Sunday, July 31, 2005
BlogHer: Blogging 101 preso
If you'd like a copy of the presentation given by Julie Leung and myself at BlogHer, let me know.
No commercial reuse, folks, otherwise, enjoy.
No commercial reuse, folks, otherwise, enjoy.
Blogher, revisited
So, it's over.
And so many moments of it--many outside the planned events--were just so great.
For me, the three flashpoints were
I suspect BlogHer will lead the way to many more related events and projects--congrats to everyone involved.
And so many moments of it--many outside the planned events--were just so great.
For me, the three flashpoints were
- the people--old friends and great new people
- the diversity--themes and attendees varied more widely than other conferences I've attended--and that added such richness
- the fact we did it
I suspect BlogHer will lead the way to many more related events and projects--congrats to everyone involved.
Blogher: My photo album
BlogHer was the best--and I took about 60 photos--now all on flickr.
(I will organize them further when I have more time...)
Quote of the day: How newspapers can survive Web 2.0
"If we are to survive as a business dedicated to producing quality local news, information and dialogue, we need to move, too, with people and resources. But that means more than just re-creating the print product online. It means understanding the culture of the Internet, and of blogging in particular, and understanding how we can work on and with the Internet (i.e., with users of that medium) to expand the quantity and quality of the local news, information and dialogue we provide."
-- Les Alexander, Editor,
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Quote of the day: My readers know more than I do
"My guiding principles in journalism are the usual ones. I believe in getting it right, being fair, shining lights on things that are hidden when they affect the public good, etc. But I have developed another guiding principle in the way I do this craft.
My readers know more than I do. And if we can all take advantage of that, in the best sense of the expression, we will all be better informed."
--Dan Gillmor, former Merc columnist, author We Media, founder, Grassroots Media
BlogHer: Off to the races
I'm at BlogHer--the conference is swinging into gear with 300 folks crammed into the big meeting room and the sound of Kumbaya is faint above what's turning into a down and dirty moment with a blogger in the audience who tells Halley Suitt "I asked you for a link and you didn't link to me!"
And Halley says "Okay, I blew it--ask me again."
The room roars with laughter and the conversation takes off: Trish Grier,Liza Sabater, Staci Kramer, and others in the audience are chiming in on links, influence and playing the status game(or not).
This is not your father's conference, folks--and this is not even your brother's conference, friends--this is the do-acracy and i have feeling it is going to ROAR.
Congrats Lisa, Elisa, Purvi and Jory--you pulled it off.
And Halley says "Okay, I blew it--ask me again."
The room roars with laughter and the conversation takes off: Trish Grier,Liza Sabater, Staci Kramer, and others in the audience are chiming in on links, influence and playing the status game(or not).
This is not your father's conference, folks--and this is not even your brother's conference, friends--this is the do-acracy and i have feeling it is going to ROAR.
Congrats Lisa, Elisa, Purvi and Jory--you pulled it off.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Quote of the day: There is a power shift going on
"There has been and there is a power shift going on: from the producers of media to the people formerly known as the audience. That's what I like to call them, because they're not really an audience anymore. And terms like "audience" and "consumer" and "viewer" and "reader"--which have become threaded into journalism--aren't really that accurate for the people on the other end of the process. So there has been a power shift from producers to users, mostly because of the Internet.
"Increasingly, because of the Internet, because of blogging, some of the press is actually shifting into public hands. So whereas the press and the media once overlapped almost completely, now the press has shifted. The nonprofit world owns a piece of it, activists and people involved in politics own a piece of it and the public owns a piece of it.
"Bloggers are developing this platform that journalists will one day occupy, and that is the reason why people in the mainstream press should pay attention to them."
----Jay Rosen, The Nation
Blogher: Saturday dinner plans
Trying to figure out Saturday dinner plans for Blogher--what are other conference attendees doing?
Also thinking about post-party hanging out at my place....
If you are interested in a meet up at dinner or hanging out later in the night, let me know.
Also thinking about post-party hanging out at my place....
If you are interested in a meet up at dinner or hanging out later in the night, let me know.
Seth Goldstein on the (new) Attention Trust
Serial entrepeneur and smart guy Seth Goldstein's got a long and fascinating post about
his new Attention Trust nonprofit and the market shifts and consumer behaviors that led to these ideas.
Building off Michael Goldhaber and others, Seth defines attention as a valuable commodity and posits that we can manage it like other assets(I think).
He writes: "Our challenge as consumers in the age of paid search and performance marketing, therefore, is whether/how to wrest control back from the machine that has begun to anticipate our intentions for its proprietary gain."
And
"The choruses of attention, data, privacy and identity are all converging in one giant conceptual mashup, which stretches from Web 2.0 pundits to members of Congress grappling with identity theft regulation. Lost at times are the basic rights we are fighting for, which I understand to be:
his new Attention Trust nonprofit and the market shifts and consumer behaviors that led to these ideas.
Building off Michael Goldhaber and others, Seth defines attention as a valuable commodity and posits that we can manage it like other assets(I think).
He writes: "Our challenge as consumers in the age of paid search and performance marketing, therefore, is whether/how to wrest control back from the machine that has begun to anticipate our intentions for its proprietary gain."
And
"The choruses of attention, data, privacy and identity are all converging in one giant conceptual mashup, which stretches from Web 2.0 pundits to members of Congress grappling with identity theft regulation. Lost at times are the basic rights we are fighting for, which I understand to be:
- You have the right to yourself.
- You have the right to your gestures.
- You have the right to your words.
- You have the right to your interests.
- You have the right to your attention.
- You have the right to your intentions."
AOL teams up with feedster--confirmed
Yup, it was true--release is on the wire now:
AOL Working with Leading RSS Search Engine to Provide Fully
Customizable Portal Page with Automatic Updates for RSS News and
Content Feeds from across the Web
Rafer quote: "AOL is one of the first to make RSS easy-to-use for mainstream
Internet users. With My AOL and My Feeds, AOL is continuing its
industry leadership in making new technologies accessible. We're thrilled to be AOL's
partner powering My AOL's Feeds and Search. Together, we will
demonstrate to AOL audiences and the online industry the growing power
of RSS feeds."
(Note: Tony Gentile says this was announced back in the day...stil gets my attention.)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Quote of the day:Traditional news organizations are now competing with millions of people
"Today, the ability for anyone with a computer and a connection to the Internet to disseminate news and information is shaking the foundations of the news business. Traditional news organizations are competing both online and off with thousands, potentially millions, of people who are telling stories ranging from global to personal."
