Don’t worry, we aren’t stalking you – we just want to help make social media work a little harder for you.

Yeah, that’s right – Foursquare and work. It isn’t JUST a game.

In addition to the never-ending quest to earn badges and mayorships, Foursquare gives users a unique opportunity to share and access information about the places they visit.

Imagine checking in at a restaurant you’ve never been to only to find all the info you need right on your phone in the form of user tips. One person recommends a dish that isn’t on the menu (“but they’ll make it if you ask”), another informs you there’s another ladies room in the basement. Handy info, right?

We’d like to think so. That’s why TBD is teaming up with Foursquare and our network of 100+ community partners to bring you tips on local dining and attractions as you wander the DMV.

Become friends with us on Foursquare and you can get help with your order from the hungry bloggers of Dining in DC, Metrocurean, Capitol Bites and more of our partners. If you want more info, click on the link in the tip to see the full review on the blog.

You find out to avoid the fish at Cafe So-and-So and some deserving local bloggers get new readers coming to their sites. Everybody wins.

Aside from dining tips, we have a lot more we want to do with Foursquare once we get this thing launched. If you’re currently a member, follow us. If you’re not, well, we’ll understand.

Do you have ideas for what you’d like to see us do with the social media tools you use? Leave a comment or email me – I’d love to hear ‘em.

-Mandy Jenkins

Though we don’t have our next tweetup planned just yet, we can assure you there will be many more.

We’re also happy to announce six new members of our always-growing TBD Community Network. This group includes the FanSided network of sports blogs, and we’re thrilled to be working alongside them. (Capitals Outsider, another FanSided blog, has already been introduced as part of the network.)

Joining us now are:

DC Pro Sports Report

They Say: Covering pro sports from the Capital of the free world.

Food Truck Fiesta

They Say: A real-time automated DC food truck tracker + commentary!

We Say: Locating your favorite food truck has never been easier. Kyle over at Food Truck Fiesta provides an awesome real-time automated food truck map, plus a blog that’s updated throughout the day.
 

Riggo’s Rag

They Say: Riggo’s Rag is an in-depth, non-biased blog about Washington, D.C.’s favorite team: the Washington Redskins.

We Say: It’s pretty hard to get too much news from training camp, and we know Riggo’s Rag will be all over it. Here you’ll find a combination of original reporting, analysis and aggregation.
 

Teddy Never Wins

They Say: Teddy Never Wins is a Washington Nationals blog. Whether is be breaking news, funny commentary, or penetrating opinion we’re on it.

TheDCPLACE

They Say: TheDCPLACE is a progressive, online Video Magazine that brings commerce, volunteerism, the arts and going green Together. TheDCPLACE presents short, co-host guided video webspots, links and news about People, Leisure, Arts, Community Service, and Entertainment (P L A C E).

We Say: Todd Clark and his team of video reporters provide a look into the city’s cultural events. TheDCPLACE is also committed to volunteerism and “going green,” and highlights area programs and volunteer opportunities.

Wiz of Awes

They Say: Wiz of Awes is the premier Washington Wizards blog on the net. Check it out for all the latest developments in the brand new John Wall era.

We Say: The blog has been active even during the long off-season, which makes us think it’ll be a must-read as Wall takes over.

We at TBD know you don’t have to be a nerd – or even be on Twitter- to appreciate a good tweetup, especially if there’s beer involved.

Join some of the TBD staff Tuesday, July 27 from 5:30 to 8 as we attempt social contact (though not for the first time)… over happy hour specials at Whitlow’s on Wilson in Arlington.

WoW’s happy hour specials run from 4-7 pm and include $2 PBR and Miller High Life cans; $3 drafts (not including Guinness); $3 red or white house wine and $3 rail drinks. If you’re hungry, we’ll just happen to be there for $4 Taco Tuesday, you you’ve got that going for you.

TBD staffers will be around to answer your questions, take your suggestions and steal chips from your plate.

You can RSVP at our Facebook page – or just show up and surprise us.

Around the Mall

They Say: Want the inside look at the new exhibit at your favorite museum? Or the latest Zoo baby news? Check us out for all things Smithsonian.

We Say: It’s hard to think of DC without the Smithsonian Institution. Around the Mall keeps you up to date on the exhibits, events, and announcements from the many Smithsonian museums and locations.

