Why I quit my job as a national newspaper editor to be a bloggerWhy would any self-respecting journo leave their job as an editor at one of the US’s largest national newspapers, the LA Times to work for media gossip site Gawker? To be part of the nation’s “cultural conversation”.
Media / Online
From stone throwing kids to online activists: the e-Palestine movement
Palestinians have figured out one the most effective methods of mobilising the youth: bringing their activism online. They foster an international diaspora and avoid the traditional Hamas and Fatah tensions and talk in chat rooms. Can they mimic the success of Obama’s online campaign?
Crikey Says: Clash of the media titans at Media140
A certain slack-jawed wonderment ran around the room at yesterday’s Media140 conference in Sydney, when a senior News Ltd journalist rose to spruik the vested corporate interests of her employer…
Google’s next target: Facebook
Google is making moves into the social networking world with a bunch of improvements to its Friend Connect feature. It’s a blatant “declaration of war” on Facebook, says Douglas Rushkoff, and one Google will most likely win.
The highlights and lowlights of Media140
Margaret Simons wraps up the recent social-media-types-get-together-to-tweet-about-talking-about-Twitter Media140 conference in Sydney. Where is social media headed in Australia? Can it save journalism, or will it just kill it faster?
Google Dashboard: what is it and do you really need it?
Google has released its latest toy: Google Dashboard, a one-stop-shop for users to access all their Google-related junk (gmail, Google docs, chat, etc). It’s neat, and potentially time-saving, but do you really want so much personal data in one place?
Caroline Overington drops some hints on Rupert’s paywall plans (and tangles with Annabel Crabb)
Margaret Simons reports live from the Media140 conference in Sydney, where journalist Caroline Overington pissed off News Ltd by talking about its paywall plans, had a crack at the ABC, and clashed with Annabel Crabb.
Mark Scott on merging media professionals and their audience
The ABC will be experimenting with new methods of producing journalism through “pro-am” collaborations between media professionals and the audience, the ABC managing director Mark Scott said at the Media140 conference in Sydney this morning, writes Margaret Simons.
Corporate blogging: Telstra tries again
After its last disastrous attempt, Telstra is having another crack at social media. Full marks for effort, says Trevor Cook, but it’s still little more than a bit of gloss on a dull, besuited corporate empire.
The ABC gets social and local
Margaret Simons reports live from the Media140 conference, where ABC chief Mark Scott has made some announcements about Auntie’s future: a digital media project in local communities, ABC “widgets” for social media pages, and staff guidelines for using social media.
iTunes for print? Selling the story instead of the magazine
Online aggregator Maggwire.com is planning “to do for magazines what iTunes did for music”, by selling “premium” magazine articles for a few bucks online. It may save the companies, but could it kill off the printed versions in the process?
Why e-Readers are not the future of magazines
The Kindle and its ilk may be taking the newspaper and book worlds by storm, but they’re not going to revolutionise the way we read magazines anytime soon: the screens, formatting and lack of interactivity just aren’t up to the task.
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The social networking boom
Focus graphs the boom in social networking sites over the last decade — from early pioneers like Classmates.com to recent innovators like Twitter.
The world’s first Twitter-only gadget. Er, why?
Tech company Peek has created a hand-held gadget that only does one thing: tweet. For US$199, you can’t make phone calls, send SMS or check your email, but you can tweet on-the-go. Perfect for friendless geeks with no need for a real phone, we guess.
Web ads: a watcher’s guide
Push-downs, troll ads, blogger endorsements and the Hulk — they’re all new and different ways advertisers and webmasters are trying to catch your eye (and clicks) online, to generate more (or any) money from the web.
Newsday columnist quits over paywall
Newsday columnist Saul Friedman has quit after the company erected a paywall on its website. In an open letter explaining the move, he says even he can’t access his own columns now.
How I made millions spamming Facebook: an insider’s confession
You know those ads on social networking sites saying “Inbox (5). Nick, someone in Sydney has a crush on you!”, with your name, profile picture, and city in the ad? Dennis Yu made millions off them. He explains how.
What next? Meme, the musical, starring Bumcrabb and Bolt
New internet meme alert! Where does Andrew Bolt get his climate change sceptic facts and figures from? The “University of East Bumcrack”, said Annabel Crabb. T-shirts already available for sale.
Imagining life behind the pay-wall
The year is 2012 and the news is no longer free: Michael Wolff is in prison, Fox has renamed itself The Glenn Beck Channel, a NYT sub costs $7000-per-year, and a cultural divide has formed between the news-haves and news-have-nots…
The top internet memes of 2009
Balloon Boy, David after the dentist, the Three Wolf Moon tshirt, Susan Boyle, Kanye West at the VMAs… so many memories. Mashable looks back at 2009 through internet memes.
Is Twitter protecting celebrities from nasty tweets?
Blogger Mickey Kaus has found something sketchy happening on The Twitter: insulting tweets about celebrity twitterers are disappearing from search results. Grassy knoll territory? Or is the company protecting one of its most valuable asset, the Twitterati?
Just don’t search Freebird: Google turns DJ
Google has added playable music clips to its search results, with a new feature dubbed “Music OneBox”. Will the next front of the aggregation wars be fought against the music industry?
Moses is definitely a follower
It’s another Aussie journo Twitter spat, this time between the ABC’s Mark Colvin and Fairfax’s Asher Moses over a rocket ship and showing pictures on the radio.
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Politico and Wash Post to engage in DC territorial pissing
Online political news site Politico is going to launch a local Washington DC edition of the site, headed up by the former editor of WashingtonPost.com. It’s a pretty direct attack on The Washington Post’s DC supremacy, and HuffPo has its hands on an internal memo that outlines the plans.
The internet ushers in the age of the ‘amafessional’
The internet has allowed amateurs to directly rival professionals in opportunity, talent, quality and price, says Mark Penn — and not just in the field of journalism; bedroom musicians, artists and authors are all shaking up their respective fields with some serious competition.
