Searching for a good mobile and web chat system for the newsroom

As I prepare for the newsroom to go full-smartphone, I'm trying to find a good chat system.

Please jump in with your ideas in the comments section!

Currently, our newsroom uses an old instant messaging that only works on desktop computers, logged in by VPN that we cannot add on smartphones.

Here's what we're looking for in a system:

  • Dead simple user interface
  • Available for desktops and mobile devices (iPhone and Android - an iPad app would be nice, but those users could potentially use the iPhone app or the desktop website)
  • Login is dead simple and requires no more than a name and email address
  • Users can chat one-on-one (in groups is also nice, but not necessary)
  • Users can send text and photos (sending videos and current location would be nice, but are not necessary)
  • Photos and text sent can be easily copied or saved to the mobile device or desktop
  • Dead simple to find other users
  • Fast chatting speeds - almost no lag

Here's what we've tried or thought about already:

Kik
Pros: Very simple to create an account. Very simple to find other users. Easy to chat. Very quick push time. Chatting is one-on-one.

Cons: You can send photos, but they cannot be downloaded or copied to the mobile device. No desktop website or app.

Beluga Pods

Pros: Has a desktop website. Very fast chat speeds. You can download or copy content sent back and forth. Automatically sends the location with each post (when you send, not the original geotag for the created content).

Cons: Chatting is in pods and it seems easy to accidentally add other people to the same pod - making one-on-one simple comunication difficult - could get clogged up. Requires a Facebook account to connect. Automatically adding the user's location to every message can turn a work-only chat network creates privacy problems. Potential: Beluga Pods was recently acquired by Facebook - meaning the service could be dramatically changed or killed in the acquisition process.

Google Talk

Pros: Continued service is more likely with a Google product than with a startup, though still not guaranteed. Users who already use Google Talk can just use that service without learning a new system. Integrate nicely on iPhones, Androids and desktops.

Cons: Not easy to find other users - unless you have them in your Google contacts. Requires a Google account. Would link personal Google accounts to the work chat network. 

Please jump in with your ideas in the comments section!

Media organizations need to invest in building a mobile workforce

Now is the time for media companies to make up for their print>web problems by investing in mobile now.

Remember the whole print to web transition? How news organizations failed (along with other businesses) in early web attempts due, in part, to people making decisions without having personal web experience? The same thing could happen with mobile.

I do not just mean investing one or two people. Developing one mobile app does not count. Spending money on smartphones for top executives also does not count.

But how would smartphones help you might ask? Generally, journalists agree that smartphones help - but they don't really know how.

Here's how I think smartphones help journalists:

Be more efficient AND produce more quality and timely content AND improve engagement with and understanding of audiences.

Be a mobile consumer

Plain and simple the best way to understand something (as an objective observer) is to use it. How do you figure out what Twitter is all about? First step: join Twitter. Second step: use Twitter. The same thing holds true for journalists (or anyone) and smartphones. The first step is getting a phone (see the sidenotes at the end of this post about that topic). The second step is using the phone (actually using the phone every day and trying new things).

Getting and using smartphones as a person - not a journalist - will help journalists understand best what mobile audiences want and need in mobile news apps, websites and services.

Communication internally at work

  • Communicating with your boss, colleagues and employees
  • Mobile access to view, edit and organize your work calendar and e-mail and tasks
  • Maintaining and updating story budgets

Communication externally at work

  • Communicating with sources
  • Staying connected on and posting multimedia content to social networks
  • Being alerted to breaking news and information from your coverage area

Producing and editing content

  • Taking notes
  • Recording audio from interviews
  • Taking video
  • Taking photos
  • Edit or update content before or after publishing
  • Moderate comments from any location

Limitless possibilities

  • Driving directions
  • Using location-based social networks
  • Finding story ideas by using mobile apps
  • Reviewing mobile products for your audience
  • My list above is not comprehensive. What other ideas do you have? Please add those in comments!

Sidenote about investing in employees: I firmly believe it is your organization's responsibility to invest in its staff, with: competitive salaries aligned with your responsibilities and experience and future potential impact on the organization, the proper tools to communicate and report and edit and innovate (and that right now includes smartphones), flexibility in work hours (the mobile shift means you'll be spending more work time doing personal stuff and vice versa), overtime or time off (burnout is not good for the individual or the organization) and at least 10% of work time to be spent on whatever innovation the individual wants to pursue (Google Time, but perhaps 10% rather than Google's 20%).
Investing in yourself: Is your boss or organization unwilling to invest in a smartphone for you? Maybe the best solution is to buy yourself a smartphone. Think about how much you'll end up using the smartphone for your personal life. Think about how much more you will learn and how better your adaptability and experience will speak for you on your resume. I understand not all people can afford a smartphone, but many people spend the same cost as a monthly smartphone bill on unnecessary items. This is the time to invest in yourself.