another way to get value from your $0.99. Possibly works better while there’s still a relatively small (?) community subscribing to Matter – may get a bit unwieldy if they have to sift through thousands of questions every month….
I’m the same – I’ve only read one of the three pieces so far – but took part in the consultation and have the other articles saved in Pocket for reading at a later date, when I feel I have the time to commit to and absorb the stories.
But I certainly feel part of the Matter community despite only surface engagement so far.