About site: Weblogs - The Constant Observer

About site: http://spap-oop.blogspot.com/

Title: Weblogs - The Constant Observer Deals with the intersection of media, technology, and social networking. Includes schedule of Tish Grier speaking engagements.

Alexa statistic for http://spap-oop.blogspot.com/

Please visit: http://spap-oop.blogspot.com/

Related sites for http://spap-oop.blogspot.com/

Don’t_mind_me,_just_talking_to_myself The work of Andy Riga, a reporter and occasional political writer at The Gazette in Montreal.

Guardian_Unlimited_-_Newsblog Team weblog from the British newspaper's news team, augmented with dispatches from their journalists around the world.

Hyde_Park_Media__Editor\'s_Weblog Chicago-based reporter, Anthony DeBartolo, provides a summary and links to some of the national stories that caught his eye each morning.

kausfiles Mickey Kaus follows developments in politics, advertising, business, and the media. A Slate weblog.

Kevin_Sites_in_the_Hot_Zone Weblog by CNN correspondent Kevin Sites, with current reports and pictures, including coverage of Iraq.

Kristine_Lowe Deals with current trends in online journalism. Also includes personal observations about life in Scandinavia.

This is best-2006.com cache of m/ as retrieved on 2010.07.30 best-2006.com's cache is the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the web. The page may have changed since that time.

the Constant Observer

Tech, Media, and Society. Pithy and Prescient. Sometimes.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Find me at Poynter.org....(or, so long and thanks for all the cookies...)May marks the five-year anniversary of this blog, and I've had some time to think about where this blog is going as much as I have about where I'm going(career-wise.)This blog is now going on extended--and perhaps permanent--hiatus. Part of this decision has to do with the simple fact that, after five years, this blog feels played out. Five years is a long time in blog years, and I've pretty much said all that I've want to say using this blog. More importantly, I've found a better venue for the stories I have been wanting to write and that I am capable of writing.....Currently, I am working on several articles, including two 3-article series, for Poynter.org's E-Media Tidbits column. I've been a contributor to this column since 2006 and have watched it evolve beyond a blog into a full-fledged column on important changes in the newspaper industry and journalism landscape that are brought on due to the rapidly changing environment of the Internet. I am currently writing on "content mills" as well as on services that work with newspapers on copyright issues, and more. I have the freedom, flexibility, and editorial oversight at Poynter that I've wanted for a long time. I'm happy to be there and more than happy that Poynter likes and encourages my work. I'm also looking to do more freelance writing. Granted, this is hardly the time to start a freelance career--what with all the lay-offs. But I have a strategy, and I'm more interested in getting some sort of pay for what I write than I am for writing stuff just for the heck of it.Writing isn't the solution to the career dilemma though. There are far more opportunities in social media nowadays than there were when I started this blog. There are more community development positions, more director of social media positions--the space is "hot" at the moment I am told. So, why not take all that I've done--all the projects, all the teaching, all the speaking--and bring that to a place that will value my expertise. As for blogging in general, I may be starting up at other sites--but blogging isn't necessarily what it used to be. The blogosphere is a crowded landscape now, with highly organized and well-financed media and business blogs crowding out the voices of people. Which is kind of sad, actually. The blogosphere was a fun place way back when, and I think I miss some of the collegiality that used to exist here--even though I was only a small part of it. So, it is fondly, sadly, happily, that the Constant Observer bids a fond farewell to the blogosphere as I once knew it, as it is becoming...and as I am becoming something more than just a bigmouth in blogosphere.P.S.: I've started a Posterous site on my passion for old movies: Cinema Omnibus I was going to keep "professional" kind of posterous, but I figured that it was time to have some fun again with blogging. And if I wanted to write seriously, I could write for someone else's blog. So, that's the upshot of all of this. Blogging, for me, isn't necessarily a profession, unless I'm getting paid to do it. And if I'm not getting paid for it, I'm going to write about what I want to write about. Which, apparently, is old movies....Posted byTish GrieratTuesday, May 04, 20102comments