Capital Cooking Show

They Say: Exploring the culinary and cultural riches of our nation’s capital.

We Say: Interested in the latest cooking trends or looking for exciting new dishes to try out? Check out Capital Cooking Show, hosted by Lauren DeSantis, as she takes you on a culinary journey through the city.

Clarendon Culture

They Say: A blog about my explorations through Clarendon: the dynamic D.C. suburb where I live, work, and play.

We Say: Amy Moore writes about the daily excitement of food, art, people, shopping, and other adventures in her blog, Clarendon Culture.

Get Healthy from the Inside, Out!

They Say: Get Healthy from the Inside, Out! is a blog about getting healthy both mentally and physically. Gain insight from a woman who has successfully lost 100 lbs by adopting a healthy and active lifestyle. Learn how to set realistic health and fitness goals, eat better and start an exercise routine.

We Say: Vicki VanArsdale provides easy, healthy recipes along with tips and inspiration for changing your habits for a healthy lifestyle.

GW Hatchet

They Say: The GW Hatchet is an editorially and financially independent student newspaper serving The George Washington University community in D.C.

We Say: The Hatchet’s hard-working students have embraced the web and cover every corner of campus. We’re glad to lead readers to the depth of coverage they’ve provided for many, many years.

Lunching in the DMV

They Say: A restaurant review blog to help those living in the DC Metro area find good places to eat.

We Say: Writer Marie shares her tips and experiences dining around the DC metro area. A few recipes here and there don’t hurt, either.

WelcomeOmDC

They Say: WelcomeOmDC is a hub, resource, and online fitness community dedicated to yogis, runners, athletes, and the wellness-minded of Washington, DC.

We Say: This site is worth a look for its yoga directory (including free and reduced-cost community classes) alone, but stick around for the Weekend Warrior roundup of fitness-minded events in the area.

Ken Doctor contrasted TBD’s acceptance of varying standards in our Community Network with the “Church of High Integrity” approach of traditional media organizations:

TBD’s approach is web, 2010. It’s a Society of Friends approach, and one being put into place not by starry-eyed newbies, but veteran journalists reinventing their craft on the fly. There’s risk there, of course, for Steve Buttry and Jim Brady in the approach. Undoubtedly, controversies will pop up on their watch, and their new practices will be dissected.

Mathew Ingram of GigaOm mentioned TBD in a post noting various “hyperlocal” projects in the works, and noting that others have failed:

Despite the entrance of heavyweights such as Patch.com into the market, however, it’s still not clear whether hyper-local blogging and journalism in general can generate enough revenue to make them viable as businesses in their own right. Anyone with a stake in that market will undoubtedly be watching TBD and Journal Register’s attempts closely.

Judy Sims mentioned TBD in consecutive posts speculating on the causes of death “if newspapers cease to be” (and we are neither predicting nor cheering for such an event). The causes, Sims said, will be failure to recognize the necessity of community and failure to focus on return on investment.

By the way, this message is not just for mainstream media companies.  Pure plays such as Washington’s TBD.com and Toronto’s OpenFile.ca need to focus just as much (probably even more) on ROI if they’re going to support themselves with online ads alone.  TBD is off to a great start (along with the Journal Register Company) by partnering with GrowthSpur.  (Full disclosure, I’m on GrowthSpur’s advisory board).

David Rothman is offering advice aplenty (seven blog posts so far) both for TBD and for the Washington Post to “outgun” us (we’re hoping any competition won’t involve actual shots being fired):

• TBD’s Washington area news startup: Niche blogs wooed — but no signs YET of a hyperlocal nirvana
• TBD, meet NYC’s Westside Independent: Role model for SOME neighborhood blog affiliates
• Hyperlocal journalism and TBD: More coming on what makes a great ‘hyper’ site
• Georgetown Dish joins TBD blog network: Deja vu angles — in Washington Post’s backyard
• How TBD could use hyperlocal journalism to kick the Washington Post’s butt
• How TBD Web startup in the D.C. area will work with affiliate bloggers
• How Washington Post and New York Times could outgun hyperlocal sites like TBD and Baristanet

Shashi Bellamkonda blogged about the TBD Community Network (of which he’s a member) and our many appearances at Digital Capital Week last month.