--Dwight Silverman,
Breaking: Feedster to power My AOL?
Just heard that Feedster's about to announce that they will be powering RSS search and feeds for an improved My AOL.
Guess that means that Feedster is going to power AOL's My Yahoo competitior--does it also mean AOL will buy eventually them?
Hmmnn...
Guess that means that Feedster is going to power AOL's My Yahoo competitior--does it also mean AOL will buy eventually them?
Hmmnn...
My new car is a cat
Did you hear the one about the woman whose cat leapt over the fence on the patio, broke its leg, splintering the bone?
And how the repairs cost about as much as a used car?
That woman would be me and my little black alley cat is now suddenly worth a few thousand dollars, based on the surgery invested in him.
The emergency room vet said to take him to the regular vet, but the regular vets couldn't handle the his broken leg, so I ended up at the orthopedic surgery experts, having a consult.
The way you fix a broken leg with splintered bones in a cat is that you screw a steel plate into the leg, add steel pins, then lock it in a big crate for 6-12 weeks till it heals.
The only other fix possible, the vets said, is to cut the goddamned leg off.
So, given the choices between orthopedic surgery and amputating the broken leg to save money, which would you pick?
So yeah, now my new car is a pussycat...one I am happy is walking, safe and home.
And how the repairs cost about as much as a used car?
That woman would be me and my little black alley cat is now suddenly worth a few thousand dollars, based on the surgery invested in him.
The emergency room vet said to take him to the regular vet, but the regular vets couldn't handle the his broken leg, so I ended up at the orthopedic surgery experts, having a consult.
The way you fix a broken leg with splintered bones in a cat is that you screw a steel plate into the leg, add steel pins, then lock it in a big crate for 6-12 weeks till it heals.
The only other fix possible, the vets said, is to cut the goddamned leg off.
So, given the choices between orthopedic surgery and amputating the broken leg to save money, which would you pick?
So yeah, now my new car is a pussycat...one I am happy is walking, safe and home.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Podcast, vlog, and photoshare: Is Jane Pratt's next project all digital?
Crain's NY Business reports that Jane Magazine founder Jane Pratt is leaving the magazine she started in 97 to start a new entity that will "talk to women in this peer-to-peer way."
Does this mean Ariana Huffington is going to get a run for her money?
Or that Pratt is going to do something as cool and right today as Jane was back in the day?
Does this mean Ariana Huffington is going to get a run for her money?
Or that Pratt is going to do something as cool and right today as Jane was back in the day?
Quote of the day: Editors are filters
--NYU Professor Jay Rosen, during a
BlogHer: Do you want to play by today's rules or change the game?
Lisa Stone's hitting her stride. This bright and passionate woman, one of the driving forces behind BlogHer, has some things on her mind.
She writes:
"It's time we got back to rocketing the conversation about women and blogging to higher ground. Like a different galaxy. Now that we've demonstrated where (some of) the women bloggers are, let's leap-frog tokenism, push past lip-service, and frame a discussion about our future with this technology (not their plans for it).
She writes:
"It's time we got back to rocketing the conversation about women and blogging to higher ground. Like a different galaxy. Now that we've demonstrated where (some of) the women bloggers are, let's leap-frog tokenism, push past lip-service, and frame a discussion about our future with this technology (not their plans for it).
The BlogHer Debate question for 2005 is this: Women bloggers, how do you want the world to learn about what you're creating -- if at all? Do you want to play by today's rules or change the game?"
So, how would you change the game?
As Lisa suggests, there will be lots of people in Santa Clara on July 30th living out these questions--Stay tuned to see what answers bubble up (including some from me...)
Monday, July 25, 2005
Newsweek launches BlogTalk feature with Technorati
Well, Technorati's got that big, integrated media deal--Newsweek's just launched their new Blog Talk feature, which is a see what the blogosphere is saying about this article feature built into all their article pages (see example here.)
Congrats, everyone.
Congrats, everyone.
Quote of the day: Find, Use, Share, Expand
Fuse: 'Find, Use, Share, Expand' --
"At the center of the idea of FUSE is what's happening to media - how every single medium - music, TV, print, telecom, even our first versions of the web - is being remixed and reordered by Web 2.0.
It's an old saw, but mass media really is becoming my media - through RSS, podcasting, iTunes, Tivo, blogs, and many innovations to come."
--John Battelle, John Battelle's Searchblog
"At the center of the idea of FUSE is what's happening to media - how every single medium - music, TV, print, telecom, even our first versions of the web - is being remixed and reordered by Web 2.0.
It's an old saw, but mass media really is becoming my media - through RSS, podcasting, iTunes, Tivo, blogs, and many innovations to come."
--John Battelle, John Battelle's Searchblog
Mary Hodder: How services track links to blog
Mary's got a detailed analysis of how services track links to blog up, with more to follow.
She writes: "This exercise is an attempt to give readers and users of the services a comparison of how the services so that they can take best advantage of the strengths and avoid the weaknesses in order to track URLs, keywords, other special services, and alerts or subscriptions or watchlists (the services each use different terminology in order to differentiate themselves but users tell me the terminology is just terribly confusing and they wish that as an industry we would settle on one term and use it across all the services and then get on to figuring out how to provide the service better."
Well worth a read.
Oh, and here's a PDF of the data.
She writes: "This exercise is an attempt to give readers and users of the services a comparison of how the services so that they can take best advantage of the strengths and avoid the weaknesses in order to track URLs, keywords, other special services, and alerts or subscriptions or watchlists (the services each use different terminology in order to differentiate themselves but users tell me the terminology is just terribly confusing and they wish that as an industry we would settle on one term and use it across all the services and then get on to figuring out how to provide the service better."
Well worth a read.
Oh, and here's a PDF of the data.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Ben Hammersley: Outsourcing almost everything
Guardian Unlimited: Ben Hammersley writes about personal outsourcing--web sites, blogs, and even the transcription and writing of the article he published.
Quote of the day: Rethinking the news
"In a world where national leaders are turning away from the news media, citizens have an increasing lack of confidence in the press and young people are moving perhaps permanently away from traditional newsgathering organizations, a radical rethinking of how news is delivered seems necessary- even overdue."
--Merrill Brown, Abandoning the News, Carnegie Foundation report, January 2005.
JD Lasica as AP story lead
JD Lasica's posted a link to a story on consumers becoming their own editor (by using newsreaders) by Anick Jesadnun--but there seems to be something waayyy off about a story whose headline touts consumers consumers using newsreaders leading with a hed on someone who is both a practicing journalist and a leading blogger.