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google BuzzLinks to this post

Monday, April 19, 2010

Will "content" kill "journalism"?Ever since the term "content mills" was coined, and ever since there's been much hue, cry and discussion on Demand Media (what some considered the preeminent content mill) and their deal with USAToday's Travel section, I've been wondering: is "content" a form of journalism, or is it just website filler with little or no journalistic value?Or is it really that cheap "content" on a news site becomes a great way for a news site to increase its revenue?And is cheap "content" the new alternative to "expensive" journalism? (even when some of that journalism wasn't that expensive in the first place....)A quick-and-short Google search on the topic of "is content journalism" didn't reveal much. Although, oddly enough, a misspelling of the word "journalism" did mine a great discussion on Mark Brigg's blog (cached copy only). Briggs asks some very important questions regarding content vs. journalism:Journalists prefer their craft not be cheapened with a label like “content.” But what if that’s what’s been killing the business?Do consumers (readers) differentiate between a product called journalism than one simply known as news or content? They pay for this content with their time and attention, which is why plenty of web sites that publish content are making plenty of money with advertising. Sites that focus on journalism, however, are still struggling with this basic economic model. . .Is it just journalists who feel that the word "content" cheapens what they do? Maybe it's not just journalists. As a news consumer, I'm concerned about the connotation and evolution of the word "content" to describe what I'm reading. Here's why: not too long ago (and even currently) the term "user-generated content" was used to describe pretty much anything that was coming into a site, or was produced for a site (blog, etc) that was not produced by a professional journalist. What defined a professional journalist was debatable: is it whether or not someone has a degree? or writes for pay for a newspaper or other "journal"? or because they belong to a particular union? What defined "user-generated content" however, was pretty clear: stuff publishers got for free, from the general public; usually poorly written stuff that nobody would want to publish in print, but they'd be glad to publish, and not pay for, on the web.In 2007, the owner of a Santa Rosa TV station said he wanted "harvest" user-generated content to fuel his station's evening news program....User-generated content has been viewed by owners of media outlets as cheap, poor quality stuff that had as much a hope of getting legitimately published as journalism as a snowball has a chance of making it from one side of Hell to the other. Removing the words "user-generated" from "content" doesn't make it much better. "Content" is still synonymous with lower quality writing than professionally produced journalism--even if the content is produced by journalists who are no longer working for newspapers or magazines due to staff cuts. That's another part of the conundrum: if a journalist loses his/her job, is that person no longer a journalist? Does that person, who perhaps now works as a freelancer, become simply a "content producer" who toils for the highest-paying-of-the-low-wage content production houses? Does that person then switch fields to public relations or marketing simply to get a good paying job?Which makes me wonder: "content mills" might be helping to prop up the failing business models of newspapers, but could the reliance on cheaply produced "content" end up lowering the standards and quality of "journalism". Or is "content" just another disruptor on the road to something new and better? For further reading: Ken Doctor's post The Newsonomics of Content Arbitrage raises some points about content and curation and that editors may end up becoming "content brokers" (as in someone who buys content from a third party vs. content directly from an individual.) Listed also a a number of "brokerage" initiatives going on right now.Also check out: "Seed's Goal Is To "Redefine Journalism For The Internet Age," Its Reality Is Untangling Cat Hair an interesting look into AOL's new content-on-the-cheap site.Posted byTish GrieratMonday, April 19, 20102comments

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google BuzzLinks to this post

Thursday, March 25, 2010

How the study of religion social media...This week, the Alumni Association of Smith College is hosting A Century of Women in Type: A Conference for Smith Women in Media. I've been asked to be on a panel on blogging and new media, for which I'm truly honored. But it's got me thinking about my major--Religion and Biblical Literature--and how the academic study of religion relates to a deeper understanding of social media....The academic study of religion is certainly not what many people think: it is nothing like Catholic school religious education, or any other belief system's authorized "kiddie" education. That kind of education is usually about dogmas, how to worship properly, and how to put together the right defense of a faith. Rather, the academic study pushes one to think critically about religions of the world, not just about one's own faith, and how those beliefs have shaped the history and cultures of the civilizations from which they emerged. But that academic study of religion is also about trends that emerged to shape and re-direct the beliefs and the prevailing culture. It's about movements like the Iconoclast Controversy of the Byzantine Empire and the Reformation. In the study of religion, one learns how so many of these movements started at the "grassroots" and often appealed to the zeitgeist of the times. I always think of Martin Luther, and how he wanted to have the Bible published in the vernacular, not just Latin, so that the "common folk" could read it.....Now, so many of the people I know see the various forms of self-publishing on the Internet as akin to the emergence of the printing press. Rather, it's not the Internet itself that is akin to the printing press. Self-publishing is more akin to Luther's ideal of the Bible in the vernacular....Think about it: what, actually, is "citizen journalism" if it isn't putting the tools (and even principles) of journalism in the hands of The People? If one thinks of it this way, all those downsized journalists and concerned citizens who've started hyperlocal sites are like little Martin Luthers, publishing their own hyperlocal Bibles in their vernaculars.....Think, too, about marketing: in marketing, the discussions have evolved around creating product "evangelists"--people who will go out and spread the word about the goodness of a product. Apple computer has some of the most ardent "evangelists"--people who are loyal to Apple and will always talk about the goodness of Apple products.Praise the Jobs and hallelujah! Community building is also an integral part of the social media experience. It is also a major part of the religious experience as well. And this is something that runs through almost all faiths and across all cultures. How we build these communities, why we build them, is as important in social media as it is in religion...How odd....So, the academic study of religion has enabled me to understand how people across centuries have changed their basic beliefs when emerging trends have resonated with them, and where the evangelism was strong. Because I spend most of my time in the thick of social media (and not in post-grad religious studies) it is easy for me then to see where trends in social media are emerging, and how they emerge: how a group of "apostles" can create "evangelists" who will proselytize for a product or service or way of thinking , and if that particular thing resonates with The People, it will flourish (kind of like the Doctrine of Predestination among the burghers of Geneva.) I can see into how the philosophies of social media are fashioned, and how those ways of thinking can be used to foster communities. I see, too, how communities are important to the survival of social media--because humans are social, and communities are like the bedrock of any belief, whether that is a belief in a product, or service, or in Something Much, Much Greater than Ourselves. Think about it.....Posted byTish GrieratThursday, March 25, 20101 comments

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google BuzzLinks to this post

Sunday, February 28, 2010

A Meditation on the Personal Nature of American Art

The other day, I met up with Patrice Lamothe, CEO of Pearltrees. It was an interesting meeting, and I mentioned to him that I'd gone to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art earlier that day. Funny thing is, Patrice is from Paris. So, there's something of an irony there, if you think about it....I tend to fall into ironic conversations with people quite often. Guess that could be because I'm unassuming and don't necessarily pass value judgements--esp. when it comes to art. It's not that I don't know anything about classical art: I started my college career as a Fine Art major, and had to take art history. So, I get the basic gist of the importance of art in the culture of countries like France. But to say that is not to value the importance of art to American culture as well. Our art, however, doesn't have quite the same long history, nor does have quite the same affect....I loved the study of art history: how art reached a height during what we commonly call the "ancient" world of Greece and Rome, only to be lost during the Dark Ages. How it took forever for artists to figure out to sculpt a figure in a natural pose. How it took the Reformation to bring about a change in subject matter....and so forth.American art, though, is different. We haven't had to contend with kings and clergy dukeing it out for power. We haven't had the same kind of upbringing, so to say, that would make it shocking to see someone we know posed provocatively in a picture.

We, however, have a problem with understanding the difference between advertising and metaphor, with understanding religious symbols and imagery, with keeping words out of our art...Ever notice how American art is kind of wordy? From Roy Lichtenstein to Barbara Kruger, so much of our art has words in in. Or it is a single color canvas, European art, even modern European art, just isn't as wordy nor as monochromatic.

American art is also deeply personal. For the centuries that European art has been produced, it often wasn't particularly with the sense of art as personal expression--perhaps not until the Renassance. That's not to say there wasn't personal expression in European art--it's just that, well, American art seems so heavy with it..In American art, it's always been there. Maybe because America as a state of creativity comes about way after those struggles for creativity and self-expression in European art....I don't know, I'm just speculating...But American art isn't necessarily there to get us to think about God, or to admire our monarchs, or to express some religious or mythical allegory. These things bleed through from time to time--but our sense of what is allegory and mythical, of who our kings are (elected, not born) and what God is to us is drastically different.We also have a thing about abstraction. Most of the American art I've viewed over the past two days--in San Francisco and in San Jose--has been abstract. If not abstract, surreal or hyperreal. It seems to me that we have more of that than we do of classical art (although, yes, there's the Hudson River School and all that) And even what looks something akin to classical art--works by Thomas Eakins or John Singer Sargent--are still shockingly American in their subject matter and style.In other words, American art, just doesn't look, nor does it feel like the art of France or Italy or Spain or anywhere else in the world. It is a strange amalgam of nothingness and being, of the future with a very immediate past that blends and makes up what is present and today. To understand some of our artists you have to understand so much of the past, while with others, you need to know nothing other than the at-that-moment images they are giving you from one slice of their lives or just of their psyches. So maybe, in some sense, it's not all that ironic nor strange to discuss art from an American viewpoint with someone who is from Paris, where some of the world's masterpieces reside. We do occupy the same world today, a world where imagination shapes technology, and, to some, technology is itself a form of art.....Think about it...Posted byTish GrieratSunday, February 28, 20100comments

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google BuzzLinks to this post

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Four aspects that could make AOL's local "white spaces" workYesterday, I wrote about how AOL's new "white spaces" for local journalism might not work. There are, however, a couple of ways they might work:1. Proprietary alogrithms. If AOL has a proprietary alogrithm (like Demand Media) that will tweak headlines to hit on the proper keywords. However, on a local level, this will still have to be connected to some sort of geo-located search capability. If AOL develops an algorithm that partners geo-tagged ads with geo-tagged headlines, there might be something to it.2. Watch what Foursquare is doing with geo-location and geo-tagging. Foursquare had made some huge, prestigious deals with major media companies that are going to make it a real player in semantic advertising--and could either hurt or help newspapers (What does Foursquare mean for newspapers--editorsweblog.org) Which means it could also help/hurt local independent news sites with geo-location. Also see How to Make Your Small Business Geo-Ready on Mashable.3. Semantic advertising gets better-- Google and others are working on algorithms that will match the right local ads with the right local content. There was lots of talk and lots of interest in this at the recent SIIA Information Industry Summit, as the algorithms are getting better, and Google's local search is getting better.4. Paying reporters. People can't afford not to be paid in this economy. Sites like Demand Media, Examiner, and Newser--and other kinds of "content mills" (a contentious term)--are paying their reporters. Some of them don't pay much, but they pay. If AOL sets up some way for those who want to report on local to be paid something, then they might attract some of the local reporters who have lost their jobs, or local citizens who want to get paid something for their writing. Or they might not. Think: entrepreneurial spirit--and that some folks would rather do their own thing if they're not going to get paid. Then again, some journalists/reporters aren't entrepreneurs either and would just like a steady paycheck, no matter how low the paycheck is. Still, don't know how this might work for breaking stories. What might the pay scale/pay rate be for breaking stories, and would there be some sort of editorial oversight as there is for the evergreen content at Demand Media? Note: Jay Rosen has a new project starting between NYU and The New York Times that may pay citizen reporters. The editor will have a "war chest" at his/her discretion. Will be interesting to see what happens there, what the pay rate ends up as, etc.So, if people give up on the entrepreneurial thing, and they're able to get paid, and there's some sort of geo-tagging that will link local ads with local content, where AOL's properties can push out other local content, then they might make money--But if people don't like the product, then it still might not work. The social aspect has to be worked in somehow, beyond the engineering. After all, the Internet is full of people: people talk and people share things. That could also be what makes or even breaks AOL's planned content dominance in local space.Think about it...Posted byTish GrieratSunday, February 21, 20103comments

Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Google BuzzLinks to this post Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)

Subscribe To

Posts

Atom

Posts

All Comments

Atom

All Comments

Search This Blog

Loading... #uds-searchControl .gs-result .gs-title, #uds-searchControl .gs-result .gs-title *, #uds-searchControl .gsc-results .gsc-trailing-more-results, #uds-searchControl .gsc-results .gsc-trailing-more-results * { color:#333333; } #uds-searchControl .gs-result .gs-title a:visited, #uds-searchControl .gs-result .gs-title a:visited * { color:#880000; } #uds-searchControl .gs-relativePublishedDate, #uds-searchControl .gs-publishedDate { color: #fff5ee; } #uds-searchControl .gs-result a.gs-visibleUrl, #uds-searchControl .gs-result .gs-visibleUrl { color: #333333; } #uds-searchControl .gsc-results { border-color: #772222; background-color: #ffffff; } #uds-searchControl .gsc-tabhActive { border-color: #772222; border-top-color: #772222; background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; } #uds-searchControl .gsc-tabhInactive { border-color: #772222; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; } #uds-searchClearResults { border-color: #772222; } #uds-searchClearResults:hover { border-color: #772222; } #uds-searchControl .gsc-cursor-page { color: #333333; } #uds-searchControl .gsc-cursor-current-page { color: #333333; }

About Me

Tish GrierProfessional Blogger, Social Media Mentor, & Community DeveloperView my complete profile

Read About Me

Businessweek: Our Readers DinnerOn Bridging New & Old: Social Media Series on "Flooring the Consumer"Posting to Greatness: Blogs Are Becoming A Primary Business DriverWomen Tap the Power of the Blog

