I want to continue my posts of “journalism business ideas.”
I still think the best idea I have (aside from Spot.Us) is a newsroom cafe. Combine that with Copy Camps and you have a newsroom that is at the center of a community.
This post has three more ideas. Admittedly they seem more like side-projects than entire business models – but why not just throw them out there?
1. WalkablePath.com
Today I walked from the Civic Center of San Francisco to Chestnut and Divisadero and back to my apartment in the Mission. Anybody that lives in San Francisco knows it isn’t the distance that makes walking tough, it’s the hills.
Perhaps this already exists – but I’d love an interface where people could insert the general ascent of their streets (mild hill north, steep hill west, etc) into the map.
Then some simple logic could determine the least resistant path for a walker. The logic could also include “extra distance walked” to avoid hills – and allow you to toggle that to your preference.
2. AmatuerWeather.com
A simple site where you can enter your zip code and then predict the weather for the next five days. The site then compares your predictions to the real outcomes and rewards you with points. Granted it is a niche site – but I could imagine some weather nerds geeking out on this.
Extra points if you predict something that Weather.com got wrong.
3. And just to be cheeky, I’ll throw out East Bay Express‘ idea presented in “Saving Newspapers: The Musical.”
Hey – East Bay Express, I’m raising money for freelance journalists in the Bay Area. You are in the Bay, you probably use freelancers. Idea: Give me a call.
That’s right… I’m calling you out!!! Or – you can always try and make more viral videos.
NewWest.net also posted a few ideas, and one I thought was a no-brainer was to hold conferences and workshops. Depending on the topic, could be an excellent source of income.