AP to use “citizen media”

Podcasting News reports:“The Associated Press and NowPublic.com announced Friday that they have agreed to an initiative designed to bring citizen content into AP newsgathering, and to explore ways to involve NowPublic’s on-the-ground network of news contributors in AP’s breaking news coverage.

NowPublic.com, based in Vancouver, is the world’s largest participatory news network with more than 60,000 contributors from 140 countries. The AP is the world’s largest newsgathering organization with a staff of more than 4,000 employees located in more than 240 bureaus in 97 countries.

The goal of the effort is to expand the world’s access to news as it happens, the companies said.”

A couple of years ago I suggested adding comments to the stories we post on our news websites. The reporter to whom I offered the suggestion said he really didn’t care what readers thought about his story. No shit.

We have just relaunched our news sites and have a comments feature we have yet to enable. Should we? It won’t be my call but, stay tuned.

Sheryl Crow Birthday Drive

Every year for the past six years, Sheryl Crow fans gotten together (on her website forums) to give Sheryl a special gift for her birthday on February 11. The idea to do this originated with a fan and it involves raising money for the Delta Children’s Home.

The Delta Children’s Home provides an emergency shelter for children that are removed from their own home by the courts or who need shelter for other reasons (family problems, etc.). It’s the only facility of its type in the area. The Delta homes do not receive money from the Federal or State government and rely on the community for support.

Sheryl Crow and Grand PrizeI’m a little fuzzy on just how this works but I think those who contribute to the fund drive are eligible to win a prize. This year it’s an autographed guitar. If I’m wrong about the mechanics, we’ll rely on Sheryl Crow fan Ann to clear it up.

Thanks to Ann for alerting us to this worthy effort. The drive ends a midnight Pacific on Monday, February 12.

dMarc founders leave Google

Looks like Google’s plans to reinvent the way radio ads are bought has hit a rough spot. Online Media Daily reports Chad and Ryan Steelberg, the founders of dMark, an automated radio ad placement company purchased by Google in January 2006, have left the company.

The brothers resigned amid reports of growing tension between dMarc, the company they founded, and Google over differing approaches to radio ad sales. There was also said to be tension over the limited remuneration dMarc could expect under the performance-based terms of its original deal with Google.

Spook Country

Spook Country is William Gibson’s newest novel. According to amazon.com it will be released on August 7, 2007. Fragments of the novel have been posted non-sequentially on Gibson’s blog for some time now, and have led to much speculation on the content and plot of the novel. From the US publisher Putnam’s catalog:

“Tito is in his early 20s. Cuban by ancestry, he speaks fluent Russian, lives in one room in a Nolita warehouse, and does delicate jobs involving information transfer.

Hollis Henry is a journalist, on investigative assignment from a magazine called Node. Node doesn’t exist yet, which is fine, she’s used to that, but it seems to be actively preventing the kind of buzz that magazines normally cultivate before they begin to exist. That would be odd, and even a little scary, if Hollis allowed herself to think about it much, which she can’t afford to do.

Milgrim is a junkie. A high-end junkie, hooked on prescription anti-anxiety drugs, but he figures he wouldn’t survive 24 hours if Brown, the mystery man who saved him from a misunderstanding with his dealer, ever stopped supplying the little bubble-packs. What Brown is up to Milgrim can’t say, but it seems to be military – at least, Milgrim’s very nuanced Russian is a big part of it, as is breaking into locked rooms.

Bobby Chombo is a ‘producer’, and an enigma. In his day job, Bobby is a trouble-shooter for military navigation equipment. He refuses to sleep in the same place twice. He meets no one. Hollis Henry has been told to find him.”

Gibson is far and away my favorite author. Yet another reason to go on.

Be my Valentine (Scott Brandon)

Scott rummaged around in his long-abandoned blog for this inspirational Valentine which is, I think you’ll agree, timeless:

“The day every single, available, looking, scouting the territory, exploring your options, on the market, in the market, playing the field, non-committed, searching (whatever you choose to call yourself) person dreads…is here. Valentine’s Day has returned. Bringing withering flowers, deflated balloons, frilly cards and the shattered self worth of the un-attached with it.

Is there another holiday as cruel as this one? Christmas says that if you are alone, we will love you. Thanksgiving says that if you are alone, we will share with you. News Years says that if you are alone, we’ll get snockered with you. But Valentine’s Day says that if you are alone, hide…because we will flaunt our relationships in front of you, see your pain and then pity you for a brief second between our butt naked, hand in hand, slow-motion trots through fields of sunflowers.

