Mashups... What??

What exactly is the purpose of a “mashup”, you ask?  A mashup is a helpful and information-packed tool for journalists, offering a range of reporting necessities from national statistics to shows playing at the neighborhood theater.  The information available on these mashups aren’t necessarily solely for journalistic purposes, but rather just an interesting tool for everyday people to look up specific information. 

Mashups are readily available to the general public; however, it seems as though this tool is mainly used by journalists for researching a topic and incorporating it into a story.  Personally, I didn’t even know these databases existed if it weren’t for my Online Journalism course and I’m glad I came across these helpful creations. 

Mashups like Statemaster serves a strong journalistic purpose.  It provides national statistics and state comparisons and can be used as research for a story regarding specific state percentages of crime.  Politifact is an excellent tool for journalists researching the authenticity of certain political facts.  Politifact also offers a great “meter” detail that illustrates Obama’s fulfillment in keeping his promises. 

Everyblock.com and ThisWeKnow.org are great mashups to look up information within a specific location through an address, zip code, or city.  Everyblock.com is a site that I would visit regularly to search events and current news within my neighborhood.  ThisWeKnow.org offers more specific information within the political standpoint of a neighborhood.  For example, I can find that my neighborhood releases almost six million pounds of over one hundred pollutants within 15 miles.  I found this mashup as the most fascinating and thought provoking because it offers information that I wouldn’t regularly look up and certain facts are really intriguing. 

It seems like mashups are mainly created by journalism outlets because the topics are compiled of political views, statistics, and crime reports; however, Everyblock.com has an aspect similar to Craigslist as it offers real estate listings and even local deals ranging from hair salon discounts to oil change discounts.   Although Everyblock.com provides some journalistic attributes, it is comforting to know I can use this database simply to look up local shows and deals within the Lincoln Park area.