Due to epic flu, I wasn't in the online journalism lecture last week so am pretty unable to write much today.
But one brief point. Being absent doesn't have to mean I don't know what's going on, because even while I'm in bed blowing my brains out through my nose (through use of a tissue, you understand, not a shotgun), I can refresh my Twitter to see what people are saying about the lecture from their mobile phones. Sorry, 'devices'. Sure, it didn't happen last week, but it could do - and it does mean that sickness is no longer a barrier to getting information from a lecture/meeting/conference. OK, so you could argue it wasn't much of a barrier before either, because you can e-mail from a phone as well, but that won't reach people as quickly as Twitter.
Lie in bed and get notes from people healthy enough to make the lecture. Hell, I might never get up.
Also, being able to access Twitter on your mobile now means it's socially acceptable to be tapping away on your phone during a meeting, even though you're actually playing Snake II.
Anyway, because a blog needs to have some sort of video/audio/link/anything to be of interest, here's a video I found proving further that Twitter is on the rise. Look! It must be useful! It's on CSI!
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Absence and absence-ability
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Blogging
Skimming around the net looking for something to read, I found this, an exclusive reveal of three interview clips from the forthcoming Dark Knight DVD (I'm a massive Batman geek), which in turn led me to this - a discussion of sorts of the world's most boring film titles. Two very different film blogs: one revealing news (of sorts) and the other voicing opinion.
But interestingly, both home in on the importance of a blog post starting a conversation. With a piece on boring film titles clearly that's going to happen (though closing it with "What are your favourite boring titles?" is so transparent in seeking feedback that it borders on desperate), but the blog showing Dark Knight clips happily wavers off-topic into other areas in order to broaden the scope for debate. And again, it asks questions at the end: "Who[m?] do you think deserves recognition next February? And will they actually get it?" Both blogs provide interest and start a conversation, so fulfil the criteria a good blog should.
However, the one on film titles is crap. It proves a rule on which I was unsure: that the hierarchy of an interesting blog runs, from most to least interesting, like this:
- A link
- A photo
- A video
- Any of the above, with context
- Discussion
- Opinion
Yes, this continues to worry me given the nature of my regular blog, but at least there are links there, I suppose. For this blog on film titles, though, there is no real saving grace. It's just rubbish.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
"Twitter? Twitter to whom?", said the owl
Part One (Thursday, November 6, 2008):
Part Two (Wednesday, January 7, 2009):
That was the whole thing, actually, but as it turns out, every blog needs to have some sort of link/video/audio/anything to be of interest to readers. Apparently online journalism has rules.
This does help me, though, because updating now enables me to include The Guardian's feature on Twitter, written only yesterday (handily making this blog timely both now and when it was originally written, after the American election).
The most interesting part for me, again, is editor-in-chief of econsultancy Chris Lake musing on how appropriate Twittering on the Gaza conflict is. "You have to wonder whether Twitter, with its 140 character limit, is the right forum," says Lake. "I just think it's crass to abbreviate in that manner, writing in text-speak like some 15-year-old going out on a Friday night. It seems a little bit crass given the graveness [gravity?] of the situation." Not to mention the inability to elaborate due to the word limit, eh Chris? Damn straight. Useful for updates Twitter can be; a genuine news source it ain't.
But Twitter is important, and if you're still yet to be convinced, think about its use in crime-solving. Look! It must be useful! It's on CSI!
