Mashable today has an interesting article, ‘Is the iPad Really the Savior of the Newspaper Industry?‘, about which newspapers have taken advantage of the digital platform provided by the iPad.
Well worth a read if you are interested in the future of the newspaper.
It seems these days that there are a zillion online communities for everything and anything (a zillion being a highly technical measurement, of course). And then there are a zillion different types of online communities, including internet chat rooms, internet message boards, virtual worlds and social networking sites.
I don’t even know how or where to begin to talk about online communities, so instead I’m going to talk about the television show Community (for examples of more brilliant segues, click here).
In a recent episode of Community, many fans were disappointed to see very little of one of the main characters, Abed. When asked by another character, Shirley, what he had been up to all week, Abed’s response was “Not much.”
Abed (Danny Pudi), Source: Creative Commons, Photo: Rob Poetsch
It turns out that Abed’s “Not much” involved an intricate behind the scenes storyline. Abed’s storyline, in fact, took place entirely in the background of other scenes. While the other characters went about the main business of the episode, Abed helped to deliver a baby in the background.
What I find amazing is that most fans didn’t even notice Abed’s storyline. Some were even annoyed that the writers’ highlighted the fact that he hadn’t been in the episode.
Since fans realised the truth, however, Abed’s story has been generating a lot of discussion online. This has resulted in some good publicity for the show (which, by the way, is pretty awesome) and has got fans more involved in the episode after it aired.
Watch the clip below to see Abed’s involvement in the birth, including chatting to the mother and placing his head on her baby bump, fighting with the father, helping the pregnant woman as she seemingly goes into labour in the cafeteria and helping her deliver the baby in the back of a car.
Even if you don’t watch Community, it is an interesting clip to watch because I don’t think I have ever seen a television show with a subplot occurring behind the scenes.
And who knows, you may really like it and decide to join the online Community community.
Do we have a right to privacy on the web?
Sharee L Broussard likens the internet to the nineteenth century US Wild West:
Not unlike the Wild West, existing rules do not always fit activities occurring on the Internet, which in turn generates lawlessness and/or disregard for rules. Lawlessness in the e-frontier can take many forms, from blantant to subtle, and the legal system simply cannot keep up. After all, legislation and adjudication typically occur after the fact.
Last week I posted about ethics in eblogging, an area which is evolving as bloggers and lawmakers have begun to question their roles as entertainment and information providers.
Other laws regarding digital media are constantly evolving. Last year, the issue of privacy was raised when Google was forced to reveal the identity of an offensive blogger.
Liskula Cohen is a Canadian model who has appeared in fashion magazines such as Elle, Cleo and Vogue. When she discovered that a blog called Skanks in NYC, hosted on Google’s Blogger, had been referring to her as a ‘skank’ and ‘old hag’ she decided to press Google to reveal the identity of the blogger through court, so she could then take action for libel.
Model Liskula Cohen
The court ruled in Cohen’s favour, and Google was forced to reveal the identity of blogger Rosemary Port. Port was so incensed by by ousted by Google, that she filed a $15 million federal lawsuit against Google.
Ousted blogger Rosemary Port
The ruling raises some interesting questions about privacy and anonymity on the web, especially considering the scandal surrounding the recent ousting of Grog’s Gamut on Twitter.
Should we have a right to privacy on the web? Or does the posting of defamatory comments forfeit our rights?
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently updated its guidelines about the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising to include bloggers.
According to the new guidelines:
‘The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorses – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers.’
So, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is now considered an endorsement. And bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.
Interestingly, these guidelines are ‘administrative interpretations of the law’ and are not ‘binding law themselves’. In any law enforcement action challenging the allegedly deceptive use of testimonials or endorsements, the Commission would have the burden of proving that the challenged conduct violates the FTC Act.
These guidelines raises some interesting questions and I’d be interested to know what everyone thinks:
I just read an article from The Age ‘Toshiba unveils 3D TV that doesn’t require glasses’. I think it’s pretty cool, because I hate wearing 3D glasses as they always sit uncomfortably on my nose and fall off my tiny ears. Unfortunately, apparently you have to sit really close to the screen for it to work. Plus it’s pretty expensive at around $1500 for the smaller screen and $3000 for the larger screen.
But if you got one you could have Avatar or football players running around in your loungeroom! Although you may have to get glasses from staring at the screen too much…
I like cooking, but I am not a particularly spectucular cook. While some people have the magic touch and don’t need to follow recipes, I need to check the recipe every two seconds to make sure I am doing everything right.
Which is why I love the internet, the place where you can find any recipe you want within seconds.
