Populous will be a free, and incredibly powerful, content management system specifically tailored to the needs of a college newsroom. In addition to the CMS our project has two more components: a digital newsroom, and a social network. Our ultimate goal is to provide any, and every, college newspaper with the tools necessary to have a great website that easily incorporates web 2.0 features and industry trends.
We want to make it easy for college newspapers to upload and play video, audio, slideshows, flash content and anything else that might come up. We will also include software that will allow a newsroom to plan and organize content, and that will allow a community to organize itself. We know most schools don't have the resources to develop the kind of software they need to have a great website, and with the help of the Knight Foundation we're answering that call.
Phase I: CMS
Our CMS will be released in beta this fall. Features include calendar, photo and video uploads and blogging. We hope to create a space where collegiate and small town newspapers alike can create and publish content easily online.
Phase II: Digital Newsroom
Our Digital Newsroom will be released in beta this Winter. It includes story planning, communication features and personalized calendars. This aspect will allow student editors to use laptop computers and mobile devices to communicate and plan both locally and remotely
Phase III: Community News Network
The Community News Network will be released in beta in the Spring. It will complete Populous with a social network used to make and distribute community news and allow users to interact with newsroom content and also create their own.
