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Category: Alumni and other friends (Page 9 of 38)

Robin Roger: Blog, Newspapers and Community

Robin Roger’s Masters thesis, “Creating community and gaining readers through newspaper blogs,” gets great electrons at the Greensboro News and Record Editor’s Blog by John Robinson and more from Ed Cone on his Word Up blog.

Both note Robin’s conclusion (so I will too):

Findings suggest that the effects of high levels of community are cumulative; therefore, creating a blogging community can draw new readers — great news for newspaper marketers. Results from the study also suggest a virtuous cycle: frequent blog reading seems to lead to a sense of community, and vice versa.

I was lucky to have Robin in my class on blogging, community and citizen journalism last fall and to be on the committee along with Brian Carroll for her thesis which was chaired by Phil Meyer.

Here is Robin’s thesis [in PDF]

Institute for the Future of the Book in Library Journal

ibiblian alum Jesse Wilbur writes to let us know that the Institute for the Future of the Book, where he now works, is subject of the cover article on the current Library Journal, “The Social Life of Books.” A good read after or beside the Kevin Kelly article in Sunday’s NYTimes article.

Jesse also writes:

We’re launching GAM3R 7H30RY very soon, McKenzie Wark’s newest book (he also wrote The Hacker Manifesto). We’re putting it up online before it’s coming out in print. Plus we’ve done some interesting things with the interface to 1) test the form of a networked book, 2) support the unique structure of his book, 3) encourage discussion about Wark’s book and networked books in general.

Institute for the Future of the Book’s authoring tool, Sophie, which is described as “an open-source platform for creating and reading electronic books for the networked environment” is due to be released in July.

The Institute blog, if:book, is a rich resource among the articles are some by Jesse about “digital comics.”

Kyle is Killing the Kids

Kyle (aka Clark) McCabe writes to tell us that his “first of two directorial contributions to the nutrition makeover
series ‘Honey We’re Killing the Kids’” will air tonight on The Learning Channel at 9 pm and 11 pm. There will be two repeats on Friday May 19 at 10 pm and (later that night) at 1 am.

Here’s how Kyle describes the show:

my show focuses on a family in rural texas, who struggle to turn their overweight children on to a healthy lifestyle the good old fashioned way–by choosing fruits and vegetables over sugar and fats, and introducing regular exercise. needless to say, the transition is bumpy… but also makes for a dramatic and inspiring story of a family who makes a tremendous effort to change their unhealthy ways.

And here is how TLC describes it:

Overload

With Dad working a 100-hour workweek the result is two undisciplined kids who are more obese than 95% of kids their age, and a mom at her wits end who copes through smoking. Dr. Hark will transform their bleak lifestyle in just three weeks.

It’s Carrboro Video premiere tonight!

Brian Risk, musician composer and rap star, writes to let us know that tonight the It’s Carrboro video will be shown for the first time at the Flicker Film Festival. Details in his note below:

Spread the word!? Tonight @ the Cat’s Cradle the It’s Carrboro video will be shown for the first time!? It will be in conjunction with the Flicker Film Festival, so bring $3.? Doors are at 8PM; show is 8:30PM.

Note: Brian fesses that because Flicker is about film and digital doesn’t quite count there that It’s Carrboro will likely run after the festival films have been screened.

Jones on iBlogCom chat tomorrow at 3 EDT

I’m doing an online chat on iBlogCom tomorrow a 3 EDT with Sudha Jamthe. We’ll be talking about “Participatory Media Communities” and whatever else comes up. They have a good description of what’s up on their site at the link above.

Please join us this Tuesday, May 9, at noon Pacific Time (3 PMEastern Time) at http://iblogcom.blogspot.com/

When you arrive at that blog, click on the diamond on right to join the chat. It will be green when the chat is open.

You can savor my poor typing and spelling in real time there ;->

Beyond Broadcast at Harvard’s Berkman

I’ll be up in Cambridge MA at the end of the week for the Berkman Center’s Beyond Broadcast conference. If you’re going to be there, let me know and consider signing up for the Birds of a Feather Dinner Discussions.

The one with me as convener is:

“What technologies and practices will define the next media revolutions?”

Some of this discussion will come from the discussionn by the panels, but other ideas might not have had time to gestate and will need to be made clearer in discussion with others who are passionate and imaginative. Not just tech. Not ideas without tech. But the interaction of personal, social and technical. But what? Bring your opinions and your guesses and your visions

* Cambridge Common – 1667 Massachusetts Ave. and Lizard Lounge

Some interesting folks have already signed up, so’s we’ll have a great discussion I’m sure. I want to learn more about dotSub and about SecondLife’s future thinking (for example).

UPDATE: All the seats at my table are now filled up. There is still room on the waiting list tho and on other BoF dinners.

Note to Chapel Hill Magazine: It’s Carrboro

Issue Number 1 of Chapel Hill Magazine showed up in the mailbox uninvited but not unappreciated today.

I was immediately confused. The cover is not of Chapel Hill but of Carrboro (“Where it is always 1 degree cooler” says Ron Stutz who is profiled in the magazine). Those who have lived here and those who have only heard “It’s Carrboro” will identify the Weave and the hula hoopers right away.
Flipping to the cover article “15 Ways to Love Your Summer” or “A Summer Place: It’s hot, but it’s cool” — the article is not sure of its own title — the confusion continues. Of the 15 wonders, only 5 and a half are in Chapel Hill. The rest are in Carrboro and in Hillsborough. All of the special days are shared by those two towns — no special summer days are in Chapel Hill it seems.

