Open Classroom

OurMedia, the citizen media portal, has created a Personal Media Learning Center to help people acquire the skills “to create videoblogs, podcasts, screencasts, digital stories and other emerging media forms,” reports site co-founder J.D. Lasica. The new how-to site includes an Open Media Directory that points to shareable audio, video and other content. The list of how-to topis is incomplete and OurMedia is asking for tutorials from people who’ve taught themselves how to use new media tools. But congratulations on a great start on a necessary project.

Contextual selling: Pam Mahoney’s New Media site captured a reference to BloggerKit.com which offers a way to embed Amazon links into a blog template in the hopes that visitors will click and buy to your benefit. Plenty more info at the FAQ. I know of at least one other similar effort that has not yet been announced so this notion of direct selling based on context may just be early days.

Journos quit print: Paid Content reports that Christopher Carey, an investigative reporter for the St. Louis Post Dispatch has gotten backing from Mark Cuban to start a citizen media effort to “focus on stock fraud and executive malfeasance.” In a related move, Om Malik explains why he’s giving up his day job to become the 24×7 GigaOm.