Below is a list of a few of my favourite cooking sights:
1) Taste.com.au
With over 20, 000 recipes from Delicious, Super Food Ideas, Good Taste (and more), Taste really does have recipes for everyone! Users rate the recipes, which gives you a good idea about whether the recipe really is as tasty as it looks.
One of my favourite recipes is this one for Moroccan meatballs, which combines two of my favourite things- Moroccan spices and cous cous, and is quick and easy to make.
2) Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit
Cupcake Bakeshop features a tonne of unique cupcake recipes created by Cheryl Porro. Each recipe is accompanied by Cheryl’s own photography, which makes the recipes really easy to follow.
Being on holidays, I think I might try this recipe for Lemon Cupcakes with Bitters, Sorrel and Toasted Meringue:
3) What the Fuck Should I Make For Dinner?
If you are feeling particualarly lazy or adventorous, this is the site for you! It randomly generates a meal- if you don’t like the suggestion, you can click on the ‘I don’t fucking like that button’.
Some of my most recent suggestions include ‘Maple-glazed tuna with pear-potato salad,’ ‘Greek Salad with Orzo and Black-Eyed Peas’ and:
Mmmmm Delicious!
Does anyone have any suggestions for good food blogs?
What is the future of journalism?
With newspaper circulation falling in the Western world and audiences becoming increasingly fragmented, one of the most important questions is how can in-depth, fourth estate journalism survive in the age of the Tweet and Justin Bieber?
According to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales the increasing use of apps running on PDAs and smart phones might provide news providers a way to charge for digital content.
Speaking at the Ambrosetti Forum, an annual gathering of business and political leaders, Wales said:
‘The apps model- the iPad app, the Kindle- does provide new and interesting opportunities for newspapers… If I just click on my iPad and it’s billed on my normal bill, that micropayment model makes it possible for people to have an impulse purchase.
While Wales believes that people will be willing to pay for content through apps, however, he is skeptical about newspapers charging for content on websites.
Indeed, an article by the Guardian suggests that, as of July, The Times website has lost almost 90% of its online readership compared to February since making registration mandatory in June.
I don’t have a smart phone or gadget capable of downloading digital content, but I do think that there will be some people willing to pay for the convience of getting news on their gadgets.
Then again, why pay for what you can get for free online? It will be interesting to see how the issues plays out in the next few years, especially as no-one seems to have come up with an idea for the future of quality journalism.
This week was all about how writers can use social media and blogs to improve their skills, while at the same time promoting themselves and their writing.
While it’s not exactly a blog, I thought a related example is the web series The Guild, created, written and starring the wonderful Felicia Day.
The Guild is an American comedy web series that premiered on YouTube on 27 July 2007, with subsequent webisodes premiering on Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace and Zune Marketplace. The webisodes were later made available on the official Guild website and iTunes.
The show follows the lives of an online guild, ‘The Knights of Good’, who spend most of their lives playing an unnamed MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game).
What is interesting is that the series was originally meant to be a TV series, until Day decided that the niche setting wouldn’t appeal to television executives. So she decided to produce the series online with Jane Selle Morgan and Kim Evey.
The Guild has now had over 45 million upload views on YouTube, won multiple awards and has Joss Whedon as a fan. It has also spawned DVDs, comic books and has turned Day into the ‘Queen of Youtube’ (take that Lady Gaga)!
It’s an amazingly funny series, and each episode is only about 5-10 minutes long, which means easy viewing. I would definitely recommend it, below is a video made to promote its third season which was directed by Joss Whedon.
Time has just released a list of their 50 Best Websites 2010. Well worth checking out, especially if you are looking for a good procrastination tool!
Usually I blog about something to do with traditional media going digital; today I’m going to diverge a little to discuss awful websites.
Warning: you may need sunglasses and earplugs.
In class this week we looked at The World’s Worst Website (if you haven’t seen it, it is well worth checking out!). The makers of this website attempted to do everything wrong they possibly could- flashing text and images, links that don’t work and words scrolling across the screen are just a few examples.
On the plus side, at least that website is deliberately bad. Here are a few examples of websites which are just plain bad:
ACCEPT JESUS, FOREVER FORGIVEN
It looks bad enough on the screengrab- but click on the link and you will discover how much worse it can get! Jesus may forgive- I don’t know if I can as I’m pretty sure it blinded me.
I don’t actually understand any of this website as it is not in English- but I’m really hoping it is a joke website. I honestly don’t know what is worse- overlapping writing, garish colours or the music. On the plus side, the dog’s kind of cute, and doesn’t deserve to be on this website.
And finally:
Nothing speaks to me like animated flying butterflies! At least it isn’t accompanied by music- I’m not sure how much Enya I could take!
Digital Adaptations 