It's great press for JD, who rocks, but please, this is sloppy. Wouldn't a better title have been "Growing usage of online newsreaders poses questions for publishers?"
Oh, well.
It's great press for JD, who rocks, but please, this is sloppy. Wouldn't a better title have been "Growing usage of online newsreaders poses questions for publishers?"
Oh, well.
Will Microsoft announce feed search for RSS?
Niall Kennedy and others are watching Microsoft crawl and spider feedspace and wondering when the new product--an RSS search engine--will inevitably launch.
Micrsoft's Scoble implies the feeds were for the brand new Virtual Earth.
...I don't think so.
It's a matter of when, not if.
Micrsoft's Scoble implies the feeds were for the brand new Virtual Earth.
...I don't think so.
It's a matter of when, not if.
Web 2.0: It's about connecting the dots--no, we ARE the dots
Jeff Jarvis, Susan Crawford and others have been writing eloquently about the mesh of links and relationships at the heart of Web 2.0. I look at it as introducing the individual--as a reader, content producer and plain ol'human--into the center of the diagram.
For that reason, this quote from Dave Weinberger's Small Pieces Loosely Joined says alot to me:
Isn't that the biggest shift?
That these new technologies are both empowering traditional forms of communications--storytelling and capturing images, for example--AND creating new kinds of connections, attitudes, and experiences?
(Not to mention new businesses.)
For that reason, this quote from Dave Weinberger's Small Pieces Loosely Joined says alot to me:
"By removing the central control points, the Web enabled a self-organizing, self-stimulated growth of contents and links on a scale the world has literally never before experienced.
Isn't that the biggest shift?
That these new technologies are both empowering traditional forms of communications--storytelling and capturing images, for example--AND creating new kinds of connections, attitudes, and experiences?
(Not to mention new businesses.)
Saturday, July 23, 2005
New: Attention Trust launches
Seth Goldstein's launched a new non-profit
called Attention Trust, a nonprofit
organization focused on Steve Gillmor's
theory of attention and "dedicated to
promoting the basic rights of attention owners".
Photostream here
What is this organization going to do?
We'll find out.
Bloggers: The top 1%?
So an article in the NY Times says perky but sensitive divorcee in NYC Stephanie Klein has a Technorati link rank of 2,132, and quotes Dave Sifry saying that puts her in the top 1% of all bloggers.
Does that mean that this blog is in that (large) list as well? At 2,387, guess it's yes.
Does that mean that this blog is in that (large) list as well? At 2,387, guess it's yes.
Quote of the day: Participatory Journalism's power shift
"All around us there has been a shift in power from companies to the consumer. This "bottoms-up" trend has been transforming the way we live our lives. Innovative companies from amazon to ebay, are leading the way in personalization and consumer-created content.?
--Joel Hyatt, CEO of Current, a new cable channel focusing on 18-34 year olds and emphasizing user-created content
(Via Jay Rosen)
Friday, July 22, 2005
Media Giraffe
Bill Densmore and some folks have a project I just came across called Media Giraffe, where they are capturing quotes and projects related to citizen journalism, participatory media, shared content--pick your term. About page says: "The MGP is a one-year, pilot initiative to find and spotlight individuals making innovative use of media (old and new) to foster participatory democracy and community." (This is from last March.)
Looks pretty good--going in my newsreader, for sure.
Looks pretty good--going in my newsreader, for sure.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Noted
Michael Parekh: What if Amazon started a blogging service (great idea!)
Donga says there are 15-20 million blogs--13 million at Cyworld (Via BlogHerald)
Ellen Finkelstein: Syndicating Web sites with RSS feeds for dummies. No more excuses.
Jeff Clavier: Bloggish tools he likes.
The marvelous Halley Suitt is Gamermom--tracking what her kid's playing.
Associated Press: They're launching an online video news network for newspaper, television and radio Web sites, ad supported and available through AP member Web sites." The beat goes on.
Donga says there are 15-20 million blogs--13 million at Cyworld (Via BlogHerald)
Ellen Finkelstein: Syndicating Web sites with RSS feeds for dummies. No more excuses.
Jeff Clavier: Bloggish tools he likes.
The marvelous Halley Suitt is Gamermom--tracking what her kid's playing.
Associated Press: They're launching an online video news network for newspaper, television and radio Web sites, ad supported and available through AP member Web sites." The beat goes on.
Bill Keller kicks at blogs and cable TV in one sound bite
Is NYTimes exec editor Bill Keller invoking the gratuitous jabs gambit when he slams both blogging and cable television on the eve of LA Time's editor Jim Carroll's retirement?
You decide--here's a quote:
"We've only got two things that distinguish us from blogs. One is we have reporting staffs who actually go out and see stuff and are trained professionals. And we have standards which are enforced by editors-- you double-check things, make sure it's right--and all that costs money.
If you aren't giving people the basics-- good reliable news, smart analysis and in-depth investigations--then all they're going to see is the same stuff they can get on cable TV."
Susan sez: Always nice when BSD corporate types feel a need to strike out at the industries nibbling at their margins, but I'm surprised to see a top editor at the NY Times stoop so low. Guess everyone reserves their right to make cheap shots (I know, I have...)
You decide--here's a quote:
"We've only got two things that distinguish us from blogs. One is we have reporting staffs who actually go out and see stuff and are trained professionals. And we have standards which are enforced by editors-- you double-check things, make sure it's right--and all that costs money.
If you aren't giving people the basics-- good reliable news, smart analysis and in-depth investigations--then all they're going to see is the same stuff they can get on cable TV."
Susan sez: Always nice when BSD corporate types feel a need to strike out at the industries nibbling at their margins, but I'm surprised to see a top editor at the NY Times stoop so low. Guess everyone reserves their right to make cheap shots (I know, I have...)
China Media Watch
Paul Frankenstein,H20: An incomplete bibliography for China hands (with very cool tagging).
Slate: Tony Wu on China's bid to divide the Internet.
Always On: Are you ready for the Chinese revolt? (Flash of conference session.)
Jonathan Newhouse: China's hot for magazines.
Also:
NYTimes: China re-valuing yuan; no longer measured against the dollar.
Slate: Tony Wu on China's bid to divide the Internet.
Always On: Are you ready for the Chinese revolt? (Flash of conference session.)
Jonathan Newhouse: China's hot for magazines.
Also:
NYTimes: China re-valuing yuan; no longer measured against the dollar.
