POST: The Tool for Journalists

This is POST, our newest creation. A tool to make life easier for journalists, giving them the help and advice they need at exactly the right time—developed with help from Google’s DNI.

Digital editorial is a big part of what we do at Edenspiekermann. Having worked so closely with news teams and editors, we knew that there was always room for improvement and innovation.

Instead of starting with a project vision, we began with a question: what was the most pressing issue facing editors, and could we do something to help?

It’s not often we’re lucky enough to start with such an open aim, but thanks to our Maker Days we had the time and resources to work on something simply because we were passionate about it. We carried out user research, interviewing editors to find out what could really make a difference to their workflows. With the findings from our research, we came up with the idea for POST.

The post-publishing phase is often overlooked in newsrooms. With POST we wanted to create a tool that ensured stories reached their full potential, and Google’s Digital News Initiative provided the funding for us to bring our idea to life as a working prototype.

So what does POST do?

POST tracks stories once they’re published, keeping tabs on traffic and traffic source, offering hints and tips to improve story reach and traction. It fits seamlessly into workflows, operating as a Slackbot that takes your story URL, monitors it, and suggests the right action at the right moment—quick and simple.

Is your article suddenly blowing up on Twitter? Or is it mysteriously back from the dead? POST knows, and it will do more than just let you know—it’ll provide hints or tips to take full advantage: