Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-05

by Dan on March 5, 2010

  • @kyle1point0 and @rachaelsullivan are covering Wed/Thurs classes. They are the best. I am so lucky to be working with such great folks. #
  • Free beer and wine at local pizzeria (RC's). Wonder if I can sneak a few by guards at the hospital. Even BudLight tastes good at the moment. #
  • Woohoo! MLB AtBat 2010 app is now available. My favorite app of 2009 as Cards won division but blew it in playoffs. Costs $5 more, though. #
  • Mom still in ER but will be moved to ICU soon. Doctor said it was a "massive" stroke, but it's way too early to tell what that means. #
  • @academicdave yep. this is your place. and where are your babies? praise the lord. and all that . . . in reply to academicdave #
  • @academicdave true, and agreed, but it's not all bad to self-propogate — as long as one doesn't proselytize, which is big in Tejas. in reply to academicdave #
  • @academicdave so does that mean those who have propogated their genes are self-centered narrcists? in reply to academicdave #
  • Didn't we already know this? Pew Study: Internet surpasses newspapers, radio for news http://bit.ly/cwicFa /via @jbhester #
  • I don't want to close my eyes. #
  • Mom had "significant" stroke tonight. Heading to Houston. #
  • @cscannella odd. I don't recall sending that out. Something is amiss. Thanks for heads up. in reply to cscannella #
  • That intensity just won the gold. Congrats to Canada. #
  • Canada is pissed. Some intense shots on goal. #
  • I called this one! Just ask The Kid. Action in front of the net does it. OT. House is NOT getting cleaned. #
  • @rachaelsullivan is he yelling at anybody? Engage at your own risk. in reply to rachaelsullivan #
  • New t-shirts: Smile, or the tooth gets it – http://worldofcheese.net. /via @JohnCleese #
  • @spicyem watching hockey game? in reply to spicyem #
  • @appsonthemove … To get Trunk Notes to work with Voodoo Pad? Wonder if Gus would be interested in this. Voodoo's app for iPhone is reader. in reply to appsonthemove #
  • @appsonthemove you've done a good job with Trunk Notes. Rare example of the right functionality, not overdone. How hard would it be … in reply to appsonthemove #
  • @appsonthemove any chance of building a link between Trunk Notes on iPhone and Voodoo Pad on desktop? #

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-26

by Dan on February 26, 2010

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-19

by Dan on February 19, 2010

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-12

by Dan on February 12, 2010

  • @got80s very nice. I'll check it out and read your stuff once we get power back. in reply to got80s #
  • @got80s the site looks great on the iPhone, too. Great mobile template. Rita is a very smart student. in reply to got80s #
  • In honor of Frank Zappa, please, don't eat the yellow snow because, well, you know, that's where the huskies go. http://yfrog.com/3gq1igj #
  • @academicdave can you see your breath yet? Saw mine when I woke up, decided to go back to bed until it warmed up a bit. in reply to academicdave #
  • @gmhardee was looking to go there through FF client on iPhone, as I still have no power and no wi-fi at home. in reply to gmhardee #
  • @gmhardee ah, not a separate group in FF but a group inside MobileLab? you need a tweet editor ;-) in reply to gmhardee #
  • @gmhardee is geojournalism the group name? in reply to gmhardee #
  • Wonder how many Facebook snow pictures we'll be seeing. Yesterday at ATEC building … http://yfrog.com/4iflvnj #
  • @Veronica040 we sell tickets and video for YouTube. You've head of cock fights, dog fighting. We have student bashing ;-) in reply to Veronica040 #
  • Still no power. Felt like hibernating bear under all those blankets. Best night of sleep ever. #
  • Playing pioneers tonight, but don't want to light a fire in the living room. #
  • Damn, no power. And it's cold in here. #
  • Big, fluffy, juicy snowflakes splashing me in the face. Ah, refreshing. The Lovely Wife, however, does not agree. #
  • @stallard it was off for 15 minutes but it came back. Not there now. in reply to stallard #
  • Who needs the media to find out road conditions when you have friends and Twitter? Sorry, gang. Class is on. But maybe we leave early? #
  • @yayasheshe I was unable to do anything with the ad, so maybe it was a proto. Would have been nice to get discount as I was paying my bill. in reply to yayasheshe #
  • Are location-based ads standard in foursquare these days, this one at cafe brazil? http://yfrog.com/1emxncj http://yfrog.com/1eyunwj #
  • been playing with SquareSpace and now it's time to pass out. #
  • google buzz brings mobile tools for journalism http://bit.ly/a4c7DC #
  • Can't stop listening to Gil Scott-Heron's 1st album in 16 years. It's not 30 minutes but his spoken word, poetry, and quasi rap is stunning. #
  • Tonight's late night fare: Bowie's Space Oddity (40th Anniversary Edition) and new Gil Scott-Heron. More later. #
  • more on those foursquare folks: nyt says "Zagat books a table with FourSquare" oh, those wacky headline writers . . . http://bit.ly/c9yRvG #
  • @alexboots thanks. will look for it. not that grizzly bear was bad, just sort of boring over an album's-worth of music. in reply to alexboots #
  • @emacUTD facebook is still making UI adjustments. i won't hold my breath. or when it arrives, it will be "google beta" #
  • they've been coming, and now they've arrived: more geo-location apps and the "next step" http://bit.ly/aCsETN #
  • foursquare "inks" more media deals, including HBO, The History Channel, and Warner Bros. http://bit.ly/bjUVIR #
  • i missed this one: facebook is working on foursquare killer: http://bit.ly/bI2WFk (no posting from parking lots!) #
  • just not all that impressed with bear in heaven, cold cave, grizzly bear, vampire weekend; holding out hope for the horrors. #
  • @ghpinc ha. Not me. That would be you, or the good doctor (martini), or qtherefore. I may be the only one who isn't gaming The Square, tho. in reply to ghpinc #
  • @brandontonio true. A force to be reckoned with. Same for the Saints. Not a comeback, per se, but the pent-up emotion. in reply to brandontonio #
  • Congrats @Russell_Smith. #
  • @brandontonio 100 years for one team, an entire franchise of horribleness for the other. It's all relative. in reply to brandontonio #
  • @academicdave agree. nothing was going to keep Red Sox from winning first WS in eons. Same for the Saints. in reply to academicdave #
  • Someone videotape @Russell_Smith doing the Cajun victory dance. #
  • @ksharpedallas yep. the crowd can disappoint. Few on Twitter seem to be watching the game. in reply to ksharpedallas #
  • Saints may win this game with their FG kicker. Dude is dead-on. #
  • @jkyle it's queen. Freddie Mercury is coming back from the dead, which is what The Who kinda looked like. in reply to jkyle #
  • @russell_smith agreed. But it worked. in reply to russell_smith #
  • @spicyem The Kid picks teams by color and once asked what a first down is … but she knows her baseball. in reply to spicyem #
  • Bring back the wardrobe malfunctions #
  • @spicyem the *real* season starts in mid Feb when pitchers and catchers report … But you're more of a hockey fan. in reply to spicyem #
  • Of course The Who has to play the intro songs for all the CBS CSI shows. #
  • Watching Manning calls plays at the line of scrimmage is like watching a great improvisational jazz artist. Music made on demand. #
  • Everybody is gone. Feels weird watching super bowl with just the dogs. #
  • One thing you learn through FourSquare: Nobody eats at home. #
  • Location-based is certainly the "it technology." Apple's patent filing re: LB http://bit.ly/baMzfI #
  • your focus and the always-on Web http://bit.ly/9sYRKN #
  • long ago, the future was location-based advertising. not anymore. http://bit.ly/a6jnM1 #
  • @ObserverDallas is following me. I wonder how the famed Robert Wilonsky is doing. Say hi for me. #
  • "I'm in a glass case of emotion." #
  • Doing my student-assigned homework: Watching Anchorman. #
  • @jacastination yeah, yeah. You're right. We were at the small pool. Duh. Never was good at math. in reply to jacastination #
  • Not bad. Finished second in 100 breaststroke, 1.39.42. Woohoo. #
  • @scoobydr3w you got that right. But I want the BarcaLounger one with cupholder. in reply to scoobydr3w #
  • The Kid finished 4th in her heat, 34.97, for 100 freestyle. Not bad, considering she's been sick or injured. Next up, 100 breaststroke. #
  • At district swim meet: It's always this way. Swim in early event, then late, lots of dead time in between. And horrible bleacher seats. #
  • Randee Lee band. Not too bad. But keyboardist has a mullet. http://yfrog.com/3n9hsrj #

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Updated: Reading List in Progress

by Dan on December 12, 2009

I’ve added a Bibliography page where I occasionally will upload a reading list and books of interest in the Personal Brain format. The Brain folks provide a service — still in beta — called WebBrain, where PBers can share Brains they’ve created. From there you can copy code to embed in a Web site or on a blog, which is what I’ve done here. (My initial upload of Bibliography linked to a web server is still out there, but not here. I like the embedded Brain better.)

