Lessons From Blogging Will Kill You
Bloggers on blogging ... Larry Dignan's blog, about Matt Richtel's article, In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop, in the New York Times, was a great behind the scenes look at how a story is written and why some info makes it and doesn't make it.
Larry's blog points out two important things 1) for all of those people who get interviewed and get angry or disappointed that they were misquoted or neglected to be quoted at all in a journalists article; and 2) how addictive blogging can be.
The first lesson should be 1) be realistic about the journalist. They are not god-sent to present your point of view. They could have a very different angle in mind for the story. Try as you might, your point of view may never be presented, even if the journalist seemed to be totally digging you during your interview.
The second one, and perhaps most valuable is - take care of yourself, no matter what your profession. Know your limits in stress and don't let your job kill ya'. I loved Matt's behind the scenes look at the types of personalities and work habits today's blogosphere has attracted. There are some people that will do anything for a story including staying up late at night, going through garbage. Bottom line - anybody enjoys a good scoop. It doesn't matter if it is gossip about Britney's underpants or the latest widget. However it comes at a cost - from a paparazzi's foot to, in extreme cases, a lifestyle that just isn't sustainable.
Full disclosure: I read The New York Times, GigaOM and People Magazine daily ... ok ... hourly ... ok ... maybe more ...
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
15.5 Million Active Blogs; Decline and Fall of the Print Media
Well, I have to say that I'm not very good at updating this blog. So, I'll give it another go. Today, I read some amazing stats on the advertising industry, the growth of blogs and the decline of newspapers. According to Technorati, there are 15.5 active blogs. That means that their owners have updated them once in the last 90 days. That doesn't seem very active to me. I have to say that I'm on the 10-month plan now, but I'd like to update this more frequently. While the numbers of blogs are amazing. It does come at a cost.
During my web searches today, I also came across some distressing news about the decline of newspapers. Print advertising is declining substantially while web advertising is growing. Also, more newspapers are announcing layoffs. The list is amazing. Not surprising, but it is distressing to the industry. I have to admit that there seems to be a rise at amateur journalists at the expense of print journalists. The web was an awakening, but it did come at great cost.
Coming of age in the 1970s when Geraldo Rivera was doing real investigative work - breaking the Willowbrook Hospital scandal, not his tabloid days - and All the Presidents Men made Woodward and Bernstein pop culture icons, I decided to ditch a career in the sciences in favor of journalism. Well, that plan didn't quite work out. But, I did find technology on the way.
But, it is just an adjustment ... a change in journalism forms. Blogs are just another way for all of us to express ourselves. Just like journaling was in the past, it just is electronic. And, it makes it easier to share. Now, I just have to remember to share.
Not all blogs will be influential. What blogs will live on beyond the 21st century? Time will only tell. Now, let's see the stats on abandoned blogs ...
See ya' soon ...
Well, I have to say that I'm not very good at updating this blog. So, I'll give it another go. Today, I read some amazing stats on the advertising industry, the growth of blogs and the decline of newspapers. According to Technorati, there are 15.5 active blogs. That means that their owners have updated them once in the last 90 days. That doesn't seem very active to me. I have to say that I'm on the 10-month plan now, but I'd like to update this more frequently. While the numbers of blogs are amazing. It does come at a cost.
During my web searches today, I also came across some distressing news about the decline of newspapers. Print advertising is declining substantially while web advertising is growing. Also, more newspapers are announcing layoffs. The list is amazing. Not surprising, but it is distressing to the industry. I have to admit that there seems to be a rise at amateur journalists at the expense of print journalists. The web was an awakening, but it did come at great cost.
Coming of age in the 1970s when Geraldo Rivera was doing real investigative work - breaking the Willowbrook Hospital scandal, not his tabloid days - and All the Presidents Men made Woodward and Bernstein pop culture icons, I decided to ditch a career in the sciences in favor of journalism. Well, that plan didn't quite work out. But, I did find technology on the way.
But, it is just an adjustment ... a change in journalism forms. Blogs are just another way for all of us to express ourselves. Just like journaling was in the past, it just is electronic. And, it makes it easier to share. Now, I just have to remember to share.
Not all blogs will be influential. What blogs will live on beyond the 21st century? Time will only tell. Now, let's see the stats on abandoned blogs ...
See ya' soon ...
Friday, May 11, 2007
It sure has been a while since I've blogged. I'd like to get back into this so, here it goes. My daughter is no longer a small child. She's in third grade and quite an artist.
Before we go on, I'd love to point out that today's young celebrities -- Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan -- are such poor examples for our young girls to live up to. Underage drinking is just the beginning of it. As we've seen them grow older, their behavior continues to amaze most of us in good ways and bad ways. Some of us wish we could have gotten away with this type of behavior. Others just gaze on in amazement at the sheer audacity these girls have to get away with practically everything.
It's not just them. Hollywood and the establishment sit idly by while these young people are given great sums of money by clubs and other advertisers to party like its 1999 while holding their product or dance in their club. Pay me $50K and I might party like that too ... though no one's going to want to watch.
I'm not immune to reading People Magazine. I've subscribed to it for years and love it. So, all of us -- from the readers of US, People, OK to the viewers of Access Hollywood and ET are not above some of the blame. But, isn't it sad that we're sponsoring these girls and their poor behavior? What do you think?
For me? I'd like to see them party responsibly. Let's not give them the keys to the kingdom and let them self destruct. And when they are about to, where are their parents, employeers and other loved ones? Step it up people! These girls need help.