Note to Chapel Hill Magazine: the Carrboro Poetry Festival has been cancelled this year according to the link you provided and the Festival site.

No wonder people are confused about where they live if even the town magazine isn’t sure what is what. It is possible to have a Chapel Hill mailing address, have kids in Chapel Hill High School, and to live not in Chapel Hill or in Carrboro but in the planning area for Carrboro (meaning you will be annexed by Carrboro one day but for the moment you pay no Chapel Hill or Carrboro taxes).

The Magazine is published in Chapel Hill. Its offices are on Market St in Southern Village where Weaver Street Market, a Carrboro company, has an outpost which we call Market Street Weaver. When Carrboro High opens in 2007, the kids in Southern Village will go there. The Southern Village homeowners are paying Chapel Hill taxes. The tower for WCOM, Carrboro’s community radio station, is there not far from the Magazine’s offices. In fact, you get better reception in Southern Village than in parts of Carrboro. Market Street is just about as close to Carrboro Town Hall (3.4 mi or about 6 mins) as it is to Chapel Hill Town Hall (3.1 mi or about 6 mins) according to Google Maps.

Luckily for the Magazine, confusing Hillsborough is much more difficult.

Chick Lit? The good and the bad and the inappropriately dressed

Bridget Morton writes to the Warren Wilson grads list that she has come to appreciate romance writing, that romance is the largest selling genre, that romance deserves NY Times reviews if ever mystery does, that romance seriously and sometimes humorously challenges the patriarchy, that reading romance makes you thinner, that romance …

Of course I agree. Most people don’t realize this but I was actually a romance cover model and the author of a couple of romance novels (with a friend) under my nom de chest exposure, Fabio.

Beyond Broadcast at Berkman

I’ll be up in Boston next week for the Beyond Broadcast conference held by Harvard’s Berkman Center. The schedule looks great. I’m on a panel called:

What the emerging participatory web media services are doing

* This is a panel of ‘web-only media’- emergent participatory and social media entrepreneurs. This is a vibrant and growing field with new entrants seemingly coming ever day. From Our Media to YouTube, Odeo to BrightCove, Conversations Network to Global Voices – people are using new media to facilitate citizen participation not just through text and blogging but now with digital audio and video. Is this the future of public media? What are the opportunities for cross-pollination with public broadcasting? What is the nature of this ‘third zone’ of media that is not quite commercial or noncommercial, public or mainstream?

Panelists include; Lynne D. Johnson (videoblogger), Bill Gannon (Yahoo!), Paul Jones (ibiblio). Moderator: Peter Armstrong (OneWorld.net)

I’ve also proposed a Birds of a Feather discussion for Friday night’s dinner to extend the conversation called something like: Brainstorm: What technologies and practices will define the next media revolutions?
Which I describe thusly:

Some of this will come from the discussionn by the panels, but others will not have had time to gestate and will need to be made clearer in discussion with others who are passionate and imaginative. Not just tech. Not ideas without tech. But the interaction of personal, social and technical. But what? Bring your opinions and your guesses and your visions.

So if you’ll be in the Cambridge area come on by the conference and sign up for the BoF dinner. We’ll talk and–more importantly–listen.

Also if you have ideas on what should not be left out on the panel or at the BoF, let me know and I’ll do my best to get your ideas and concerns heard.

Poet’s Revenge

Fredrico Garcia Lorca was fast becoming the best poet and playwright from Granada and from all of Spain when the fortune of Spain took a spin toward right wing revolution and civil war. The local “Black Squad,” Falangists of the worst sort, executed Lorca for being a leftist, a homosexual and a poet in August of 1937.

But time takes it’s turn and after years of no Lorca in Spain but much Lorca elsewhere, Granada has been celebrating Lorca with parks, festivals, play revivals and museums. At the South end of town, there is a lovely city park with a Lorca Museum, but more true to the spirit of Lorca the park has become a new beach. There the young people of Granada bask in the sun in a celebration of youth and of life among the tall trees and flowers.

There were even children’s books about Lorca for sale in the various tourist shops all over Granada and in the airport at Madrid.

No where did I see a monument to the Falange or to Franco. But there is still an active Falangist Party in Granada. For some reason they “black out” the eyes of many of the people on their own website.

Peter Kramer wins Kathryn Wallace Award for Artists in Community Service

When I get things settled down at ibiblio and I sneak off to write, I go to Peter Kramer and Susan Gladen’s farm and sit in the middle of their chicken yard. Peter, who cannot stop building small outbuildings, lets writers set up shop there.

Now Peter is recognized for his promotion of music with the Kathryn Wallace Award for Artists in Community Service from the Triangle Community Foundation.

I’ll let him explain, in his own modest way, further:

The judges were impressed by “Mr. Kramer’s ability to go on and on about musical esoterica, e.g., early 60’s soul music lyrics, well past the point where anyone is listening.” They also apparently took note of my musical skills: “Mr. Kramer never met a jazz chord he could play. He hasn’t listened to any new music since 1972, which he blames on hanging out with the same people he knew in 1972…”

Seriously, though…..I really won the thing, which comes with a small cash award that will be thrown back to some favorite groups like Lynden Harris’ Hidden Voices theater project at the ArtsCenter, Jude Reitman’s Women’s Prison Writing and Performance Project, the Education Foundation for the Orange County Schools, the Hillsborough Arts Council, and Tribes Magazine. All of you have been partners with Susan and me in a variety of ventures, which should continue until we’re dragged kicking and screaming off stage and the written page

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