Friday's Featured Content

Fridays on the AC Blog will feature content from the site that is exceptional in some way. It won't be easy to pick each week since we have so much great stuff but we'll try our best.

Without further ado, here is Friday's Featured Content: A catchy and clever hip-hop testimonial about Associated Content by "Greg Reese from Cincinnati." Click here to go to the video. As fellow lovers of AC you'll absolutely get where he is coming from. Be sure to watch some of Greg's other videos while you're there.
Delight and joy abounded yesterday when we watched this video, and the hook was stuck in our heads for hours.

The New & Improved AC Forum

The AC Forum has just gotten a makeover. Newly expanded and redesigned, it'll be an even better place to connect with other members of the AC Community. Our forums house a wealth of information for CPs, touching on everything from tutorials on content creation to local meetups so that you can hang out in person with fellow AC enthusiasts.

Please stop by the new Forum. Let us know what you think by posting your questions and comments in the brand new "Talk Back to AC" category.

Don't miss our Town Halls, either. Next Town Hall is on September 3rd and will focus on Custom Content. More about that next week.

New media presence at the DNC

The election will be in the air until November 4th, but one thing is already clear about this election cycle: new media is here to stay. Associated Content Producers, this means you! It is an exciting time to be a citizen journalist or a blogger, and it is certainly a hot topic among more traditional media types. From our own CPs who are creating content for us about the DNC (see Monday's AC blog entry), to the 500 people at Google's Big Tent, to MySpace's Decision08 and the Huffington Post's "Off the Bus" feature, new media is a force to be reckoned with. Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, put it perfectly in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News when he said, "The bottom line is that people no longer want to be spectators. Technology allows us to essentially become participants."

New media, otherwise known as real people writing online with fresh viewpoints and compelling stories--without corporate agendas--are what we're all about at AC, and we think we've got the best of the bunch.

AC President Luke Beatty attended an interesting luncheon held by the HuffPo yesterday in Denver. Panelists Arianna Huffington, George Stephanopolous, Charlie Rose, Rahm Emanuel, and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas (and others) discussed how new media is changing the game and interacting with traditional media. It was will.i.am who had the comment of the day (courtesy of FishbowlDC), "You want to make content that you can put in your pocket, not it throw away in a garbage can." As members of the new media our CPs are making relevant, versatile, mobile content every day and are changing the way consumers get their news and information. And, unlike many bloggers, they're profiting from their labor. Keep up the good work!

Best of AC Awards September categories

News from Darnell on our Community Team:
In the next couple weeks, we'll be announcing the winners of the first ever "Best of AC Awards,"a monthly contest that rewards Content Producers who are publishing extraordinary content on AC in a wide range of categories.
Throughout August, we were on the lookout for superior Entertainment Reviews, Beijing Olympics Coverage, and Back-to-School Guides.

In September, we'll be offering awards for Home Improvement Guides, Restaurant Reviews, and a Focus on Fashion. If you'd like to point us to CPs who deserve special attention in any of these categories, be sure to nominate them in the "General Discussions" section of the AC Forum.

Coverage of the DNC and RNC on Associated Content

The political conventions have begun! Associated Content's CPs are providing one-of-a kind coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions by publishing loads of original text, video, audio, and slide shows. Here's what you can expect in the next two weeks:

• First-person reporting from the Convention floor.
• Original reporting, video, and photos from rallies, protests, parties, and more.
• Top-notch analysis from Content Producers across the globe.
• Inside sneak peeks from convention delegates.

Check this page daily for new additions.

Just this afternoon, a few of our Denver staffers went down to check out the new media action at Google's Big Tent and spread the world about AC. They even met a few CPs! View the photos here. If you are interested in participating in AC's coverage of these historic gatherings, check your Calls for Content. There are a variety of writing and reporting options available.

AC Search Plugin Now Available for Firefox and Internet Explorer 7

Exciting news from Mike Scarborough, one of our Sr. Software Engineers: AC has just released a search plugin for Firefox and Internet Explorer 7. This plugin allows users to search Associated Content from anywhere on the web using the browser's built-in search bar. Download the plugin to add it to your browser for use during article research or simply to be able to explore all of AC's fantastic content without having to navigate to the site first!

For more information and to download the plugin, click here

Welcome to the Associated Content blog!

Welcome to the official blog of Associated Content. Check here for news, announcements, fun and useful links, highlights, and informative pieces from every department at Associated Content.