Mutualization

With 2014 approaching, the old media is still looking for the new model so that this admittedly improbable prediction does not come true. This is where 'mutualization' comes in. "Our readers have become a part of what we do", writes Rusbridger. This makes me think that old media is exploiting user's selfishness. By reeling them in and allowing them to participate now more than ever, they are keeping readers hooked by letting them see their work reflected in the news organization.

Behind

Hey Colin,

Just a quick update to let you know I'm behind in my blogging, and I probably won't be able to do a good post in time for class tonight. I'll get to everything very soon though.

Final Thoughts on Twitter

So I've been using Twitter for about a week now. Its fun, its easy, its uncomplicated. I understand how many call Twitter pointless, as its just a simple 140 character sounding board. Its an invitation for inane, dead-end thoughts.

If I had gone the whole week completely unchanged or unimpressed by Twitter, then I would be echoing the Twitter haters. But I think it has concretely improved my connectedness with the world. News organizations Tweet interesting articles I would have missed, bands post concert dates, etc. And I would have missed comedian Mo Rocca's HILARIOUS set of Tweets impersonating Oprah Twittering in real time as she moves from Chicago to Los Angeles. I have to post it here just for laughs. Its comedic genius in "140 characters or less":

1. Gayle, it's Oprah, please pick up. Whitney came over to help me move. Bitch drove off w/ the UHaul. I need you, Gayle!5:37 PM Nov 20th from UberTwitter
   • Reply
   • Retweet
2. Hi, Gayle. Just wanted u to know that Maya Angelou just threw her back out lifting my armoire. Hope ur havin a GREAT dayToo bad you're not there, Gayle. Sasha & Malia wanted to say hi. They just finished unhooking my entertainment center.11:42 AM Nov 20th from web
3. 11:31 AM Nov 20th from web
4. "Gayle, I will hunt you down, have Rachael Ray boil you in a stock pot and Dr. Phil eat you! Now pick up the damn PHONE!"11:20 AM Nov 20th from web
5. Gayle, pick up the damn phone. Tom & Katie are helping. Even Suri's lifting boxes. Gayle, get your black ass over here!11:15 AM Nov 20th from web
6. Gayle? It's Oprah. Pick up the phone, Gayle. Ashton Demi Dr. Oz & James Frey are all helping me move. Don't disappoint me, Gayle.11:11 AM Nov 20th from web
7. Oprah moving Chi-LA is logistical nightmare. 1000s of boxes. This is when it sucks to be Oprah's best friend Gayle

Anyway, if used comprehensively, Twitter is quite the helpful aggregate.

Twitter Revelation

So I think I'm having my revelation as to why I've enjoyed using Twitter so much these past few days.

Whenever I use Facebook to update my status, its always a back and forth as to whether to do it or not. I never want to be that guy - the one who is notorious for way too many pointless, boring status updates. So I filter them and only occasionally give an update.

But with Twitter, theres nothing else to do BUT let people know what you are doing/thinking. You're encouraged to share those thoughts. Now whether or not this is the stupidest or smartest scheme ever thought up can be saved for another day. As for right now, I'm just embracing the basics of it without questioning its greater place in society.

On Twitter

So a little over halfway into my Twitter experiment, I have to admit I really like it. I now constantly have the need to share every random thought that comes into my head. Its a bit addicting. I find myself having to screen my thoughts by saying "Is this Twitter worthy?" And even though I have many more Facebook friends, its much easier to Tweet than it is to update my status on Facebook on my cell phone.

Its an easy two-step process. For example, yesterday I Tweeted atop Talcott Mountain and at an early "late night" concert at The Mill, an arts house on campus. All I did was whip out my phone, find the Tweed application, Tweet my thought, and submit.

A few things I've discovered I can do with Twitter:

1. Establish a sense of place. There is a feature where I can press a 'locate me' button and my phone finds my latitude and longitude. When I submit my tweet, it displays a link that goes to my location on Google Maps. I feel like establishing a sense of place is a very authentic experience.

2. Keep up with things I would have missed. I follow 'Bantam Sports', and I just found out that Trinity hockey won against Hamilton.

3. Get a quick, accurate look into peoples thoughts. Trending topics are really interesting to me. Tracking what thousands of people are thinking helps me feel more connected to society, as cheesy as that sounds.

I'll keep updating this list as I use Twitter more.

On Twitter, I

So I started a Twitter this summer and found I don't have easy access to many people's Twitters. What I mean by this is that the people I am closest to don't have Twitters. There are others who I know who do have them, but I don't feel comfortable enough to preemptively follow them.

So I've used Twitter to follow mainly news organizations (Projo, NPR, NY Times) and certain interesting people I don't know (mainly the brains behind a few blogs I read or politicians). As of right now, I follow 19 accounts, and 5 accounts follow me. I use Tweed on my cellphone to check up throughout the day. For example, I'm pretty sure I found out about Jodi Rell's decision to not run for re-election via Twitter.

The whole idea behind the "following" of someone puts me off a bit. (The word following seems almost non-consensual to me. If a random stray dog follows me, thats not necessarily something I approve of. I may just want it to go away.) Plus, I still haven't figured out the etiquette of Twitter. When is it ok to follow someone? When is it creepy? Is it really even that big of a deal? Having been on Facebook since high school, I feel like I've worked the ropes enough to know how use it in a socially acceptable manner. Twitter is all new to me, and that has been my excuse for not using it more.

Nonetheless, I'll start using it this week, even if my Tweets go off into a deep abyss, where they are only read and appreciated by me. I don't know how much - or how little - to share. I may Tweet that I'm about to go to bed. I may Tweet a favorite quote that I hear. I may Tweet a political opinion. I may Tweet my location. I may re-Tweet a news story. Who knows? Will I Tweet too much? Maybe.

I guess its pretty clear I am very insecure in my relationship with Twitter. Oh well. My Twitter is gregorymoniz.

Difficulties of a Transition

This week's project is quickly becoming harder to figure out than I initially thought. When I was listening to the guest speaker on Monday night, I thought the picture was pretty black and white. He was fired from the Courant and he and other disgruntled (in a good way?) ex-newsroom traditional reporters would band together and create an antidote - if you will - to the quickly growing dearth of in-depth, legitimate political news in Connecticut.

The transitions seemed like it would be smooth. Smart brains equal good output. In a few months this project would be off the ground and would slowly but steadily gain attention and become a viable enterprise.

After meeting with my group and reading/responding to our emails over the course of the week, all I can think is "boy was I wrong." This is complex stuff. Perhaps one of the reasons that the newspapers with founding dates that go back to the 19th, 18th, and 17th centuries are around is because you can't create something like them overnight.

Our group is trying though, and everyone seems to have good ideas, even if all are not in concord. Matt is spearheading the compilation of our ideas, but it seems like we are trying to combine numerous technological elements (facebook, twitter, mobile apps, etc.) while still holding onto some vestiges of the newsroom past.

Hyperlocals again

Quick thought on hyperlocal websites:

I would imagine that local, small business advertisers would jump at the opportunity to advertise on a hyperlocal. But considering the size of most small businesses and their advertising budgets, it seems really difficult for hyperlocal sites to depend solely on advertising for revenue or profit.

On the development of specified news websites (a la CTnewsjunkie):

As relevant as these sites are becoming, they are still leaning on the shoulders of the better established traditional outlets. CT News Junkie still links to stories the Courant breaks, even while publishing their own breaking stories.

On the Texas Tribune:

For a non-print newspaper to be successful, I feel it has to have good aesthetics. It seems like the Texas Tribune has hit the ball out of the park. Its stately while lacking stuffiness that could bog it down and turn off younger readers. Plus it even has a newspaper sounding name, giving it some MSM legitimacy. Coincidentally, theres an article about it in todays NYT.

