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Phil Meyer’s Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive is a succinct, easy-to-read manual for using the new tools necessary to survive as a journalist on the web.

Chapter 3: “Tools and Toys”

Meyer outlines two kinds of tools for the reader: Tools a journalist should be using, and tools a journalist should understand that others are using.

He explains how journalists can make it more convenient for readers to access their news content using unconventional tools like cell phones and BlackBerries.

Tools You Should Use

Vanity searching

• Vanity searching is not just for journalists. Anyone seeking a job should do a thorough check of the footprint they've made on the web to make sure they aren't broadcasting an unprofessional image for the world to see. Make sure to check Google, Yahoo, and any social networks you belong to.
• As Meyer cautions, even if you haven't posted any inappropriate content yourself, others might have posted images of you to their own albums. Most social networks have the tools to allow you to remove your identification information from other people's photos, even if you aren't able to take the images down.

Flash Drives

• Flash drives are an important tool for backing up and transporting data. Meyer notes that "smart" flash drives are on the horizon, which will allow users to run active programs from their portable drives, bringing bookmarks, instant messenging programs, and games with them wherever they go.

Tools Your Reader is Using

Mobile Phones

• Meyer introduces some statistics -- of 200 million mobile phone users in the United States, 70% have mobile phones that are web-enabled, and 35% of users with the web option regularly use it.
• It's hard to predict the way that demand for web content will mature as the technology reaches "critical mass," says Meyer, but it's important to keep an open mind about what kind of information might be deserving of instant update.

iPods

• Incredibly popular among young people, iPods are now receiving attention from mainstream media. The Roanoke Times and other newspapers offer "podcasts" (audio segments) and "vodcasts" (video segments) for download to the portable media players.
• Meyer's advice to journalists is to become "early adopters" and make downloadable video a part of their news coverage now

Wireless All Over

• New options are popping up all the time to keep people wirelessly connected almost anywhere they go, says Meyer, and this means the audience for breaking news is getting bigger.
• "Mojos" or mobile journalists, otherwise known as backpack journalists, help build a relationship with a newspaper's online audience by offering a steady stream of timely, local content. The newsworthiness of the material they offer is sometimes questioned, says Meyer, but they are still a valuable experiment

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