MediaShift

Your Take

What's your favorite site for finding and sharing photos?

by Mark Glaser

Digital technology has changed forever the way we take photos, share them, and print them out. Before, we had to buy 35mm film and pay to get the film developed. Now we can use powerful digital cameras that have no film and allow us to print only the best photos with our own photo printers. Plus, we can post photos online at sites such as Flickr and Shutterfly to share with friends or the world. So tell us which photo sites you like to visit either to see great photography, or to share your own photos. Why do you like the site, and what features set it apart? As a bonus, tell us what features you would like that don't exist yet. Share your thoughts in the comments, and I'll run the best ones in the next Your Take Roundup.

• July 31, 2006
• 11 comments

Your Take Roundup

True Gritz Videoblog a Comic Fave Among Friends

by Mark Glaser

So this is how you win elections in the South. I asked MediaShift readers to name their favorite sites for comic relief or work breaks, and the True Gritz video blog won in a landslide of 11 votes. But upon further review, two of the votes came from the True Gritz videoblog's stars, Jen Gordon and Grayson Hurst Daughters, with another vote coming from the show's lighting person, Danielle Ayan.

• July 31, 2006
• 2 comments

Weblogs

Being a BlogHim at BlogHer Conference

by Mark Glaser

SAN JOSE, CALIF. -- Compared to last month's fiesty, combative BloggerCon IV conference in San Francisco, the BlogHer conference here is almost a revival meeting of mutual support and warm emotion. During the jam-packed opening session today, BlogHer organizer Elisa Camahort had women come to the stage to describe how blogging had changed their lives. With each personal story, the audience applauded or laughed along.

• July 29, 2006
• 4 comments

Citizen Journalism

Can Investigative Journalism Be Done in Collaboration Online?

by Mark Glaser

Robert Parry, an investigative reporter who broke stories about the Iran-Contra scandal in the '80s, wrote about the importance of investigative journalism for his ConsortiumNews.com site.

• July 28, 2006
• 2 comments

Digging Deeper

Should Community-Edited News Sites Pay Top Editors?

by Mark Glaser

If there is one push-and-pull balancing act that defines news in the age of Web 2.0, it's the question of how much power to give the audience, the masses, the collective mind, and how much control remains centralized. That balancing act has played a crucial role in the development of community-generated sites such as Wikipedia, Slashdot and even Google, where search results and PageRank depend on people linking to the most authoritative sources on a subject.

• July 25, 2006
• 45 comments

Your Take

What are your favorite humor or work-break websites or blogs?

by Mark Glaser

Many "knowledge workers" are practically chained to their computers all day for their jobs. So besides getting out of the office, how can all these folks take a break, get a quick laugh and get back to work? A cottage industry of websites have sprouted up to fill the need, from Break.com to CollegeHumor to Office Pirates. And let's not forget about the classics like The Onion. So which sites and blogs do you visit regularly for a dose of humor during the day or night? Even if you don't check the sites at work, share your favorites in the comments below, and tell us why you like them. I'll tally them up, and quote from your best comments and suggestions in the next Your Take Roundup.

• July 25, 2006
• 31 comments

Your Take Roundup

BBC, Deutsche Welle Best Sources for Mideast News

by Mark Glaser

When U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Beirut today, there were numerous ways to report and interpret that news.

• July 24, 2006
• 3 comments

World View

Bloggers Freed From Jail in China, Egypt, Iran

by Mark Glaser

With bombs dropping in Lebanon and Israel, sectarian violence rising in Iraq and civil war in Somalia -- among other bad tidings -- we are in dire need of good news and a reason to get up in the morning. Thankfully, there has been a spate of such news in the blogosphere, with a few high-profile bloggers being released from jail in China, Egypt and Iran.

• July 21, 2006
• 2 comments

Media Usage

Big Media Last to Know Bloggers Not in Pajamas

by Mark Glaser

Today was going to be a day of triumphalism in the new media world, a day where I would celebrate the growing ranks of blog creators (a.k.a. bloggers) and blog readers in the U.S., while also noting the growing number of people downloading podcasts. I would combine the happy results from a Pew Internet survey on blogging with the great news (PDF file) from Nielsen//Netratings that podcasting was gaining a foothold.

• July 20, 2006
• 2 comments

Digging Deeper

Stanford Fellow Imagines Every Cell Phone as Citizen Media Outlet

by Mark Glaser

Perhaps some day in the not so distant future, every person on the planet who has a cell phone camera will be able to snap a photo of a newsworthy event happening in front of them and easily send it to a web clearinghouse of such news images. That's the dream of Erik Sundelof (pictured at left), a Reuters Digital Vision Fellow at Stanford University, a program that aims to develop technology to advance humanitarian goals in underserved communities.