Before we go on, I'd love to point out that today's young celebrities -- Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan -- are such poor examples for our young girls to live up to. Underage drinking is just the beginning of it. As we've seen them grow older, their behavior continues to amaze most of us in good ways and bad ways. Some of us wish we could have gotten away with this type of behavior. Others just gaze on in amazement at the sheer audacity these girls have to get away with practically everything.
It's not just them. Hollywood and the establishment sit idly by while these young people are given great sums of money by clubs and other advertisers to party like its 1999 while holding their product or dance in their club. Pay me $50K and I might party like that too ... though no one's going to want to watch.
I'm not immune to reading People Magazine. I've subscribed to it for years and love it. So, all of us -- from the readers of US, People, OK to the viewers of Access Hollywood and ET are not above some of the blame. But, isn't it sad that we're sponsoring these girls and their poor behavior? What do you think?
For me? I'd like to see them party responsibly. Let's not give them the keys to the kingdom and let them self destruct. And when they are about to, where are their parents, employeers and other loved ones? Step it up people! These girls need help.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
This is a much quieter week. The media was duped by a woman posing as a child who disappeared in 1986. The major networks all fell for it as did the law enforcement officials. Perhaps they will be a little more circumspect next time. The family must feel exploited not once from the original disappearance of their daughter, but twice in the past week - once by a criminal and again by the media with implicit cooperation by the law enforcement officials involved.
An interesting story concerning newsgroups from PCWorld. It looks like there is going to be a convergence eventually when your email, newsgroups, blogs and RSS will be seamlessly delivered to your inbox. The real problem that all of these technologies seem to be solving is information overload. However, the Microsoft solution as decribed in the story doesn't go far enough to help you make sense of that information. A cool piece of software that is closer to the solution is Scopeware. Scopeware Vision searches your PC for all of the relevant information you need and puts in at your fingertips, no matter where it is stored on your PC. A cool tool. Try it out.
An interesting story concerning newsgroups from PCWorld. It looks like there is going to be a convergence eventually when your email, newsgroups, blogs and RSS will be seamlessly delivered to your inbox. The real problem that all of these technologies seem to be solving is information overload. However, the Microsoft solution as decribed in the story doesn't go far enough to help you make sense of that information. A cool piece of software that is closer to the solution is Scopeware. Scopeware Vision searches your PC for all of the relevant information you need and puts in at your fingertips, no matter where it is stored on your PC. A cool tool. Try it out.
Friday, July 25, 2003
July 25, 2003: The news is full of the photos of Saddam Hussein's sons. I've always more sensitive about television viewing, particularly news and my daughter. My husband have a running "joke" about content not being PG3, now PG5. But since September 11, we do not view television news with our daughter around. Seeing dead bodies and body parts isn't something we want our daughter to view. It seems that we watch a lot of PBS, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickolodeon. The marketing to children bothers me, but that's a blog for another day.
The most interesting thing about the news lately that I've been wondering about is why haven't they named Kobe Bryant's accuser. Especially with the recent outing of the Central Park Jogger. Turns out there is a lot of commentary out there. One of the better pieces is by Geneva Overholser on Poynter.org, Name the Accuser and the Accused, http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=54&aid=42260. Geneva concluded the piece by saying, "The responsible course for responsible media today is this: Treat the woman who charges rape as we would any other adult victim of crime. Name her, and deal with her respectfully. And leave the trial to the courtroom." I would agree if only we could trust the media to treat her respectfully. Rape is not like other crimes and should be treated differently.
Finally, it looks like Jayson Blair, late of the NY Times, got a writing gig with Esquire. Ok, so it is only for a book review and the proceeds go to charity, but, I think they should insist in proof that he read the book before they print or post the review.
The most interesting thing about the news lately that I've been wondering about is why haven't they named Kobe Bryant's accuser. Especially with the recent outing of the Central Park Jogger. Turns out there is a lot of commentary out there. One of the better pieces is by Geneva Overholser on Poynter.org, Name the Accuser and the Accused, http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=54&aid=42260. Geneva concluded the piece by saying, "The responsible course for responsible media today is this: Treat the woman who charges rape as we would any other adult victim of crime. Name her, and deal with her respectfully. And leave the trial to the courtroom." I would agree if only we could trust the media to treat her respectfully. Rape is not like other crimes and should be treated differently.
Finally, it looks like Jayson Blair, late of the NY Times, got a writing gig with Esquire. Ok, so it is only for a book review and the proceeds go to charity, but, I think they should insist in proof that he read the book before they print or post the review.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
July 23, 2003: Life is interesting. Just when you thought Bush might be down for the count, Saddam's sons end up dead in Mosul. Jessica Lynch is back home and tried to have a low-key homecoming despite the media. Is her pre-engagement ring really news on a network morning show? The networks have just about scavenged everything they could from her ... Next? A book deal. Maybe that's why Simon and Schuster is laying off 5% due to the news ticker I saw this am. What a deal! Actually, S&S isn't doing that book. I read Knopf is the one with the Lynch deal.
By the way, does anyone like the new InfoWorld.com design? And why does it seem like the top IT trades only cover IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Peoplesoft, Google and EMC? Editorial dependence on advertisers or what?
Anyway, this is my first experience with Blogging. Let's hope it is a good one.
By the way, does anyone like the new InfoWorld.com design? And why does it seem like the top IT trades only cover IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Peoplesoft, Google and EMC? Editorial dependence on advertisers or what?
Anyway, this is my first experience with Blogging. Let's hope it is a good one.
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