Social media has impacted how we gather and view news worldwide, and media outlets continue to struggle with a way to combine social media with traditional journalism to find a model that works. We think our March Social Media Star, Ken Hawkins, has the solution: TheDigitel.
TheDigitel, founded by Ken in 2008, is currently based in Charleston, S.C., but headed to other cities soon. It’s a site that connects readers to news from local media outlets and also produces its own stories, while integrating social media tools like Facebook and Twitter in a helpful way. They’ve also created an innovative ad model integrating real time social media content from their advertisers.
TheDigitel, which recently secured funding for expansion, has its finger on the pulse of news in the 21st Century. We once heard Ken say that citizens will become the gatherers of news and the journalist’s new role will be to provide context. We think he’s right!
Ken wears many hats at TheDigitel.com, acting as Web master, information designer, owner and editor in chief. To keep the site up to date, he spends four or more hours a day on social media sites, monitoring news and events.
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