With the latest to join (listed below), there are now 105 sites in the TBD Community Network. TBD will be linking to their content from our local pages and topic pages, and working with the site owners in a mutually beneficial relationship that sends them traffic and gives us a greater ability to tell you everything that’s happening right now in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

TBD will be selling ads for some of these sites to help them earn money for their hard work, and we will be working with Growthspur to help the site owners sell their own ads and sell across each others’ blogs. If you blog about a place or topic in DC and you want to get involved, please let us know.

Please check out our latest partners:

BananaBlueberry

They Say: BananaBlueberry is a “mom blog” specializing in good stuff. It’s about life lessons, helpful hints, good ideas, flops, mistakes, triumphs and living in the DC area.

We Say: Savvy mom Nicole Crowley shares helpful experiences and tips for things to do with children.

 
 

Carry on Curry

They Say: Food talk, reviews and chat about restaurants, conversations and recipes in the Washington DC metro area, Maryland, Virginia and other places where we travel.

We Say: Shashi Bellamkonda of Carry on Curry provides insider tips on events and happenings around the Washington metro area.  His blog offers great information and tasty reviews and advice on restaurants in the city.

Dave Saunders

They Say: Local business reporting, marketing, personal branding, social media.

We Say: Dave Saunders knows technology and social media. Check out his blog for the details on the latest events happening around town.

 
 

DC Arts Beat

They Say: An eclectic guide to fine arts events in the greater DC area, focused on contemporary performances and showings in the classical tradition.

We Say: Self-described arts junkie Paul Moon provides occasional views of local arts performances and exhibitions, with a special focus on affordable events and ticket deals.

 

DC Wrapped Dates

They Say: A recipe book for food dates in the District.

We Say: Looking for a new spot to take your date?  Kim and CC of DC Wrapped Dates rate local restaurants on food and atmosphere. Check ‘em out for new places to dine.

 
 

Inspirest

They Say: We inspire entrepreneurs through interviews and business growth resources.
We Say: This site takes you behind the scenes with the region’s entrepreneurs to uncover lessons for other aspiring business leaders.

 
 

KidFriendly DC

They Say: KidFriendly DC is a resource for parents who take advantage of all the city’s great offerings for children. From the tried and true to the new and cool, find out where to go and what to do with the kiddos in the nation’s capital.

We Say: Linda Samuel provides a plethora of ideas for fun events and activities that kids will love.  Don’t be surprised if the adults in your group love them too!  From museums to sporting events, Kid Friendly DC is your home for family fun.

Mopwater PR + Media Notes

They Say: Mopwater PR + Media Notes is a resource for journalists, marketing and PR professionals, and media consumers. Mopwater is written for entrepreneurs and artists, as well as marketing and PR professionals. The general reader will find media and marketing/PR job listings, insight on the media and social media landscape, as well as interviews with up-and-coming marketing professionals, journalists and entrepreneurs.

We Say: A useful resource for the large and busy Washington marketing and public relations crowd.

Susie’s Budget and Policy Corner

They Say: Information is one tool of the advocate’s trade. Susie shares local budget and policy information, event and training notices, nonprofit odds and ends, and more.

We Say: There’s a lot of public policy made in D.C., and Susie Cambria keeps track of when, where and who is making decisions that affect how you live.

 

Thayer Avenue

They Say: A blog focused on events, bizarre happenings, and psychotic civic associations on Thayer Avenue and the downtown Silver Spring Area.

We Say: Every opening, closing and happening in Silver Spring is covered in depth here, and the active comment threads make this a great conversation hub.

Interacting with readers, sources and community partners will be part of what we do every day – though usually through Twitter, blog posts, chats and the like. We understand that to really be part of the community is to be IN the community – as in, not staring at a glowing rectangle from our desks at TBDHQ.

With that in mind, we are starting public “office hours” where you can informally meet up with TBD staff to share your ideas, feedback, criticism or just some company over coffee.

Here’s how it’ll work. TBD staffers will tweet out when and where they’ll be working outside the office. If you’re in the area or want to escape from the office for a little while, stop by the location and look for the TBD logo. Pull up a chair and chat for awhile.

We’ll kick this off tomorrow morning at Java House near Dupont Circle, where Lisa Rowan and I will be working from 10 to noon or so. I hope you can come by and say hello.