Bob Lutz's quote of the day
Bob Lutz, General Motors, in InfoWeek: "To any senior executive on the fence about starting a corporate blog, I have a word of advice: Jump."
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Dinner Chez Nous
Perhaps this is the kick off of a series of M.F.K. Fisher memorial posts--What I cooked for myself, by myself, when I got home after a 12 hour day at a client's office and needed to eat something nice:
- Shitake mushrooms sauteed with garlic, ginger, scallion and a little soy
- Steamed fresh corn
- A slice of parma ham and a small hunk of Oregon blue cheese
- A little spot of smelly French cheese
- A handful of red grapes
- Oh, and 3 olives--I am obsessed with olives
Microsoft vs.Google: The Day the gloves came off
WTF? MSFT. vs. Google via NYTimes: " Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Google on Tuesday asserting that Google hired away a Microsoft executive in violation of a clause in the executive's contract that precludes him for working for a competitor."
Ishmael Reed and Esther Dyson
" Ishmael Reed and Esther Dyson starred in my Saturday afternoon, casually defying expectations and stereotypes. I did not construct the afternoon ? it just happened as it does, in the Bayosphere."--This is from a post by Mimi Kahlon, a San Fraciscan who's posting on Bayosphere,
Dan Gillmor's citizen journalism platform.
(note: Bayosphere seems pretty quiet so far...wonder what the audience acquisition strategy is?)
Dan Gillmor's citizen journalism platform.
(note: Bayosphere seems pretty quiet so far...wonder what the audience acquisition strategy is?)
Free: Microsoft Social Computing Symposium Presos
Korby Parnell's posted some presos from the recent Microsoft Social Computing Symposium
His top picks:
His top picks:
- Backchannels: Power and the Active Audience -- by Liz Lawley and Richard Hodkinson
- Visualizing Social Interactions and Collaboration History by Fernanda Viegas
- From Trees to Tags -- by David Weinberger
- Tesla, Tagging for the DeskTop -- by Matt McLaurin of Microsoft Research
- Exploring the Social Institutional Dimensions of MoSoSo Design: Are Smart Mobs Institutions for Collective Action? -- by Howard Rheingold
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Liz Goldwyn's Pretty Things: Burlesque
Noted: Media
IHT: Web site is Iraq's first independent news service. (Thanks, Mark)
WSJ: Yahoo's (media) staffing--it's a little messy,with VP and GMs shifting, leaving--bitching? (Rafat adds a good bit to this story)
Steve Gillmor: Podcasting is dead. Sarcastic, biting insider dish on the booming new business.
Always On starts tonight at Stanford--I will be there for some of it--email if you want to meet up.
LATimes: Al Gore's Current PR starts for August 1 launch--inside peek here.
Plus: Michael Wolf of McKinsey has a new column--this man is smart--can't wait to read.(Via iwantmedia)
WSJ: Yahoo's (media) staffing--it's a little messy,with VP and GMs shifting, leaving--bitching? (Rafat adds a good bit to this story)
Steve Gillmor: Podcasting is dead. Sarcastic, biting insider dish on the booming new business.
Always On starts tonight at Stanford--I will be there for some of it--email if you want to meet up.
LATimes: Al Gore's Current PR starts for August 1 launch--inside peek here.
Plus: Michael Wolf of McKinsey has a new column--this man is smart--can't wait to read.(Via iwantmedia)
Monday, July 18, 2005
Joan Connell named Online Editor at The Nation
The Nation's just hired my friend Joan Connell as the magazine's web editor. This is a wonderfully smart move--Joan is as good as they get.
Editor in chief Katrina vanden Heuvel, says, "Connell brings many strengths to her new role as our first full-time web staffer. She's been a consistent trailblazer in the development of the Internet as a source of news and opinion--whether through the creation of blogs or through the increasing visibility of community journalism. We think she's the ideal person to help us make our website, which already receives 600,000 visitors a month, an even more vibrant part of our work."
The Nation already uses blogging, RSS, podcasting etc, but I'm expecting Joan to make everything better--she always does. (An award-winning writer and editor at newspapers and wire services, Connell first specialized in the coverage of religion, ethics and moral issues and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1994 for reporting on such topics as the religious right, scandals in the Catholic Church, environmental racism and the culture wars. As Executive Producer for Opinions at MSNBC.com from 1997 to 2004, Connell developed the network's first weblogs, and as senior editor at MSN for the last two years, she developed editorial policies and strategies for the MSN portal, which draws roughly 81 million unique visitors monthly, and contributed to the network's evolving Citizen Journalism efforts.)
Way to go, everyone.
Editor in chief Katrina vanden Heuvel, says, "Connell brings many strengths to her new role as our first full-time web staffer. She's been a consistent trailblazer in the development of the Internet as a source of news and opinion--whether through the creation of blogs or through the increasing visibility of community journalism. We think she's the ideal person to help us make our website, which already receives 600,000 visitors a month, an even more vibrant part of our work."
The Nation already uses blogging, RSS, podcasting etc, but I'm expecting Joan to make everything better--she always does. (An award-winning writer and editor at newspapers and wire services, Connell first specialized in the coverage of religion, ethics and moral issues and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1994 for reporting on such topics as the religious right, scandals in the Catholic Church, environmental racism and the culture wars. As Executive Producer for Opinions at MSNBC.com from 1997 to 2004, Connell developed the network's first weblogs, and as senior editor at MSN for the last two years, she developed editorial policies and strategies for the MSN portal, which draws roughly 81 million unique visitors monthly, and contributed to the network's evolving Citizen Journalism efforts.)
Way to go, everyone.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
BlogHer: what tips should we share with this group?
So BlogHer registration has closed--the conference is FULL, with a waiting list starting (wow).
Julie Leung and I are leading a session on Blogging 101--we're kicking discussion off this week on
getting started, getting links, tools, finding your voice, etc.
For all you old hands, what tips should we share with this group?
Julie Leung and I are leading a session on Blogging 101--we're kicking discussion off this week on
getting started, getting links, tools, finding your voice, etc.
For all you old hands, what tips should we share with this group?
Shailja Patel on KQED--terrific artist
So I heard slam poet Shailja Patel on KQED this weekend and was blown away by how powerful her work is. An East Asian/Indian born in Uganda, Patel's poems reference the expulsion of Asians from Uganda under Idi Amin, familial support and striving, and her own life as a woman of color.What a terrific artist! (Oh, and she lives in the Bay area..)