At first, I thought I hated the questions the most…”Who is your Valentine?”, “What did you get your Valentine?”…then I thought it was the look you get after you answer the question. That “awwww” look. You know the one…where their head tilts like a dog when it hears a high pitched noise. But, I soon realized it was the blind optimism they spout afterwards that makes my teeth grit, my ears turn red, and my trigger finger twitch. “Well…don’t you worry. There’s a woman out there for you.” Yeah, she’s out there. She’s washed up on a beach in Mexico after an all night Tequila party gone sour…but hey she’s out there!

Do me a favor, take your unsolicited advice and your positive outlook, stick’em on the end of Cupid’s arrow and shove the whole thing right up your ass-orted box of chocolates.

Today, as the army of “I heart you” Teddy Bears comes marching down the hall, all I can think of is why isn’t there an “Ain’t Gettin’ None” Day? You know, a little day (say in mid-March…right after the Madness wears off) set aside just for those who aren’t bumping nasties. It would be a national holiday for the single person (or the relationship challenged). We could have special songs, a mascot and traditions like taking pot shots at the “dreamy” couple as they’re lip-locked in the Romance Classics aisle at Blockbuster.

Until that day arrives, I will have to be content with my own Valentine’s Day ritual. I walk around the office after closing and pop all the heart shaped balloons and eat the candy. Hey, I’m single…what else do I have to do tonight?”

Upon re-reading Scott’s essay, I thought to myself (because it’s almost impossible to think to anyone else), if only there were some kind of online answer to Scott’s delimma…

I’m sorry. So sorry.

Seth Godin points us to this list of how to (and how not to) make an apology. During my years doing affiliate relations, I had to apologize many times. Didn’t matter who screwed up, I was the network as far as the affiliate was concerned. I quickly learned that weasel words and mealy-mouthed language (“We’re sorry you feel that way.”) didn’t cut it. And a sincere, heart-felt “I’m sorry” was really all most of them wanted.

I’m sorry for the way things are in China — John Denver

Pork Board sees light (feels heat?) of citizen media

A few days ago I posted about Jennifer Laycock getting hassled by the National Pork Board because she was selling T-shirts they felt infringed on their trademark and campaign “The other white meat.” Laycock was surprised by the Boards threats, and wrote an impassioned blog post about the situation.

It looks like the Pork Board realized that hassling an activist blogger over a T-shirt that parodied their branding in the name of a good cause (breast feeding) would probably hurt their brand more than it would ever protect it. Laycock reports that “I have received an apology from Steve Murphy, the CEO of the National Pork Board and we are currently working toward a resolution.” [via Podcasting News]

“Computers for people who believe in feng shui”

That’s how Charlie Brooker describes Macs. He really wails on Macs, people who use them, people who associate with people who use them, etc, etc.

“I hate Macs. I have always hated Macs. I hate people who use Macs. I even hate people who don’t use Macs but sometimes wish they did. Macs are glorified Fisher-Price activity centres for adults; computers for scaredy cats too nervous to learn how proper computers work; computers for people who earnestly believe in feng shui.”

You can read his full article here and it’s worth the registration. I hope to god he never stumbles across my “Mac Lust” post from last April. [via Jeff Jarvis]

What your iPod reveals about you

Podcasting News: Psychologists Jason Rentfrow of the University of Cambridge in England and Sam Gosling at the University of Texas at Austin, have found that strangers can accurately assess another person’s level of creativity, open-mindedness and extroversion after listening to his or her top 10 favorite songs.

While I had no data to support it, I theorized about this a year ago. Anyway, two of the conclusions in the new study caught my eye:

“Whether you can study or work efficiently while listening to music may depend on how outgoing you are. Background music can help extroverts focus but tends to torment introverts.”

I’ve always thought of myself as an extrovert but I can NOT listen to music while I’m trying to concentrate.

“Fans of energetic music like dance and soul are more likely to impulsively blurt our their thoughts, compared with fans of other styles.”

Guilty. I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut.

Sheryl’s gonna tell us how it’s gonna be

Ann Morren (our only Belgian reader) reminds us to watch for Sheryl Crow’s Revlon ad in the Super Bowl (sometime in the 3rd quarter)… and then head over to iTunes and purchase Ms. Crow’s cover of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” Proceeds going to aid breast cancer research.

Update: Purchased/listened to the song. Okay. Liked Rolling Stones & Buddy Holly versions better. Would love to know what Revlon is paying to have SC as spokesperson.

While pinging back and forth with Ann Morren, I learned she is a photographer and persuaded her to let me share a few here. I’ve noticed that a disproportionate number of smays.com readers (Henry, Bass) take great photographs.