Hyperlocals

So I just found out that 10 trees will be removed and 12 will be pruned on West Road in New Canaan, Connecticut soon. You can't get any more local than that. ANYWAY...

My thoughts on the NY Times article on 'hyperlocal websites' :

1. EveryBlock seems to be the best. Its the most aesthetically appealing. It has a detailed wide ranged list of events and articles that are most relevant to a neighborhood. Its only downfall is that its limited in available cities. Anyone not living in those cities is out of luck.

2. Patch. I find it interesting that Patch only seems to be extending to the wealthiest communities in the states its in. For example, the only communites in CT on Patch are Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Darien, and New Canaan. Unless you throw Greenwich in the mix, you can't get any more FairfieldCounty/GoldCoast/$100,000medianincome that these towns.

That brings me to think that much to the chagrin of those advocating that the internet democratizes information, Patch does not contribute to that egalitarianism. Its telling that the only communities participating in Patch are those already the most organized, educated, and 'in the know'.

3. Almost all the website, to minutely varying degrees, are still relying on traditional media in the information they are providing. Crime reports/political stories all seem to be coming from the newspapers and television station websites. If the newspapers go out of business, these websites will need some major increase in funding and reach to make up for the loss of a community paper.

2 Stolen Cell Phones, 2 Alternative Endings

A few weeks ago a good friend of mine called me up from a friend's cell phone sounding completely distraught. Someone had stolen her iPhone after she accidentally left it at a makeup counter in Nordstrom. When she remembered she had put it down, she quickly returned, but the phone was already gone.

The security cameras inside the department store confirmed the theft, as it showed a woman go up to the counter and snatch the phone almost immediately after it was left alone. My friend quickly contacted the Providence Police Department but, as the story goes, the phone was long gone and each minute passing after its theft made it less likely to be found. This is supposed to mark the end. An unfortunate series of events results in a stolen phone with little recourse on the part of the original owner. In the context of crime, its a small matter, a closed case that isn't worth the time and effort to investigate. There was no investigation into the identity of the thief and no one besides the victim and her friends, family, and the clerk at the police station who accepted the theft report knew about this crime.

So Shirky looks at the completely alternative end to the story of a stolen cell phone. His case study is fascinating. Instead of closing the book on the stolen phone in the taxicab, the owner and her friend start their own networking campaign to find the phone. The snowball effect that occurs results in an almost nationwide hunt for one cell phone. Out of all the stolen cellphone stories, this one certainly reaches the most people. The person who sets up the website starts getting 10 emails a minute. Thats astonishing. To use current lingo, it goes 'viral'. People begin emailing offering to help, ask questions, and extend sympathy. The manpower this attracts is certainly disproportionate to the actual problem.

Of course, this particular story is ripe with sensationalist characteristics. Its not your typical story, so its going to get eaten up by everyone who gets their hands on it. It involves two determined yuppies, a young, defiant Spanish girl from Queens, hints of violence, retribution, personal explorations, etc. To add to it, New York City is the backdrop.

But the fact that it reached such a wide range of people echoes Shirky's idea. There was no one formal organization here that brought people together - no 'Society of Stolen Cell Phone Hunters'. No one had to pay dues to get a newsletter announcing this theft. And it certainly wasn't as serious as a nationwide manhunt for a killer or lost child. But it made it to the highest echelons of the media, even though it started with just two people. And most importantly, it utterly captivated an audience.

Obviously, the game has changed. With channeling, en masse, energy into outlets like blogs, youtube videos, and other informal, unorganized mediums, the competition is now survival of the most outrageous - a rat race of zany. That story which is viewed as craziest, oddest, or least likely to happen again is the one thats going to get the attention. The outcome is not known, as everything plays out in real time. Unfortunately for my friend, her stolen cell phone was just that and she had to dish out $500 for a new one. Fortunately for Ivanka and Evan, they were able to make it more than just a stolen cell phone. They made it an ongoing narrative of the often illusive search for justice in a cold, unforgiving metropolis. They won.