Poems
MP3 File - Dreaming in Gujurati
RealAudio File - Eater of Death
MP3 File - She said No
(photo by Matt Fitt)
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Sticking a fork in citizen journalism
Tim Porter's got a great zinger describing the emerging craze to label everything normal people post as "citizen journalism".
He writes: "Stick a fork in it. "Citizen Journalism," as the moniker describing John and Jane Q's ability to create their own media, is done. The shark has been jumped."
Tom goes on to say: "I'm pretty sure what "citizen journalism" is not is CNN soliciting photographs from viewers and then putting a few of them on its web site. It's more like the visual equivalent of the man-on-the-street story. Maybe what CNN is doing should be called "postcard journalism." Am I being too cynical?"
(Via J-log)
He writes: "Stick a fork in it. "Citizen Journalism," as the moniker describing John and Jane Q's ability to create their own media, is done. The shark has been jumped."
Tom goes on to say: "I'm pretty sure what "citizen journalism" is not is CNN soliciting photographs from viewers and then putting a few of them on its web site. It's more like the visual equivalent of the man-on-the-street story. Maybe what CNN is doing should be called "postcard journalism." Am I being too cynical?"
(Via J-log)
Rebuilding Media--new blog
Corante's launched a new blog on (re) building media by Bob Cauthorn and Vin Crosbie, two of the elder statesman of the web publishing world, iconoclasts all.
Welcome to the party, guys, look forward to your (continuing) remarks!
Susan sez: Does this mean there's an ad market for media blogs? hmmnn...
Welcome to the party, guys, look forward to your (continuing) remarks!
Susan sez: Does this mean there's an ad market for media blogs? hmmnn...
Active content: What stats do you need to measure when you're charting the 2 way web?
The standard measurements of the web on a monthly basis are number of uniques, number of pages viewed, time spent on site, frequency of visits--I could recite them in my sleep (I just did.)
But what other stats do you need to measure when you're charting the 2 way web, the interactive web, web 2.0, the one where we all share and comment and contribute?
Some metrics that interest me--especially for publishers., portals, and companies trying to build community and commentary around their site:
Side note: Steve Rubel has a good post today on a related topic--measuring the blogsphere not in terms of total blogs, but in terms of posts per second. He writes "David Sifry at Technorati wrote today that the search engine is seeing more than 900,000 posts per day on average, which means about 10 posts per second"--and that's the one,
Thoughts?
But what other stats do you need to measure when you're charting the 2 way web, the interactive web, web 2.0, the one where we all share and comment and contribute?
Some metrics that interest me--especially for publishers., portals, and companies trying to build community and commentary around their site:
- Frequency of posts (let's make sure the bloggers know they have to post frequently)
- Number of comments per post, or
- Average number of comment
- % increase or decrease in number of comments
- Links in and out to the blog (power laws)
- Authority or attention of top 5-10% of linkees
Side note: Steve Rubel has a good post today on a related topic--measuring the blogsphere not in terms of total blogs, but in terms of posts per second. He writes "David Sifry at Technorati wrote today that the search engine is seeing more than 900,000 posts per day on average, which means about 10 posts per second"--and that's the one,
Thoughts?
PR , pitching and attention
No question but that the general maturation of the blogosphere is leading to bloggers getting (endless) pitched by PR folks.
I like what Michael Gartenberg sez: "Let's face if it. If you're a popular blogger in the space, you're going to have PR folks after you. The good ones will be of great help and the bad ones should just be ignored (I get lots of shotgunned emails from PR folks looking for coverage from folks who clearly have no idea what I do or cover.)."
Yep, so it goes.
I like what Michael Gartenberg sez: "Let's face if it. If you're a popular blogger in the space, you're going to have PR folks after you. The good ones will be of great help and the bad ones should just be ignored (I get lots of shotgunned emails from PR folks looking for coverage from folks who clearly have no idea what I do or cover.)."
Yep, so it goes.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
What younger readers want (re news)
A great post (en francais) from Jeff Mignon at Media Cafe on what younger readers want re news. Jeffs's an expert and this is a great read.
Here goes:
1. Contrary to popular belief, young readers, from primary school to their mid-30's are interested in news. They're simply reading different publications such as the freebie Metro, YahooNews and for children and adolescents, French publisher PlayBac's array of colorful journaux.
Here goes:
1. Contrary to popular belief, young readers, from primary school to their mid-30's are interested in news. They're simply reading different publications such as the freebie Metro, YahooNews and for children and adolescents, French publisher PlayBac's array of colorful journaux.
2. The theory that as people get older they tend to read more was proven wrong by a survey done by American marketer Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo, who found that 63% of 1999's 45-54 year olds read a paper. Back in 1967 when this demographic was 18-24, 71% of them picked up the daily paper.
3. If newspapers focus on attracting just the 18 and up crowd, they'll be losing out. Reading habits begin at a much younger age and develop during adolescence.
4. Newspapers can no longer maintain the philosophy that one-size-fits-all. Especially now with the Internet, we are in the age of 'personalization.' One publication is not going to satisfy all demographics.
5. Price will play a huge role in the future of the newspaper. Now that younger generations have learned that they can find quality news for free in most places, daily newspapers will find it increasingly difficult to remain on a pay basis.
6. Young readers are not just looking for 'infotainment.' They want a bit of everything, as well demonstrated by free commuter papers such as Metro and 20 Minutes.
7. Advertisers are wrong in assuming that young readers don't have the disposable cash necessary to influence the market. A study of American youth showed that they spend USD 149 billion, 15% of that being spent online. The young also influence a whopping 80% of what their parents buy.
8. Size matters. To survive, broadsheets must switch to compact. Mignon-Media (Media Cafe's parent company) suggests an A4 format based on studies it has been conducting for ten years with children, adolescents and the 18-34 young adult demographic."
(Translation via John Burke of the World Editors' Forum--thanks! Via editorsweblog)China Media Watch
South China Morning Post: BlogChina becomes Bokee, gets money, starts hiring and say there are 5 million bloggers in China and about 2 million have blog accounts with Bokee.
(Sound familiar?--"In just over a year, the company has expanded to a staff of 210 and is hiring about 50 people a month.")
(Via Blog Herald)
(Sound familiar?--"In just over a year, the company has expanded to a staff of 210 and is hiring about 50 people a month.")
(Via Blog Herald)
Anthony Townsend on Seoul
Long-time Seoul observer Anthony Townsend's just published a new piece --Seoul searching ? cybernomads and the ubiquitous city--on the evolution of wireless computing and digital media in Korea. A sippet:
" In the last five years, the wireless revolution has sparked the next phase of development in Seoul's highly sophisticated digital culture. In the back alleys and board rooms, this chaotic urban maelstrom is being transformed into a new kind of place organized around convenience and connectivity. Three primary forces are shaping the future of Korean cyberculture - big business, the government, and Korean citizens."
