Citizen media websites, such as YouTube, Netscape and Digg, are a goldmine for story ideas. These sites allow users to submit stories, videos or pictures. Users rate them, or the stories get ranked by how often they're viewed. For example, Digg.com has users "digg" (if they like) or "bury" (if they don't) a submission. The submissions with the most "diggs" appear on a popular stories page.

There are so many of these sites, however, that wading through them would be time-consuming. Popurls.com offers a solution. The site tracks top headlines and hits from a dozen such web sites as well as from several more conventional sources, like Google News and Wired.

Some of these headlines can be localized. Digg's "10 Unexpected Uses of the Ipod"  lists downloadable programs like TipKalc, which calculates tips and totals and can divide a check up to five different ways. The story also mentions students using the device to record lectures, create electronic flashcards, learn foreign languages and cheat on tests. How are students in your school using their ipods? What are some of the most popular downloads? What are teachers doing about these recently publicized cheating methods?

In a recent Morning Meeting item, Poynter's Al Tompkins wrote that he finds many story ideas on Stateline.org, the Casey Journalism Center newsletter, IRE.org hot tips, ResourceShelf, DocuTicker, Digg and Slashdot.

So start digging online for ideas, and tell us what you find.


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