We get that you can’t always get away during work hours, so we’ll still be holding regular happy hour meet-ups and tweetups. Stay tuned for those event announcements on our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

We hope to meet you – in person! – soon.

- Mandy Jenkins

TBD will be a non-traditional journalism organization in many ways. But we’ll be really old-fashioned in one respect: Our commitment to accuracy.

In fact, we are hopeful that you will see that our new-school ways help improve our performance in this old-school value.

A recent comment on this blog asked: “How does TBD ensure accuracy in reporting? What mechanisms does TBD have in place so that readers will trust that the content on the site is accurate?”

A valid question, and we welcome it.

The response starts with corrections. We will be as aggressive in correcting our mistakes as we were in making them. Each article or blog item that includes a mistake will carry highly visible correction, and a repository for all corrections that appear on the site will be available sometime after launch. The corrections policy will apply to all errors of fact as well as misspellings of proper nouns and the like. Errors than can be classified as typos will get a pass.

We’ll be inviting our readers to fact-check us. A box will accompany most TBD articles under the banner “Complete This Story.” It’ll prompt users to tell us what’s wrong, and it’ll also note the story’s weaknesses as identified by editors and reporters at TBD, inviting you to help us fill the holes.

Furthermore, the blog that you’re reading now will continue and will become a running conversation with the community, with a standing often-stressed invitation to call to our attention to any errors we make and any you see in the TBD Community Network.

But that’s just a way to correct errors. We also want to make sure we get things right in the first instance. We are hiring a staff of excellent professional journalists who share our commitment to accuracy and verification. To underscore that, TBD content will be filled with links to original source documents and online sources. We regard linking to sources when they are available as a matter of ethics, an essential act of accuracy and accountability. We’ll have a lot of video content, so you often will be hearing quotes as people said them, not just reading what our reporters scribbled in their notebooks.

We trust that the bloggers in our TBD Community Network share our commitment to accuracy. If we learn of someone who is repeatedly careless with facts or refuses to correct errors, we will stress the importance of accuracy and offer tips for improving their performance. We know that many of the bloggers in our network are professionally trained journalists who understand how to verify facts and find the truth. Others may lack that training, but we will offer workshops and we trust their commitment to get the facts right. We don’t expect this to happen, but if we have a staff member or blogger who consistently makes mistakes or refuses to correct errors, we would coach them in improving their accuracy, and eventually, we could end that association if we didn’t see improvement.

We’ll make mistakes. Journalists always make mistakes and we may make a few more because we’ll be trying new things and engaging the community in our news gathering and taking risks. We think the community will help us get it right more often than they will steer us wrong, but it would be foolish to say we we’ll get everything right. But we can promise that getting things right is our top priority, that our innovative efforts will include ways to improve our accuracy, and that we will be as transparent as possible in correcting and explaining errors.

When Steve Buttry, TBD’s Director of Community Engagement and one of the authors of this blog post, was at the American Press Institute, he led two series of ethics seminars, the second one focusing entirely on the ethical challenges of the digital age. He led discussions with hundreds of journalists at more than two dozen newsrooms and conferences across North America. An accuracy workshop was one of the most popular sessions. At the end of this post, we will include some links to online resources on journalism ethics. We encourage TBD Community Network members and other journalists, whether you’re part of TBD or not, to read them and make sure they are taking all the steps they can to verify information and ensure accuracy.

While we will have high expectations for our staff and network on matters of accuracy and other ethical matters, we will not try to force everyone to follow one standard. We are not planning to be the old-school-ethics cops. Some members of the network are blogging about their passions and about community activities with which they are involved. That doesn’t fit the traditional journalism standard of independence and neutrality. We think in these cases transparency should be the prevailing ethic. We will encourage network members to disclose their involvements with the topics they address. But we won’t hold them to the same standards we hold for our staff.