This is a good strong piece that has much relevance to understanding emerging mobile in the US.
Oh, and welcome to Palo Alto, Anthony!
" In the last five years, the wireless revolution has sparked the next phase of development in Seoul's highly sophisticated digital culture. In the back alleys and board rooms, this chaotic urban maelstrom is being transformed into a new kind of place organized around convenience and connectivity. Three primary forces are shaping the future of Korean cyberculture - big business, the government, and Korean citizens."
This is a good strong piece that has much relevance to understanding emerging mobile in the US.
Oh, and welcome to Palo Alto, Anthony!
CBS to launch broadband news channel
Reuters and others have the CBS announcement that they will be launching a broadband news channel. The article says they want to target "a large, particularly at-work audience that isn't reached by TV."
Susan says: First of all, I love this. Larry Kramer ("It is clear to us that the public has moved to the Internet as the place they go when they want to get information because they can get the news whenever they want it and how they want it.") is so smart and he knows what adults want in terms of information flow.
Secondly, this is the perfect announcement to follow the AOL/Live8 streaming success--each of these companies is playing to their strengths--and consumers will benefit.
Thirdly, what a good move for a company that screwed up big time last year with the Bush military service story.
So.
Susan says: First of all, I love this. Larry Kramer ("It is clear to us that the public has moved to the Internet as the place they go when they want to get information because they can get the news whenever they want it and how they want it.") is so smart and he knows what adults want in terms of information flow.
Secondly, this is the perfect announcement to follow the AOL/Live8 streaming success--each of these companies is playing to their strengths--and consumers will benefit.
Thirdly, what a good move for a company that screwed up big time last year with the Bush military service story.
So.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Steve Gillmor: Info will search for you
Steve's post on the "cogoSphere": seems so right--A quick snippet: 'The answers coming back to us from the blogosphere differ fundamentally from those of just a few years, or even months, ago. Ever since I've gained some limited control of my RSS data stream, I've noticed a common ground emerging among my cohorts on the network. Sentences begun are more and more frequently finished by someone in conversation. "Yes, saw it? Did you see?"
Read the whole thing.
Read the whole thing.
Noted: Media rants and...
Jamie Court: LA Times "blogotorials" are bad, bad, bad--"The paper is concocting a Frankenstein's monster of new and old media ? call it blogotorial."
WSJ: Newspaper reporters writing blogs are okay, maybe--"Some worry, though, that newspapers put their reputations at risk by letting reporters blog."
National Journal: "...the truth is that most bloggers are just happy being bloggers. Instead of being part of the Fourth Estate, they are part of something new. I call it Estate 4.5 -- "
Also, italknews.com launches--editors say they will get in old car and roadtrip coastline (west) to promote citizen journalism site (that's cool)
JD Lasica writes up a visit to a mobile computing conference at IBM Labs.
Global Voices has a new look and more feeds-this is a must-read for international blogging and news.
WSJ: Newspaper reporters writing blogs are okay, maybe--"Some worry, though, that newspapers put their reputations at risk by letting reporters blog."
National Journal: "...the truth is that most bloggers are just happy being bloggers. Instead of being part of the Fourth Estate, they are part of something new. I call it Estate 4.5 -- "
Also, italknews.com launches--editors say they will get in old car and roadtrip coastline (west) to promote citizen journalism site (that's cool)
JD Lasica writes up a visit to a mobile computing conference at IBM Labs.
Global Voices has a new look and more feeds-this is a must-read for international blogging and news.
BlogHer: Come and join in July 30th
BlogHer is July 30th in Santa Clara, a moment that comes ever faster.
It is going to be a great conclave of bloggers, would be bloggers, media types, techies, plain old folks.
Guys welcome--and a couple of great guys I know planning to attend.
Julie Leung and I are doing a session on blogging 101--
This is going to be a great conference--come if you can.
I am basically planning to not sleep that weekend..there will be so many people to meet and talk to.
signup page for blogher
It is going to be a great conclave of bloggers, would be bloggers, media types, techies, plain old folks.
Guys welcome--and a couple of great guys I know planning to attend.
Julie Leung and I are doing a session on blogging 101--
This is going to be a great conference--come if you can.
I am basically planning to not sleep that weekend..there will be so many people to meet and talk to.
signup page for blogher
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Noted: Crafty, fashion-y, designerish
1930's knit hats: Wow, this blog is amazing! As a small girl I used to read all my grandfather's fashion design books (he was a patternmaker) and got into the 30s and 40s clothes--these hats bring me right back.
NYTimes: FIT 1940s (dress) design show. I'm in NY--gotta go!
Heathervescent: "Business Plans and Financial pitching is more exciting when you are wearing fancy underwear."
Josh Rubin: Adidas brings back 60s Austrian apres-ski-wear--this stuff is so cool.
Swapatorium: Have you ever seen this blog? One of my all time favorites from a compulsive thrifter with a good eye for the quirky.
NYTimes: FIT 1940s (dress) design show. I'm in NY--gotta go!
Heathervescent: "Business Plans and Financial pitching is more exciting when you are wearing fancy underwear."
Josh Rubin: Adidas brings back 60s Austrian apres-ski-wear--this stuff is so cool.
Swapatorium: Have you ever seen this blog? One of my all time favorites from a compulsive thrifter with a good eye for the quirky.
Tom Watson reels under the mighty words of the blogosphere
Tom's a guy after my own heart--one who's feeling the pressure to catch up with the nimble fingers and quick minds of his blogging compatriots.
He writes: "...Does Jeff Jarvis eat? Does Fred Wilson really invest any more? Does Jason Calacanis actually run a business? Does Lance Mannion's alter ego really exist? Is Joe Gandelman the real ventriloquist or some automated Charlie McCarthy on speed? Is it true that J.D. Lasica writes books?"
Yep, blogging is a compulsion for many of us--but an even bigger compulsion is reading all those blogs!
He writes: "...Does Jeff Jarvis eat? Does Fred Wilson really invest any more? Does Jason Calacanis actually run a business? Does Lance Mannion's alter ego really exist? Is Joe Gandelman the real ventriloquist or some automated Charlie McCarthy on speed? Is it true that J.D. Lasica writes books?"
Yep, blogging is a compulsion for many of us--but an even bigger compulsion is reading all those blogs!
