“Sure, it would be great if you could hire one single person who could do everything. We call that “computer jesus” — and you need to accept the fact that there really are not many people in the world who can walk on water. – Mindy McAdams on setting up a team for online journalism:
If you missed this story on NPR’s Morning Edition last week, it’s worth a listen (4 min). Seems the market for web site domain names is on the rise. Last month, the name Gasprices.com sold for $300,000.
Back when we registered Legislature.com, we could not believe it was still available. I mean, ALL one-word domains were gone by that time. But for some reason, not Legislature.com. We jumped on it. Would we sell it? In a New York minute. Dot com.
I bought a Flip Ultra video camera last week, just to play with and show friends. Henry has it now and I can’t wait to see what he (an extremely talented professional digital artist) comes up with. Everybody that sees this little gadget seems to love it.
And now there’s a smaller/cuter/cooler version. The Flip Mino is 40% smaller than the Ultra and comes with 2GB of memory (records up to one hour of video). Pick one up at Amazon for $179. Shit. If I had waited a week…
Scott Adams thinks Israel will eventually create the technology that will make oil irrelevant:
“The oh-my-God moment came when I realized that Israel can destroy all of its local enemies by inventing solar technology that makes oil uneconomical. Such an invention would do more harm than any military attack. And it’s all legal and moral. The politicians and business people in Israel have all the right incentives times a thousand. Their very survival is at risk. Israel is one patent away from crushing every oil producing country in the world.”
In his post, he links to the article that provided his ah-ha moment.
I was scanning AdRants when the quote above caught my eye. Here’s a couple of chunks from the post:
“Want to hear an interesting conversation about social media and it’s impact on marketing, advertising, public relations and journalism? Want to know how the role of public relations is changing in the world of public relations? Want to explore the differences in mentality between new media and old? Want to now whether or not it’s sinful to publish a story before every last detail of the story is known? Want to know why readers, who are now commenters, are so important to the whole of the story? Then give this podcast a listen.”
I caught about 15 minutes over lunch and look forward to hearing the rest. It sounds like a pretty good peek into the minds of some PR pros, with the focus on New Media (whatever that is). If you blog, send or receive news releases… I think you’ll find this worth the listen.
“Quick decisions based on the smallest scraps of data. It’s not fair but it’s true. Your blog, your outfit, the typeface you choose, the tone of your voice, the expression on your face, the location of your office, the way you rank on a Google search, the look of your Facebook page… We all jump to conclusions and we do it every day. Where do you want me to jump?”
— Seth Godin
Lost Remote’s Cory Bergman explains –again– why TV station websites lag behind newspaper sites. He identifies two root problems:
“The first is the fact that broadcast scripts are not appropriate to read online. They must be rewritten, usually by a web producer because the reporter A) “doesn’t have time” or B) can’t write. From a financial perspective, the time rewriting this script is a wasted cost. Reporters should write their own web stories — multiple updates throughout the day if needed — following AP style.
The second is the misguided notion that a TV station’s web staff is there just to repurpose TV stories with a few extras here and there. As a result, TV sites are oppressively heavy on crime/fires/accidents and feature thin TV versions of newspaper and AP stories.”
I read countless stories and posts like this and the thing that always gnaws at me is the the complete absence of any mention of radio station websites. Zip. Nada.
I’ve posted a couple of times on the restrictive policies of the NFL and the MLB regarding audio, video, still images and other content on websites.
Green Bay Packer QB Brett Favre is holding a news conference to officially announce he’s hanging it up. First words out of the Packer media guy’s mouth: You can broadcast on radio and TV, but no streaming from websites. Except for one: Packers.com.
Hardly a mystery. The Packers do not –as far as I know– own radio or TV stations. But they DO have a website and and it’s got lots of sponsors. Just one more example of how the web is changing –if you’ll forgive me– the playing field. Once upon a time, the teams and the leagues needed the media to reach their fans. They still need them, but maybe not as much and not for everything. As more and more fans –and advertisers– move to the web, this will be a big issue.
Update: Lost remote reports that traffic at Packers.com was so heavy, they had to switch to a breaking-news layout.
The Generation Iowa Commission, with help from the Iowa Department of Economic Development, has launched a website designed –among other things– "to keep young people from leaving the state."
GenerationIowa.com will eventually include written material, photos and videos submitted by young Iowans. "We really wanted to make it a user generated content site. We want young folks across Iowa to send their stories, their photos, their videos…and really make it their own website," Rolland said. "We don’t want it to just be a state marketing website." [More on the story at RadioIowa.com]
One of the stories on the site ("High Life, Low Price") describes the advantages of living in Iowa compared to Manhattan. Amanda Brend cautions:
"Don’t let the bright lights of New York City blind you — the city is fabulous when you have a New York City-size paycheck. Here’s the download on my life as a New York City intern versus my current gig as a Des Moines entrepreneur."
"Here’s the download?" "My current gig?" Hmmm. I smell older person trying to write hip.
But wait. One of the comments displayed on the home page reads:
"Hi, This is Amanda Brend from Indianola. While I would like to take credit for such a well written article, I can’t, because I did not write this. I have never lived in NYC. I’m not sure why my name is posted on here, but I did not write this. I am, however, a huge advocate for Iowa and maybe someday I’ll be able to post MY story. Amanda"
Oops.
Here’s a screen shot of the home page and the story in question.
I like Iowa. But if you want to keep young people from leaving, you’re gonna need razor wire. Lots and lots of razor wire.
Some researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have constructed "a fully functional, fully integrated radio receiver, orders-of-magnitude smaller than any previous radio, from a single carbon nanotube. The single nanotube serves, at once, as all major components of a radio: antenna, tuner, amplifier, and demodulator."
"The nanotube radio’s extremely small size could enable radical new applications such as radio controlled devices small enough to exist in the human bloodstream, or simply smaller, cheaper, and more efficient wireless devices such as cellular phones."
They’ve provided short videos of this little bugger playing Layla, Good Vibrations, and the Star Wars theme. [Thanks, Trish]