Blog Archive

▼ 2010(18)▼ May(1)Find me at Poynter.org....(or, so long and thanks ... ► April(1)Will "content" kill "journalism"? ► March(1)How the study of religion social media... ► February(5)A Meditation on the Personal Nature of American Ar...Four aspects that could make AOL's local "white s...AOL Revisits the Citizen Shovelware concept with P...Could Google's focus on real-time search screw up ...On Writing, Wanting to be Heard, and Gratitude for... ► January(10)Blogging SIIA: Henry Blodget and Info wants to be...SIIA Previews a.m.: More Great New Services & Pro...Blogging SIIA-IIS: Some important notes from Ken D...Blogging SIIA--More great services at Afternoon Pr...Blogging SIIA: Notes On Ken Auletta's Keynote abo...Blogging SIIA: Previews of New Products Tuesday a...Intro to SIIA--and notes on Michael Hansen/ Elsevi...Ken Auletta to keynote 2010 SIIA Information Indus...Is "linklove" a dying concept?Transparency in Social Media: Ethical Consideratio... ► 2009(40) ► December(4)Thoughts on 2010: Good for Journalism, Bad for Mar...Dating, The Internet, and the Transformation of Ri...Catching a CEO with his social media pants downUpcoming Speaking Engagements ► November(3)Small Business Blogs: Good for Goosing Google, B...Why You Shouldn't Hire Someone to Manage Your Link...Wall St. Journal Disses Women in its "Future of Jo... ► October(2)Will the FTC now help the newspaper industry get i...When a P.R. Company Gets Social Media Wrong ► September(2)MySpace: Perhaps the problems have less to do with...A few comments on coming back to blogging.... ► June(1)What will you do if your local newspaper shuts dow... ► May(3)On Knowing the Rare Circumstance of Falling in Lo...Busy, Busy, Busy (and then some)SIIA Afternoon Keynote: Brewster Kahle on Univers... ► April(5)It takes more than a village to protect kids onlin...Never Ask a Teen-Ager How To Use TwitterBlockbuster's Woes are Local DVD Rental's Potentia...The death of User Generated Content may be greatly...Small is Beautiful: PodCamp Western Mass ► March(4)Social Media as the Virtual Ten-Foot PoleSenator Proposes Newspapers Re-Structure, Become N...Ada Lovelace Day--and Women In Hyperlocal Journali...How Big Corporate Newspapers Fail Community (and a... ► February(4)A few late words on SocComm09On the Twitter Team for SocComm09Five Steps for Keeping Your Twitter Stream Spam Fr...Scoopt shuts down, Pajamas Media quits blogs ► January(12)The Newspaper Industry Can't Say They Weren't War...Spitting incident prompts Arrington "time off" fr...Social Media & Monetizing UGC panel at #SIIAHenry Blodget and "The Rise of Online Journalism'"... ► 2008(62) ► December(1) ► November(1) ► October(6) ► September(4) ► August(1) ► July(3) ► June(11) ► May(11) ► April(9) ► March(5) ► February(6) ► January(4) ► 2007(179) ► December(5) ► November(5) ► October(5) ► September(16) ► August(45) ► July(19) ► June(14) ► May(8) ► April(8) ► March(12) ► February(17) ► January(25) ► 2006(211) ► December(13) ► November(4) ► October(4) ► September(9) ► August(8) ► July(11) ► June(22) ► May(25) ► April(29) ► March(26) ► February(37) ► January(23) ► 2005(163) ► December(20) ► November(15) ► October(21) ► September(22) ► August(38) ► July(10) ► June(11) ► May(26)

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this blog are mine and do not represent those of any client, employer or partner.

Google Analytics

var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src="http://spap-oop.blogspot.com//" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));try {var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-11516209-1");pageTracker._trackPageview();} catch(err) {}

var site="sm3Sleeper12" Site Meter

2005-2010 Tish Grier. Simple template by Josh Peterson. Powered by Blogger.

Deals	with	the	intersection
of	media,	technology,	and	social
networking.	Includes	schedule	of	Tish
Grier	speaking	engagements.

http://spap-oop.blogspot.com/

The Constant Observer 2010 July

dvd rental

dvd

Deals with the intersection of media, technology, and social networking. Includes schedule of Tish Grier speaking engagements.

Rules

Recommended Sites: 1. Arts - Business - Computers - Games - Health - Home - Kids and Teens - News - Recreation - Reference - Regional - Science - Shopping - Society - Sports - World Miss Gallery - Top Anime Hentai - DVD rental by mail - Mortgages - 0% Commission Currency - Broadband - Wordpress Theme - Compare Savings Tworzenie Stron - Finanse On-line - Gdansk Nocleg - P�yty Gumowe - Stacje Cng

2010-07-30 00:06:27

Copyright 2006 by Rules

--BEGIN VALIDATION CODE--
T aVyToGoFgK xHaCpW sS dH oZuW hPvHtXmHpMkB jUtQ dHeFiKuQyW xOwMiYxNbL xMmFy LuH dNrD fReIeUbV bXmYn TsXsI vIjMxZjSqR fFfSr VaFpXiNmEyCaIvXwArNjAdN aSaVpZb OvViNqDaV tAvUkUsLrXwIqMcDz VoYmZlB iJrSfPhB hKpJrReQ oHzZaXyU oSyMiSaV sJhItCxUaT tRrWnSl AdW qFhFrZwFkX nTqC fB dAwObWuUnDzF hohositeX2006
--END VALIDATION CODE--