The Kron jumps in
I missed this a couple of days ago, but just love what the KRON is doing with local blogging--They're launched The Bay Area is Talking, a meta-blog of Bay area blogging--AND KRON's Brian Shields has been blogging up a storm, covering the GB protests in SF and other local political news. They've got an XML-equipped blogroll, and what feels like lots of good energy.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Blogging awards for newswomen
Dominic Basulto over at Corante notes that that the Newswomen's Club of New York has added a blog category to its annual Front Page Awards for the very first time ever.
Of course, there's a catch (isn't there always?)
The competition for the awards are open only to "women journalists, photographers, writers, producers from print, radio and television, and online media in the New York major metropolitan area."
So if you're a blogger, baby, you're outta luck--unless the big girls say otherwise.
Of course, there's a catch (isn't there always?)
The competition for the awards are open only to "women journalists, photographers, writers, producers from print, radio and television, and online media in the New York major metropolitan area."
So if you're a blogger, baby, you're outta luck--unless the big girls say otherwise.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London: Blogging the bombings
Blog by a London EMT, "Random Acts of Reality"
Flickr photos from the attacks here
Prayers and best wishes to everyone.
Update: BBC here--excellent coverage, btw.
Flickr photos from the attacks here
Prayers and best wishes to everyone.
Update: BBC here--excellent coverage, btw.
SDForum event next week: Squid Labs speaks
Bill Grosso says the next SD Forum here in the Valley is going to be good--it's Squid-Labs, a cool crew of technology makers, X-MIT. Tuesday night. Mountain View.
Ourmedia a finalist in UN awards
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Two great quotes on citizen journalism et al
Tim Porter: 'Don't reflect the community. Be the community'-- closing line at Debating the Future of Newspapers, (Via Bob Stepno)
Tim's remarks were prompted by comments made by Howard Owens, the new media director for the Ventura (Calif.) County Star,, one of the more progressive--and innovative--small papers.
Howard said: "If you're at a newspaper that has your community's name in the masthead, you are the glue that binds that community together. You are its hub and its spokes (to mix metaphors).
...Being the voice of the people, and giving them voice, and helping to connect and bind our communities is part of our DNA and a prime part of our mission. It's how we can best serve our readers, our communities and our advertisers. It is our past, and it is our future . We simply have to do it."
Great comments--not only for newspapers, but for everyone who wants to deliver meaningful, credible, distinctive services to an audience.
Tim's remarks were prompted by comments made by Howard Owens, the new media director for the Ventura (Calif.) County Star,, one of the more progressive--and innovative--small papers.
Howard said: "If you're at a newspaper that has your community's name in the masthead, you are the glue that binds that community together. You are its hub and its spokes (to mix metaphors).
...Being the voice of the people, and giving them voice, and helping to connect and bind our communities is part of our DNA and a prime part of our mission. It's how we can best serve our readers, our communities and our advertisers. It is our past, and it is our future . We simply have to do it."
Great comments--not only for newspapers, but for everyone who wants to deliver meaningful, credible, distinctive services to an audience.
OPA: How to make web sites work (better)
The Online Publisher Association's just released a new study on online consumer experience--which they call user engagement.
This is the kind of thing the 5ive team likes to focus on--that space between UI/interactive design and editorial positioning/content strategy.
Some highlights:
Users value sites that are perceived as
? A credible, safe place
? Easy to use
? Makes me smarter
? Looks out for people like me
? Entertains and absorbs me
Two types of (many) sites that fit these critera are sites that are a regular part of a user's day and those that are treats for time out and relaxation--the study has some nice user quotes about each type:
Regular part of my day
This is the kind of thing the 5ive team likes to focus on--that space between UI/interactive design and editorial positioning/content strategy.
Some highlights:
Users value sites that are perceived as
? A credible, safe place
? Easy to use
? Makes me smarter
? Looks out for people like me
? Entertains and absorbs me
Two types of (many) sites that fit these critera are sites that are a regular part of a user's day and those that are treats for time out and relaxation--the study has some nice user quotes about each type:
Regular part of my day
- This is one of the sites I always go to anytime I am surfing the Web.
- I like to have this Web site open on my desktop while I am doing other things.
- There are features on this site that I regularly follow.
- It?s a treat for me.
- Going to this site improves my mood, makes me happier.
- I like to go to this site when I am eating or taking a break.
Noted
John Husband's Wirearchy: "Maybe there will be a day when - online - we can look at advertising when we want, find pertinent advertising quickly because the advertising respects the context and the interactive dynamics, and click on it knowing that we are supporting a publisher who cares about us and what we want to know."
Seattle BEAN and Bay Area LinkUp: Social networks go hyper- local and make members happy.
The Financial Express on social networks: "LinkedIn reportedly has 2 million users. 49 percent of them being outside the US-more than 600,000 registered users in Europe and more than 160,000 in Asia. A new professional joins LinkedIn every 12 seconds."
Geektalk: Do you know what a thunk is? Here's a new type of media/RSS thunk. Planetweb20. (Via my man Lucas Gonze)
Seattle BEAN and Bay Area LinkUp: Social networks go hyper- local and make members happy.
The Financial Express on social networks: "LinkedIn reportedly has 2 million users. 49 percent of them being outside the US-more than 600,000 registered users in Europe and more than 160,000 in Asia. A new professional joins LinkedIn every 12 seconds."
Geektalk: Do you know what a thunk is? Here's a new type of media/RSS thunk. Planetweb20. (Via my man Lucas Gonze)
We are all podcasters--or will be
JD points to a report from the Diffusion Group predicting that demand for podcasts is expected to grow from less than 15% of portable digital music player owners in 2004 to 75% by 2010 -- reaching 60 million U.S. consumers.
Given that it took blogging 5 years to reach the same sized user base podcasting got in 8 months, this seems plausible.
--But it's remarkable.
(Oh--and for $1500, you can read the whole report.)
Given that it took blogging 5 years to reach the same sized user base podcasting got in 8 months, this seems plausible.
--But it's remarkable.
(Oh--and for $1500, you can read the whole report.)
Is bisexuality a lie (in guys)?
Article in NYTimes today reporting that a scientific study concluded that men, at least, who identify themselves as bisexual are actually homosexual and denying it.
The study says: "The psychologists found that men who identified themselves as bisexual were in fact exclusively aroused by either one sex or the other, usually by other men."
Of course, this study was a sample of about 100--and even if it's scientifically accurate, there are thousands of people who will disagree with it based on their own experience.
See what I read when Bloglines is down?