Let’s address one perception, though: This issue of different standards is not a one-way street, with all the concerns swirling around the new media. Accuracy and ethics are continuing challenges for traditional media, too. Buttry has been misquoted in the Chicago Tribune (years ago) and misparaphrased in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (also years ago and partly his fault for not being completely clear, and we can’t guarantee that won’t happen with one of our reporters and their sources). Buttry has blogged before about concerns about the social media guidelines and the confidential sources practices of the Washington Post. This week, some local tweeps noted that a Post blogger used a photo from a local blogger and passed along a story the blogger had written (about police harassing a photographer), but failed to credit the blogger:

1. 
   phearlez WaPo “heard of a case.” This is a step DOWN from “a local blog,” WaPo. http://bit.ly/c0ELD0 14 Jul 2010 from Tweetie for Mac
2. 
   tbridge You know, @postmetro, for every story like http://bit.ly/c0ELD0 that steals sources from local blogs, I root harder for your bankruptcy. 14 Jul 2010 from Tweetie for Mac

Journalism is a pursuit of excellence, not the achievement of perfection. Some bloggers may not meet our standards of accuracy, and we’ll work with them to improve and will continue to link to their content unless they show they don’t care about accuracy. And we’ll link to the Post’s content, even if it doesn’t meet our standards for attribution and unnamed sources.

Resources for journalism accuracy and ethics

Accuracy first

Accuracy is more important than ever for journalists

Remember the old editor’s advice: Check it out

Resources for journalism ethics

Some of these materials could use updating, which we will do before we present any workshops for TBD staff or bloggers. Please feel welcome to add links to other helpful resources for ensuring accuracy, or to raise your questions about any matters of journalism ethics or TBD’s plans.

Our friends at GrowthSpur announced their partnerships with TBD and Journal Register Co. on their blog today. The post describes well how we will be working:

GrowthSpur’s role will be to help the TBD network bloggers with ad sales, by providing them tools and training and assembling them into a local network in which they can sell each others’ ads. The first of the TBD bloggers are already on the GrowthSpur ad server and out selling ads to businesses in their communities. It’s been awesome meeting and working with dozens of cool, passionate bloggers in the D.C. area … We can’t wait to see it launch in the next few weeks. We think TBD is going to be a model for the future of modern metro news sites, and we’re honored to be able to help the bloggers make some money for their efforts.

We share the excitement. As we described in this blog earlier in the week, our relationship with GrowthSpur is a critical part of the TBD Community Network strategy.

GrowthSpur CEO Mark Potts has been a pioneer of digital journalism and a leading voice for innovation in the news business. We are pleased to be on the same team.

I decided to aim for the former.

I never became a professional food writer, but I did have a food blog that I kept up with for about five years. I started it when half the world didn’t even know what a blog was. That’s certainly not the case anymore, as you can pretty much find a blog on any topic ranging from vampires to spelunking.

Not only that, but blogs are now a large part of today’s media. From national blogs to hyperlocal blogs, their posts educate, enlighten and encourage discussions with their readers.

But it isn’t just blogs that have reshaped traditional media.

Social media has as well. And in a big way.

We live in a 140-character world, meaning that many of us are busy, impatient and picky with the news we consume. I know I am. But fortunately, we all still want news of some sort (weather, traffic, latest restaurant openings, politics, Justin Bieber, etc.)

Twitter has been one of my major sources for news. I love that I can get all of my information quickly in one spot, and also communicate directly with others so easily. As a journalist, I’ve used it to crowdsource information, share story ideas and add more depth to my pieces. It’s enabled me to become a better storyteller.

But I think being able to connect with others is one of the biggest and best things about it.

It’s how I met Steve Buttry, the director of community engagement for TBD.

It may also be the reason I got this job.

Because you see, not too long after I sent in my application, Steve started following me on Twitter. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw this. I returned the follow, and from there came a few email exchanges and an interview… and then a couple more email exchanges and another pitch for why I’d be the best person for the position.

The job offer didn’t come right away, but it did come. And I’m thrilled to be on board.

My background is in multimedia and broadcast journalism. I spent a few years at a financial trade publication, freelanced for local weeklies, one-man-banded around the Maryland State House during grad school, co-directed a documentary on homelessness in Washington, D.C., and most recently produced stories for a hyperlocal news show.

Now I’m excited to have to the opportunity to work on a different kind of news; one that’s more local and community-based. As part of TBD’s community engagement team, I’ll get to connect with people through different mediums. Whether it’s online via Twitter, Facebook and Foursqure or out at local events, meet-ups and Tweet-ups, it’ll be wonderful to engage with the community on a more personal level. So, if you see us around, come over and say hi. We’d love to meet you and hear your stories and what you have to say.