Steve gets way too deep for Squared on a warm, sunny afternoon, but give his essay a whirl if you feel like a little think, think, think.
"Are we headed toward a Web 2.0-fueled world of microcelebrity where every semi-interesting human is worthy of fan clubs, rabid devotees and citizen paparazzi?"
"The text of eBay's complaint filed in a Delaware court [PDF] has made its way online, and in it, eBay "seeks equitable and legal relief" from Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark."
Mark Glaser rounds up the experts and comes up with a very handy dandy list.
"It’s a lot better than I expected, and worth the time for any reporter or news organization."
Examples: 1) "YouTube + Facebook page views > Google or Yahoo page views (and may be bigger than both combined)" 2.".6/10 top internet sites are social (youtube, live.com, facebook, hi5, wikipedia, orkut); none were on the list in 2005."
"The free site allows users to create profiles, connect with friends and others, and upload pictures, videos, and blogs. . . .The paper plans to reverse publish some of the content of sdBackyard into community publications. "
"A man has been accused of attempting to pass a $360 billion check, which he claims was given to him by his girlfriend’s mother to start a record business," (Tx Anthony Moor)
"It's one of the mysteries of the blogosphere, why more people don't simply pick up the phone once in a while." Via Romenesko.
"Tribune’s LA Times expects to generate $25 million in display ad revenue this year, more than tripling the $6 million that area attracted three years ago, according to Rob Barrett, SVP interactive media and site GM. at the paper’s website"
"And so, on this cool spring morning in April with full benefit of hindsight, I choose to be optimistic about the future of newspapers."
-- John Hasell, online editor of Star-Ledger.com,
and NJ.com,in a terrific timelined recap of how his media company recently mobilized to cover a huge local story.
Great editorial by The Capital Times in Madison, Wisc., explaining its historic move over the weekend to publishing its daily offering entirely to the web after 90 years in print.
Today marks our last edition as a traditional daily newspaper of the sort Americans knew in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Starting tomorrow, The Capital Times will be a daily newspaper of the sort Americans will know in the 21st century. . . .
Our purpose is [Capital Times founder William T.] Evjue's purpose: We want to ensure that Madison, Dane County and Wisconsin have an independent voice for peace and economic and social justice that speaks truth to power each and every day.
What would Evjue -- who was not just a newspaperman but a pioneer when it came to embracing radio and television as vehicles for communicating progressive ideas -- say about this change?
He would caution us not to worry about the form The Capital Times takes, but rather to be concerned with the content and character of our message. And, as always, Evjue would be right. We will keep on giving the people the truth and the freedom to discuss it, and all will be well.
More from BuzzMachine ("Bravo, I say.), Jay Rosen ("The presses have stopped but the press goes on.") and NYT.
But at least the commute to the new office was a breeze ;-)
Squared and his alter ego parted ways with Mama Tribune this week after 27 incredibly rich and rewarding years. That a company could love, nurture, encourage (and tolerate) someone for that long a stretch is a testament to the soul, heart and greatness of Mama T in her prime. She's not the same old gal anymore by most measures, but then again, neither are her peers.
These are deeply dark days for old media companies, as most of you know brutally well. For the lucky on RIF Day, there is a visit from the sometimes generous Parting Gift Fairy. For many others, there is no such visit; just the stark, hellish reality of, literally, income and benefits vanished overnight. Squared is thankful for a bit of the fairy dust.Mama T and us, we'd independently concluded in recent weeks it was probably time to call it a day; end of day, though, Mama's new management team was a wee bit more decisive about it!
So no hard feelings. No shots on the way out the door. Head high. Things happening, as they are very much prone to, for a reason. Onward. . . .
Having not seriously (or not much even informally for that matter) looked for a job in nearly 3 decades, the upcoming chapter is, indeed, going to be a challenge. Given the outpouring of supportive electronic love in the past three days -- scores of e-mails, IMs, Facebook and Linkedin messages, plus old-fashioned phone calls -- it may be tough, but it will be tough with the support of a colossal network of supporters never more than an electron away. One cannot imagine how lonely and different going through a transition like this was just a few years ago when no such deep and immediate electronic networks existed.
We'll shortly be moving Squared over to a new platform outside of the old company. Maybe do a little redesign while we're at it. Not like there isn't time at the moment ;-)
Salut Mama. Be well.
"Craigslist is firing back at its rival and minority owner eBay, scolding the online auctioneer's actions as unethical and smelling of a hostile takeover."
"It’s remarkable to me how many accomplished producers of those goods the future production of which is in doubt are still at the stage of asking other people, “How are we going to pay our reporters if you guys don’t want to pay for our news?” "
Ge it in PDF format. (via Journerdism)
"Facebook application gives readers an opportunity to be one of the five in "Five on Five," the daily mock sports quiz."
Nice showing by the old gang at Mama T.
A couple of old time media companies are still hanging in there.
Something fishy in new roanoke.com database.
"The Society for Professional Journalists is hosting a series of one-day "Citizen Journalism Academy" workshops . . . The idea is to provide training and information for citizen media creators on topics ranging from media ethics, to standard journalistic. . . ."
"Can newspaper classifieds really be saved? The answer to that question is yes, I believe. But ONLY if newspaper publishers are willing to completely reinvent themselves."
"Could Web navigation preferences, like tolerance for scrolling, be just another sign of a generation gap?"
"With 75 percent of all adult Americans using a mobile phone or PDA, journalists need to start thinking about what people do with those gadgets — and how it relates to distributing the products of journalism."
"Dilbert.com now lets fans rewrite Adams' punch lines, and soon it'll let you write the entire strip, too."
Danny discovers some nifty "angry ink-stained wretch shirts" for sale. . . . Squared for some reason is drawn to the "journalists get laid (off)" version.
Mama T's Baltimore Sun this week launched a new free youth-oriented daily -- called "b" -- and in addition to a great tagline ("Baltimore's daily conversation starts here"), the web version of b is taking an interesting, simple aggregation/conversation approach that is worth a look.
Says Tim Windsor, VP and GM of interactive for Baltimore Sun: "New paradigm? Embracing aggregation? News as conversation first, reporting second?"
Yep.
Philip Faraci, the president and CEO of Kodak, fired up a hilarious showstopper on Tuesday during a panel discussion on innovation and change at the joint meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and Newspaper Association of America in Washington.
The video below was done for a trade show to demonstrate how Kodak -- whose woes are shocking magnitutes of order greater than even the notoriously hand-wringing newspaper industry -- is back thanks to innovation and change.A conflicted Squared attended a reception Monday night at the new Newseum in DC. The inner conflict is over the $450 million that was spent to build the temple to the press and the First Amendment and whether it could have been invested in ways to actually directly help save the freakin' business. OK, a naive and impractical notion, but had to get it out. And that's not the point of the post, anyway.
That said, there is an enormously powerful exhibit at the Newseum dedicated to 9/11, anchored by the twisted remains of the iconic broadcast spire that sat atop the north tower at the World Trade Center. A couple images below give you a sense, but simply cannot convey the raw emotional impact of standing inches away. It gives new dimension to the enormity of what took place.
Also part of the 9/11 exhibit is an unbelievable collection of photos shot by Bill Biggart, the freelance photographer who lived near the World Trade Center and arrived on the scene shortly after the attack began. He died when the second tower collapsed. His belongings (on display at the Newseum) were recovered a few days later -- including 300 undeveloped close-up frames of the horror that had unfolded over 90 minutes. His widow narrates a short video as part of the exhibit. You'll sit on the stone bench and watch it over and over, unable to break away.
Contact Scott Anderson: 