I read an article online today. If you care to do the same: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/06/opinion/06mathias.html
It made me think: Do we really communicate when we use Facebook or MySpace? It seems like we do. It would appear that there's a dialogue between people, that it is conversational. On person posts a wall post, then someone else does the same back. But is there real interaction?
Maybe not. Maybe we just post on people's walls so that we'll look cool ourselves. How many birthday greetings can you read, really? Is there any value in reading what somebody ate for dinner last night?
Facebook and MySpace make people stars in their own little worlds. That world is a world of voyeurs. People aren't speaking to each other; they're speaking at one another. I would say that the majority of the time a spend on Facebook, I'm just looking at other people's pages - anonymously - and absorbing what they have posted to their page. It's not interaction. It's entertainment. It's like TV, only the people on the screen you know and have met in your life.
It may be that Facebook is another way to hide from social interaction.
Anyway, there are 6 days left to enter Knight News Challenge. Your idea could be the solution to the problem I've detailed above. And it could be worth a lot of moolah, too. http://www.newschallenge.org
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
I was thinking today. Scary, right?
I was thinking about what it would have been like to be the town crier way back when. The bearer of news, both good and bad, for the people of your town. Now he was really a 'citizen journalist', to use a popular phrase. Walking the beat, ringing the bell, shouting out the days news:
"Stanford upsets No. 2 USC 24-23; king declares rematch."
"Monks protest in Myanmar; Marco Polo commissioned to find Burma."
"Halo 3 released; X-BOX 360 found guilty of witchcraft and burned at the stake."
Now those are some headlines.
These guys probably also brought bad news, too. Like something along the lines of:
"King raises taxes, again; removes all tomatoes from kingdom."
and
"Scurvy ravages town; tomato crop returned to townspeople; king takes annual bath."
These guys were protected by the law. Heckling the crier was a crime. Hurting him or her (they were often women) was an act of treason against the local monarch.
Do we afford this kind of protection to our journalists nowadays? Something to ponder. Yes, and no, I would say. But that's for another blog post.
We have come a long way since the days of the town crier. Someone will invent a brand new way of delivering news, and that person should be you.
You have 9 days left to enter Knight News Challenge. Do it. Wait no longer. http://www.newschallenge.org
I was thinking about what it would have been like to be the town crier way back when. The bearer of news, both good and bad, for the people of your town. Now he was really a 'citizen journalist', to use a popular phrase. Walking the beat, ringing the bell, shouting out the days news:
"Stanford upsets No. 2 USC 24-23; king declares rematch."
"Monks protest in Myanmar; Marco Polo commissioned to find Burma."
"Halo 3 released; X-BOX 360 found guilty of witchcraft and burned at the stake."
Now those are some headlines.
These guys probably also brought bad news, too. Like something along the lines of:
"King raises taxes, again; removes all tomatoes from kingdom."
and
"Scurvy ravages town; tomato crop returned to townspeople; king takes annual bath."
These guys were protected by the law. Heckling the crier was a crime. Hurting him or her (they were often women) was an act of treason against the local monarch.
Do we afford this kind of protection to our journalists nowadays? Something to ponder. Yes, and no, I would say. But that's for another blog post.
We have come a long way since the days of the town crier. Someone will invent a brand new way of delivering news, and that person should be you.
You have 9 days left to enter Knight News Challenge. Do it. Wait no longer. http://www.newschallenge.org
Thursday, October 4, 2007
College.com
Does anyone remember what Facebook used to be like? I do. There weren't a bazillion add-ons that required your social security number, address, and blood type in order to use them. There also weren't pages sponsored by Apple, the CW (formerly the WB), the NBA, and Hillary Clinton.
Most importantly, no one but COLLEGE STUDENTS was allowed to use it. It was so cool. We were all in a special little group.
"Hey, are you on Facebook?"
"Why, yes, I am."
This was followed by a knowing smile that, unlike on MySpace, I could find that person on Facebook by typing in their actual name and get to their page without being accosted by an ad for Match.com. I could also know that the profile of the cute girl in my English class was not actually being run by a 43-year-old bald skeezer.
No longer. Facebook is the wild West, and while it looks clean, it's full of profiles like NFL Boyyy and Deadman Alive. If these are the real names of these people, I'd like to meet their mothers. Facebook looks safe, like a Mustang in the showroom, but let a 16-year-old behind the wheel and you're in for a world of hurt.
But then along came college.com. A savior? I signed up today. I really haven't gotten into it yet, but at least I know there are only college students on it. You have to use your student email to sign up. For lack of a better descriptor, it's like Facebook Classic. Descriptor. That's an SAT word. Sorry, got off on a tangent there. ADD. Or do they call it ADHD now?