So, if interested, click on the Bibliography tab above, then kick the tires of the Bibliography Brain. I’ll be adding links and intelligence as I can.

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First impression: Barnes & Noble’s new eBook reader Nook falls short of Kindle 2.0

by Dan on December 10, 2009

nook smallI finally got a hold of Barnes & Noble’s new eBook reader, Nook, the other day in the store. I am somewhat of an eBook junkie.

I own a second-generation Sony Reader.

I own a second-generation Kindle.

I used to read so-called eBooks on Palm Pilots and other PDAs (I know, that’s sick).

I am trying to decide if I want to buy the Nook because, as I like to rant, no one company has figured out the eBook device and maybe Barnes & Noble has done it.

After my brief study of the Nook, my gut-reaction answer is: no, not yet.

The Nook feels good in the hand. It’s about the size of Kindle 2.0, although a tad bit heavier, which I like. The design isn’t as sexy as the Sony Reader, but it’s better than both Kindles. The top three-quarters of the screen functions like any eBook reader, using eInk to simulate reading a printed page. However, the refresh rate (which takes getting used to on any device) is slow and flickering, which simply could be a result of the Nook being pre-production.

The bottom quarter of the Nook is where Barnes & Noble differs from Sony and Amazon. It’s color and touch screen, so a reader can swipe through book-cover thumbnails or access the device’s menu structure. Sorry to say, the touch screen was sluggish and the overall user interface wasn’t as intuitive as expected. In fact, annotating text — something I really, really, really want — isn’t as good as Kindle 2.0’s boxy navigation nub and undersized chicklet keyboard.

But as they say in the world of books, you can’t judge one by its cover, so I’ll wait and see what Barnes & Noble delivers in January.

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Pruning

by Dan on December 10, 2009

pruning editIt’s been a very, very long semester, so I did little writing here, opting instead to stay ahead of smart kids and get four lectures done a week. All in all, I worked with about 180-odd students.

I opted this semester to use a unique collaboration site, known to us in three classes as Class Notebook (I worked with the developer directly for a tailored solution), rather than use a custom blog or wiki, a paid-for wiki, a Ning-like social site, a Facebook group page, a Friend Feed account, or a specific Twitter feed. I’ve tried them all over the years, and they each have their own advantages and disadvantages. In the end, nothing really does what I want to do, so I opted for something completely different. Besides the overall look and feel not being what I want (it was a beta test, to be fair), I liked using Class Notebook and will use it again — but more on this later.

With this in mind, I am returning to my own sick self and pruning lots of posts about students and the University. I know deleting posts is a big no-no in the world of blogging, but, really, who cares? Most of the time I was simply communicating to students about assignments and providing a few resources, which have grown outdated and everything looks fragmented. And to be honest, mixing the two didn’t allow me to say what I want to say.

Enough said.

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The Fate of the Newspaper Industry (recording)

by Dan on May 7, 2009

If you are interested, here is an iPod-ready MP3 of the discussion on the Diane Rehm show on the fate of the newspaper industry (May 6). Only caught the tail-end, so I need to go back and review later today.

I find it interesting that Rehm and guests are talking about the fate of newspapers — and the influence of new technology on the industry — and her own show is only available to listen to via streaming audio. So ’90s.

I hate being forced to sit in front of the computer to listen to a Real Audio or Windows Media files, or buying a transcript or CD for $30 a pop. A CD, really? Most NPR shows are available as podcasts, which are great for on-the-go listening.

The Fate of the Newspaper Industry MP3. Right-click to download.

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Re-imagining the reading experience, not a larger display, is what’s needed on Kindle

by Dan on May 4, 2009

Larger eBook reader from Plastic Logic

Larger eBook reader from Plastic Logic

For all the hubub about the Kindle eBook reader getting a larger display and how this might save the print industry, none of it will matter if makers of these products do not re-imagine and re-tool the reading experience for the digital age.

