Until now.

Last week during game 6 of the ALCS on TBS, I caught the tail end of a segment extolling the Texas Rangers' smallball prowess. The announcers were carrying on about a list of 17 run production virtues (which I can't find online for the life of me) the team posts in its dugout. You know, the little things — moving runners over, taking the extra base — that, when strung together, can lead to big things.

That got me thinking: What would a smallball list for interactive news look like? What are small, fundamental things that virtually anyone can do that, if embraced widely and consistently, can make your news team a digital winner?

The meandering list below — containing 17 best practices, like the Rangers' — probably isn't refined enough to post in your dugout, or, er, cubicle. But it should get you thinking. The best part is these are specific tasks (except for, well, the first two) that almost anyone can do, not just multimedia vets or Web development power hitters.

But first…

Two overarching rules

These are kind of like "There's no crying in baseball."

1. Let the story determine the platform, not vice versa.

2. The process is becoming the product. The less you fight this and the more ways you find to work with it, the easier life will be.

Now, on to the nittier, grittier suggestions, organized by subject area.

News gathering

3. Make a note of PDFs and other electronic documents — or even websites or online videos — consulted for a story; users might like to consult them, too.
 
4. Encourage every smart phone owner in your newsroom to install basic live publishing apps like Qik and Ustream for video and Plixi and Instagram for pictures. If they find news or news finds them, these might come in handy, even if it's just to share information with colleagues.

SEO

5. Include alt text, description meta tags, keyword-rich titles.

6. Link to related content. (Good for context, too.)

7. Retain the same story URL for the duration of a breaking news story, writing through it, or, probably better, updating it in a serial, blog-like fashion. (Also good for context.)

Mobile

8. Include thumbnails with lead stories.
 
9. On social media, link to mobile-friendly versions of breaking news stories.

10. When applicable, append mobile articles with addresses of places mentioned in or related to the story. Most mobile browsers automatically pull up a map when users tap locational text.

Social Media

11. Respond to social media mentions.

12. On Facebook, post articles with photos; on Twitter, RT, @ reply/mention, use hashtags; on Foursquare, leave tips.

13. Include reporters' Twitter handles at the end of their articles.

14. Reserve your brand name on the "next" platform/service/network, even if you don't plan to use it now.

UGC

15. When soliciting content, link to previous contributions users can emulate. This also shows people their stuff isn't going into some cyberspace black hole.

16. If a submission is exemplary, or just every now and then, personally thank your contributors.

17. Pretend you're a user and you see news breaking. Pretend you have a photo/video/tip and want to share it. Pretend you don't know how. How many clicks/taps on your Web/mobile site until you do know? If you're unhappy with your answer, make this information easier to find.

Creative Commons photo by Flickr user Nero.Lives
Modified Creative Commons photo by Flickr user erik jaeger