Anyway, I'll give it a try. Heck, maybe they'll turn out to be really good. So good, in fact, that they'll apply for a News Challenge grant.
Which is what you should do. Right now. http://www.newschallenge.org
Anthony
Most importantly, no one but COLLEGE STUDENTS was allowed to use it. It was so cool. We were all in a special little group.
"Hey, are you on Facebook?"
"Why, yes, I am."
This was followed by a knowing smile that, unlike on MySpace, I could find that person on Facebook by typing in their actual name and get to their page without being accosted by an ad for Match.com. I could also know that the profile of the cute girl in my English class was not actually being run by a 43-year-old bald skeezer.
No longer. Facebook is the wild West, and while it looks clean, it's full of profiles like NFL Boyyy and Deadman Alive. If these are the real names of these people, I'd like to meet their mothers. Facebook looks safe, like a Mustang in the showroom, but let a 16-year-old behind the wheel and you're in for a world of hurt.
But then along came college.com. A savior? I signed up today. I really haven't gotten into it yet, but at least I know there are only college students on it. You have to use your student email to sign up. For lack of a better descriptor, it's like Facebook Classic. Descriptor. That's an SAT word. Sorry, got off on a tangent there. ADD. Or do they call it ADHD now?
Anyway, I'll give it a try. Heck, maybe they'll turn out to be really good. So good, in fact, that they'll apply for a News Challenge grant.
Which is what you should do. Right now. http://www.newschallenge.org
Anthony
Monday, October 1, 2007
Don't Hate the Player...
Man, how great would it be if I could get the news while I was playing video games.
Sure, some people are trying this already. There are games out there where you play the news or something. In fact, I think some of last year's Knight News Challenge winners did this stuff. Like Paul Grabowicz from Berkeley. He is making a game where you play through jazz era Oakland.
But I'm not really talking about this kind of game. I'm talking about mainstream games. I'm thinking something like this:
I'm playing Zelda, and I find the map in the dungeon. And the text says, "You found a map! Use this to find your way around the dungeon! And by the way, the Phillies have won the NL East after an epic collapse by the New York Mets! Drink Coca-Cola!" Okay, maybe I could do without the Coke ad, but still, it would be pretty sweet to get the news instantly like that.
Or, maybe I save the princess with Mario. But instead of Princess Peach, I rescue a drunk Lindsay Lohan. Or maybe I'm playing Metal Gear Solid, but instead of playing as Solid Snake, I'm playing as OJ Simpson, and I'm trying to steal back my old trophies. The possibilities are endless.
But really, it could be some pretty simple stuff. What if, when you played a season in Madden Football, the actual scores from the day were downloaded into the game. Or if real time traffic conditions were downloaded into a game like Need For Speed or Grand Theft Auto. That would be cool.
Someone should make this stuff happen. You can already get the news on the Nintendo Wii. Maybe instant downloads of new content that makes your game relevant to the real world in real time... Maybe I'm way off, but that would be cool.
Anyway, today is Oct. 1. Entries are due for Knight News Challenge by Oct. 15.
Enter. Stop waiting. http://www.newschallenge.org
Sure, some people are trying this already. There are games out there where you play the news or something. In fact, I think some of last year's Knight News Challenge winners did this stuff. Like Paul Grabowicz from Berkeley. He is making a game where you play through jazz era Oakland.
But I'm not really talking about this kind of game. I'm talking about mainstream games. I'm thinking something like this:
I'm playing Zelda, and I find the map in the dungeon. And the text says, "You found a map! Use this to find your way around the dungeon! And by the way, the Phillies have won the NL East after an epic collapse by the New York Mets! Drink Coca-Cola!" Okay, maybe I could do without the Coke ad, but still, it would be pretty sweet to get the news instantly like that.
Or, maybe I save the princess with Mario. But instead of Princess Peach, I rescue a drunk Lindsay Lohan. Or maybe I'm playing Metal Gear Solid, but instead of playing as Solid Snake, I'm playing as OJ Simpson, and I'm trying to steal back my old trophies. The possibilities are endless.
But really, it could be some pretty simple stuff. What if, when you played a season in Madden Football, the actual scores from the day were downloaded into the game. Or if real time traffic conditions were downloaded into a game like Need For Speed or Grand Theft Auto. That would be cool.
Someone should make this stuff happen. You can already get the news on the Nintendo Wii. Maybe instant downloads of new content that makes your game relevant to the real world in real time... Maybe I'm way off, but that would be cool.
Anyway, today is Oct. 1. Entries are due for Knight News Challenge by Oct. 15.
Enter. Stop waiting. http://www.newschallenge.org
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