• July 18, 2006
• 10 comments

Your Take

Which online sources are helping you follow news from the Middle East?

by Mark Glaser

With the rapidly deteriorating situation in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, many people rely on various online sources to get news directly from the region -- whether it's from Israeli or Arab newspaper sites, local bloggers or video journalists. I'm curious which sources you trust to give you unbiased news, or perhaps how you compare and contrast sources to get both sides. Using your suggestions, I'll try to piece together a picture of what's happening in the Middle East, quoting from the most interesting viewpoints and eyewitness reports. So tell us -- which online sources do you trust, and why do you trust them? Feel free to name American news outlets, broadcast sites, and any other good sources. And if you've had a bad experience, you can expound on that as well. I'll tally up your votes and use the best comments in the next Your Take Roundup.

• July 17, 2006
• 17 comments

Your Take Roundup

Everyone Has an Opinion on Future of Rocketboom

by Mark Glaser

So what's up with Rocketboom, the popular video blog that lost its longtime host, Amanda Congdon? When we last left the he said/she said soap opera, Rocketboom honcho Andrew Baron was readying a replacement for Congdon, while Congdon was upset about being "unboomed" from the show.

• July 17, 2006
• No comments

Media Usage

'Never Let Schooling Get in the Way of Your Education'

by Henry Jenkins

Some years ago, my wife, my son, and I came to a parting of the ways with the Sommerville Public School System. We felt the schooling process was failing our son. The science teacher conducted no experiments but simply had students write answers to study questions while he worked crossword puzzles in front of the class. The literature instructor had managed to walk them paragraph by paragraph through a single, not particularly challenging novel for the entire school year. And the history class had not progressed much past the American Revolution after 9 months.

• July 14, 2006
• 9 comments

Media Usage

Learning By Remixing

by Henry Jenkins

According to a 2005 study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 57 percent of American teens who use the internet could be considered media creators. For the purpose of the study, a media creator was defined as someone who "created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations." Most American teens online have done two or more of these activities. 33 percent of teens share what they create online with others. 19 percent create new works by remixing content they appropriated from another source.

• July 13, 2006
• No comments

Digging Deeper

PR People Must Balance Consistent Message with Authenticity

by Mark Glaser

Public relations professionals and journalists often work together, and sometimes they even get along. The goal for the PR person is to represent their product or service well, and make sure it gets positive press coverage. The goal for the journalist is to write a balanced account of the company -- not necessarily all positive or all negative.

• July 11, 2006
• 7 comments

Weblogs

Is Amanda Congdon Replaceable?

by Mark Glaser

When I lived in New York City in the late '80s, I thought I was a hotshot DJ. I spun records (yes, vinyl) at a restaurant in Queens that had a special dance night catering to flight attendants. More people started showing up, the owner started charging for entry, but I was still being paid $125 per night as the DJ.

• July 10, 2006
• 1 comment

Your Take

Who should replace Amanda Congdon at Rocketboom (if that's possible)?

by Mark Glaser

I tried hard not to watch the car crash that was Amanda Congdon splitting from the most popular video blog in history, Rocketboom. But rubbernecking is a tough habit to break. Congdon left the show or was fired by producer Andrew Baron, depending on who's telling the story. If you're just joining the soap opera that's been splashed all over the blogosphere, gossip site Valleywag has the blow-by-blow blog posts. I'll have my own thoughts on the high-profile split, along with quotes from various observers, on Monday, but now it's your turn to weigh in. Who should be the next face of Rocketboom? Who has the humor, the charisma, the smarts to follow in Congdon's footsteps? Or do you think no one can follow her and Rocketboom will flounder? Share your thoughts in the comments and I'll run the best ideas in the next Your Take Roundup.

• July 7, 2006
• 13 comments

Your Take Roundup

Google Reader, Sage Lead as Favorite RSS Readers

by Mark Glaser

Why use an RSS reader if it's not straightforward and easy to set up and use? That's the underlying point of what MediaShift readers said in responding to this week's question, "Which RSS news reader do you use and why?"

• July 7, 2006
• 1 comment

Digging Deeper

Your Guide to RSS

by Mark Glaser

From time to time, I'll give an overview of one broad MediaShift topic, annotated with online resources and plenty of tips. The idea is to help you understand the topic, learn the jargon, and hopefully consider trying it out -- even if it's all new to you. I've already covered blogging; this week I'll look at RSS._

• July 6, 2006
• 3 comments

RSS

RSS Week::How to Make RSS = Really Satisfying Syndication

by Mark Glaser

We live in a time of information overload. News and opinion swirls around us online, burying us in an avalanche of foreign newspaper sites, viral video, political blogs, school email newsletters, showbiz podcasts and on and on. Just when you think you've seen it all, another hundred new sites spring up and become must-read material. That's where the promise...

• July 5, 2006
• 4 comments