Publish2's News Exchange offers great promise for journalists

I'm happy to be among the beta testers for Publish2's News Exchange, which was formally announced to the world today at TechCrunch Disrupt.

After using News Exchange for a few days -- and quite a bit today -- I can safely say it brings a whole new mindset to how media organizations can share, pursue and purchase content. I've worked with Associated Press content and tools since I was a college student in the 1980s and my first impressions of News Exchange last week were, "Wow, this is a game changer."

News Exchange is a simple but powerful rethinking of traditional content-sharing networks like The Associated PressThe Associated Press ought to be very worried because the News Exchange tools, while rough in spots, have the possibility of being a very powerful yet much less expensive alternative to more traditional services like AP. In short, Publish2 sees News Exchange as a better, livelier and cheaper middleman between media providers and customers.

News Exchange allows news organizations -- not just newspapers but bloggers, broadcast outlets, educational institutions and more -- to share a wide range of content, set up topical or geographical news services, even collaborate to contract for stories of shared interest.

The News Exchange concept is so simple it's brilliant. It builds on Publish2's core tools, which aggregate interesting stories bookmarked by journalists. I've been using Publish2's core tools for awhile and have found them to be powerful and super easy to install and use. Sharing a story with other people can take a matter of seconds. My plan is to make those same tools a core element in a dramatic redesign of our news presence on bakersfield.com that's on the schedule later this year.

With any luck, News Exchange will be part of our toolbox as well.

But there's a big gap between dreams and reality, and there's much work ahead in terms of polishing the tools, bringing in new providers and helping skeptics see the possibilities.

I'm not worried about the team behind Publish2, including terrific advisers and directors -- I'm more worried about traditional news people who see News Exchange as a threat or a burden rather than an opportunity. The beauty of News Exchange is it opens the door to bring non-traditional content into traditional products. As with any new venture, particularly one that turns tradition on its head, there will be bumps, even moats, in the road. But the prospects of lively yet professional content from new voices are too much to ignore.

That's not to say AP doesn't have lots of leverage and reach in this battle. Experience and trust go a long way in a world where pro-am media can range from superb to awful, even tragically incorrect. But in order to win this game, AP can no longer stand on its laurels and take baby steps in re-inventing itself. That clock stopped ticking earlier today.