Lightning in a bottle

The problem was that pulling user-generated content from the Internet is a lengthy, expensive process that takes time and attention. There was no technology to do it for you until Neslage teamed up with software engineer Charles McCrary to create FlipFlop Systems.

“That’s really where the idea for this company was born. Charles said, ‘You know what? I think I can actually fix that,’” Neslage said. “Everybody knew it was a problem, but it’s very expensive and time-consuming for any company to build a software system that will solve that problem. It took a leap of faith for our team to say, ‘We can do it. We’re going to leave our jobs, we’re going to build it, and then we’re going to put it to market and sell it as a product.’”

Usually, a news producer scans social media for compelling content. When they find a video they want to use, they ask the owner for permission and send the link to their video acquisition team. First, it sits in a queue for download, then it goes to a media manager to log the metadata, runs through the editing process, goes back to a producer for approval, then airs on the show.

With FlipFlop, a producer drops the video link into the system, and the software handles everything while the producer gets permission.

“The old way of moving video through a newsroom could take five people half an hour. Our system does it with one person in 90 seconds,” Neslage said. “You can extrapolate the cost savings, the speed to air and the resources it saves. It’s just becoming more and more important as unfortunately news organizations are shrinking and they’re relying more on that external content in their production.”

Everyone on the FlipFlop team comes from a journalism background, where leveraging social media and user-generated content becomes increasingly common as information flows freely and newsroom budgets shrink.
FlipFlop automates many of the tasks producers have to do manually to get social media content on air, which saves newsrooms time and money while making sure their broadcast is up to date.

“We’ve seen reporters in the field during hurricane coverage scan their phones in the commercial breaks and find a social media clip they want to use on air,” Neslage said. “Oftentimes that link can go from the reporter into the newsroom and be ready for broadcast by the time they come back on air. So less than three minutes.”

FlipFlop also eliminates format issues, reduces wait times and organizes content including video, photo, audio, document and live stream content for broadcast and online.

Neslage said artificial intelligence (AI) is also top of mind for reporters, so they’ve leveraged machine learning to counteract fake news or AI-generated content. The software scans for patterns in AI-generated content, then filters it for the producer.

“We built a layer into our system that uses AI and machine learning to actually combat itself. Our AI is searching for AI. We scan video content to see if anything’s been manipulated or created by AI,” Neslage said. “We’re using it to help our clients identify the fake news, the fake interviews, the fake video, before it gets into their system, and then hopefully keeps it off of their broadcasts.”

Today, most newsrooms using FlipFlop see a 300% increase in content within a few months of starting the service. It’s being used in 77 different countries and will soon be delivered in different languages to benefit non-English-speaking newsrooms.

Neslage has come a long way since the high school student who didn’t know he could make video work a career. At Auburn, Neslage said his experience in courses like media law, extracurriculars like Eagle Eye and stepping in to operate an ESPN camera for the 2003 Auburn-Syracuse game, paved his way to first working in TV, then changing how it’s done.

“What you learn in the classroom is very important and it’s going to lay a really great foundation for the rest of your career, but you’ve got to get outside the classroom. Eagle Eye was phenomenal for me. It opened so many doors. I would not have been hired so quickly out of college had I not done that,” Neslage said. “Get hands-on experience in the real world and do the things that you want to do after graduation before you graduate. That’s really going to springboard you forward.”