The study says: "The psychologists found that men who identified themselves as bisexual were in fact exclusively aroused by either one sex or the other, usually by other men."
Of course, this study was a sample of about 100--and even if it's scientifically accurate, there are thousands of people who will disagree with it based on their own experience.
See what I read when Bloglines is down?
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Madoff's blogging
My esteeemed 5ive partner, Steven Madoff, has finally gotten his own special case of blog fever-Steven Madoff's Contentsphere is about issues, concepts, and propositions for the evolution of editorial content.
Steven writes:
"The brave promise of this new content source is that it does (at least) three things: first, it levels the opportunity to publish; second, it adds a multitude of voices and perspectives; third, it brings precisely this evanescence, this sense of fleeting thought and all of its freshness to readers. And a fourth thing that is inevitable: it will turn readers into writers."
Check it out--welcome to the blogosphere, buddy.
Steven writes:
"The brave promise of this new content source is that it does (at least) three things: first, it levels the opportunity to publish; second, it adds a multitude of voices and perspectives; third, it brings precisely this evanescence, this sense of fleeting thought and all of its freshness to readers. And a fourth thing that is inevitable: it will turn readers into writers."
Check it out--welcome to the blogosphere, buddy.
Extra Action Marching Band
Have you seen these guys?
A friend sent me a link to the Extra Action Marching Band, a SF-based alt group with--yep, tubas.
Check out one of their videos here.
Fun.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Happy 4th of July, everyone
Walt Whitman says it best for me:
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as
he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning,
or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day--at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
From I Hear America Singing
The jobs have changed, but the spirit holds.
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as
he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning,
or at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
or of the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day--at night the party of young
fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
From I Hear America Singing
The jobs have changed, but the spirit holds.
China Media Watch
Paid Content: BlogChina plans to list on NASDAQ.
People's Daily Online: So, what's Google's plan for China, journalists ask(where they are just #3--and own a chunk of #1 Baidu.com, BTW).
NY Times: Hollywood sees China as next big market (and why not?) "Some of the biggest movie studios are... planning to invest more than $150 million over the next few years in China's burgeoning film industry."
Xinhua Times: Beijing blogger Sister Hibiscus (aka Hibiscus Older Sister) makes short flicks for mobile viewing." My sexy appearance and purity brings me a lot of attention wherever I go.? (Via Blog Herald)
Danwei: Chinese sex blogger list.
People's Daily Online: So, what's Google's plan for China, journalists ask(where they are just #3--and own a chunk of #1 Baidu.com, BTW).
NY Times: Hollywood sees China as next big market (and why not?) "Some of the biggest movie studios are... planning to invest more than $150 million over the next few years in China's burgeoning film industry."
Xinhua Times: Beijing blogger Sister Hibiscus (aka Hibiscus Older Sister) makes short flicks for mobile viewing." My sexy appearance and purity brings me a lot of attention wherever I go.? (Via Blog Herald)
Danwei: Chinese sex blogger list.
Tagging: What's next?
I know a lot of people who are very much into tagging--folks who kindly label all their blog posts, tag their photos, tag their video streams, you name it. That makes it super easy when I want to go and looks for tags like Shanghai or eTech.
BUT, how useful is tagging as a personal organizing tool?
Peachy Blog has a post talking about how he finds link retrieval in del.icio.us, a popular tagging tool, "just a bit painful," and says he'd rather look at his tags as a set of social bookmarks (ie my links compared to yours) or a link whitelist (nice term-what does it mean?)
David says, "I'd like some way of filtering pagerank based searches from Google or Yahoo by a set of such trusted links," and I think that is a great idea--but I wonder about two things:
1. How well will tagging work as an organizing and information retrieval method when there are millions of tags?--That's where having additional filters, such as identity, trust or cohort group becomes relevant--becomes needed.
2. How can developers move tagging into a wider market? I describe tagging to non-geek friends and they are interested, but these folks aren't blogging, don't use tag-friendly photo services and are a world away, still--how can the tools bring them closer?
BUT, how useful is tagging as a personal organizing tool?
Peachy Blog has a post talking about how he finds link retrieval in del.icio.us, a popular tagging tool, "just a bit painful," and says he'd rather look at his tags as a set of social bookmarks (ie my links compared to yours) or a link whitelist (nice term-what does it mean?)
David says, "I'd like some way of filtering pagerank based searches from Google or Yahoo by a set of such trusted links," and I think that is a great idea--but I wonder about two things:
1. How well will tagging work as an organizing and information retrieval method when there are millions of tags?--That's where having additional filters, such as identity, trust or cohort group becomes relevant--becomes needed.
2. How can developers move tagging into a wider market? I describe tagging to non-geek friends and they are interested, but these folks aren't blogging, don't use tag-friendly photo services and are a world away, still--how can the tools bring them closer?
Digital video next big thing, experts say
MIT Technology Review: "Three digital-media technologies crossed a threshold last year; more than half of U.S. households now have a DVD player, a wireless phone, and Internet access...But what will make the biggest mark on the industry in the coming years? Digital video recorders, predict media executives."
Susan sez: How many media companies are starting to invest in digital video content? --A lot.
Put the devices next to the boom in do it yourself media, the rise in video indexing, search, hosting and editing companies-- and you've got some new businesses--and revenue models?--emerging.
Susan sez: How many media companies are starting to invest in digital video content? --A lot.
Put the devices next to the boom in do it yourself media, the rise in video indexing, search, hosting and editing companies-- and you've got some new businesses--and revenue models?--emerging.
Holiday weekend
Old friends from NY are visiting this weekend; first guests in the new place.
We went to Mings tonight for dinner--some friends from here came and met friends from there, and got along, which was cool.
I've been slacking this weekend; working tomorrow am until either Batman Begins or fireworks, depending on how things go.
We went to Mings tonight for dinner--some friends from here came and met friends from there, and got along, which was cool.
I've been slacking this weekend; working tomorrow am until either Batman Begins or fireworks, depending on how things go.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Blogiquette: What's a blogger to do?
The SFist kids weigh in on how to make friends and influence people, blogger-style. Jackson sez (selected tips):
- As Dwayne Johnson says, "know your role" If you're the new kid on the block, defer (no need to be obsequious) to other bloggers in your space. The time to throw your weight comes later, after Defamer has linked to you a couple of times.
- Respond to email from people, (especially when they're offering to help you). It's just common politeness.
- Being fatuous is a criminal offense in the blogosphere. Don't hold yourself above the fray because you feel superior.