As Brad Stone noted in today’s New York Times, “These new gadgets, with screens roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper, could present much of the editorial content and advertising content of traditional periodicals in generally the same format as they appear in print.” (My italics.)

It’s also widely reported that newspaper organizations (like Hearst) are looking for newfangled devices that accurately translate the printed form to digital, allowing newspapers and magazines to shift to a high-tech distribution system — which, by the way, lack-of-visionaries from both industries hope people will pay for. Some believe that a larger Kindle will save the textbook industry.

Typical of technologists and the thirst to solve problems with newer, bigger, better technology, the savior for print won’t be a larger display, or even a color one. It will be coming up with a digital reading experience that allows people to read newspapers, periodicals, books, and textbooks like they do now, only in ways more appropriate for the digital age.

After all, the act of reading is behavioral and ritualistic, and user interfaces for eBook readers like the Kindle pay little attention to how people actually read.

In reading the newspaper, people often separate the sections they want to read from those they don’t care about. Then they take the pile they want to read and subdivide it even more, eventually settling on what they want to read now, what they hope to read soon, and what they are saving for later if they get the time.

While newspapers on the Kindle do allow readers to jump from section to section and to see a list of stories, the “paper” on an electronic device is still jump-from-one-link-to-the-next. Saving an article to read for later, or adding it to a group of stories for ongoing research, is impossible.

The same goes for books and other printed material. I can jump to chapters, sections, and bookmarks while reading on the Kindle, but it’s still not a true browsing experience. I cannot easily “thumb through” an electronic book.

Solving the act of reading a newspaper or book is just one step toward innovating the electronic reading experience. The digital age allows us to share what we read much easier with family, friends, the world. Back in the day (insert old-timer’s voice), to share an article you had to cut it out, hand deliver it, mail it, or copy and fax it.

Today newspapers and magazines have taken strides for sharing information by adding link buttons for Facebook, Digg, Twitter, or email, but these are baby steps. It’s not even possible to share what you read on the Kindle — and I’m not talking the source article or book and digital rights management.

Annotation is in its infancy on the Kindle. I can highlight passages, add text, or bookmark a page, but these are saved in a single text file on the Kindle. I must connect the device to a computer to retrieve my notes, which is a pain because I get highlights from Outliers mixed in with marks from Brain Rules and clippings from the NYT.

At this time no eBook device allows people to read newspapers, periodicals, and books the way they want to read them and to do with the information what they want. Until the reading experience is re-imagined and re-tooled for a digital age, putting a larger display on a Kindle won’t save the newspaper, magazine, or textbook industries.

Or attract the masses to electronic readers.

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Irony, Winer & Rosen

by Dan on April 23, 2009

Dave Winer

Dave Winer

The irony isn’t lost on me. I tell the students about the need to consistently post to their blogs and that speed is of the essence in new media — and then it takes me a month to update.

The semester is almost over, and I am anxious to get back behind the keyboard. For now, the 140 characters of Twitter have been a Godsend. I’ve posted quite a few links for journalism and the newspaper industry and I encourage you to check them out, if you are interested in the topic.

I am enjoying the Rebooting the News podcast that Dave Winer is doing with NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen. Winer also started a FriendFeed room for Rebooting The News that’s worth joining. (Also follow Winer and Rosen on Twitter).

Winer is an opinionated, curmudgeonly character who, in addition to his popular blog Scripting News, occasionally produces a podcast called Morning Coffee Notes. The production value is often poor, but I really don’t care. Winer rewards you for time spent with quality content, deep insight, opinion, perspective, and a technology voice who speaks from experience. He knows what he is talking about, unlike so many so-called new media experts and commentators these days.

This is refreshing. I sense a trend in new media technology shows that’s exasperating. Many of these programs, including the dearly loved This Week in Technology and Steve Gillmor’s Gillmor Gang, are getting too chummy. The hosts and guests spend more time yucking it up than they do presenting technology news and analysis, which is the value they bring to their listeners.

As much as I love Leo Laporate — and he’s certainly a respected new-media pioneer — it was painful listening to him titter like a schoolgirl with guests Lisa Bettany and Shira Lazar on the most recent episode of TWiT (#191). But this is a topic for another time.

Suffice to say, Winer and Rosen don’t pander. They exchange a few pleasantries, reference a couple of past experiences, and get to the subject at hand.

Like I need to.

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