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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Many news websites are working to refocus on local news, and often this means turning to automated aggregation. One hyper-local startup in Charleston, S.C., is blending links, community and visuals to try and redefine aggregation by giving it a human context.
TheDigitel.com was launched by Ken Hawkins in June 2008, and recently received its first round of venture capital funding from Palmetto Investments & Exchange Group.
Hawkins and his team are now deciding where to expand next. In keeping with its community philosophy, TheDigitel has even asked readers to vote for its next destination.
Hawkins spoke about the concept of “context aggregation,” using wikis to engage readers, and other topics shortly after the funding was announced in October 2009. Here’s an edited version of my interview with him.
Can you say how much funding you received?
Hawkins: It’s not huge, but it does give us the momentum to ‘break out’ of the test market in Charleston and start expanding.
Talk about the process of finding your investors. How much control will they have?
Hawkins: The investors were pointed our way through a mutual contact at another
local company, BeliefNetworks. I still retain more than a ’super majority’ of [TheDigitel]. However the investors bring not only cash but more of a business background, something journalists are often lacking.
Ken Hawkins and Chris Giganti created Giant Hawk Media for this, “Giant Hawk Media is founded on the principle that online success requires you to be a good Web citizen and provide a straightforward, interactive, and comprehensive view of the community and what is happening within it.”
“Our product is called TheDigitel.com, and it creates unparalleled access to a community’s pulse. It also gives media producers — whether individuals, large media outlets, or something in between — traffic from a broader audience.”
It works like an open channel with two-way traffic. TheDigitel is the platform for the community to participate and the news professionals to investigate more organic stories, and for the news-savvy to find all of the hyper-local headlines in one location.