Monday, December 08, 2008
So much cool stuff!!!!!
Make sure you see Mike's chat with the sometimes-scary Jason Scott.
And Rich's GOP strategy round-up.
And I think Mary nicely opens up the question of what social networking will be in 2010-2012. Not exactly what it was in 2008.
Actually, if you look at the thing Rich links to, it is pretty comprehensive on that subject.
Mary also hearts Julia's idea about commencement speeches.
Joe has a memo to Team Jindal. I wish he'd stop calling him BJ!!!
Julia points out that I didn't really listen to her very carefully last week.
And Rich's GOP strategy round-up.
And I think Mary nicely opens up the question of what social networking will be in 2010-2012. Not exactly what it was in 2008.
Actually, if you look at the thing Rich links to, it is pretty comprehensive on that subject.
Mary also hearts Julia's idea about commencement speeches.
Joe has a memo to Team Jindal. I wish he'd stop calling him BJ!!!
Julia points out that I didn't really listen to her very carefully last week.
The Sick Man of Journalism
Watching the problems of newspapers --especially Trib. --today and struck by the fact that, for once, I think Malkin might be onto something.
Had to share
Kasey kind of elegantly summed up the line we're walking here:
The idea is to widen its appeal to people who have been captivated by internet advances without chasing away those who have never found those kinds of advances relevant to their lives.
Bobby's numbers
Respectable but trailing.
Meanwhile our boy is headed to Virginia. Who said the thing last week about keeping the board wide open?
Rich knew about the Barry-Bobby exchange.
Linky link link
This might seem pretty basic, but one thing I've noticed about the mainsheet part of the Atlantic site is that it doesn't use links much at all. The bloggers do. But this story could, at minimum, link out to imdb every time it mentions a movie. It could do much much more than that -- even using the enormously helpful metacritic to show critical reaction to each Carrey movie -- but it doesn't. My thinking on this right now is that print has to train its writers to write for the digital site ....and then now it will also show up in print. Not the other way around, which unfortunately is the way it is almost everywhere right now. The writer has to think of his or her work as something that will reach out into the 'net. And hold its own in a dead tree format.
On the other hand, one thing that helps the Atlantic is the way its bloggers are kind of a red light district on the site, a place where maybe you can take a shot at a kind of story an Old Media institution would blanch at.
On the other hand, one thing that helps the Atlantic is the way its bloggers are kind of a red light district on the site, a place where maybe you can take a shot at a kind of story an Old Media institution would blanch at.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Visualize This!!
I think this an important post. Courtney got interested in the visual presentation of information and gave herself a mini-course in it. Some of the links involve, I think, more than just bells and whistles. They really show you how smart grahpics make you smarter. Look at the adaptation of the Tokyo subway map, but then also check out the analysis, in which the firm was able to read the flow of information in a whole new and eally quite useful way.
Lauren then jogged over to 10,000 words and also taught us a little about geo-tagging.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic, trying to impress Courtney, IS trying maps and stuff. But I didn't think this one made use of the potential we saw on those other sites.
Lauren then jogged over to 10,000 words and also taught us a little about geo-tagging.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic, trying to impress Courtney, IS trying maps and stuff. But I didn't think this one made use of the potential we saw on those other sites.
So how's that Barry Bobby meme doing?
Amanda (with comment from Sarai) took the interesting step of comparing Jindal and Obama on the Tonight Show. Sarai, meanwhile, has her hooks into the policy questions in general and, in this post, says Jindal's stances are all wrong for an Obama II. But is that what it's really about?
Caroline tracks the meme in the mainstream media.
Meanwhile, Bobby and Barry seem to have had a little private exchange about this subject!
Caroline tracks the meme in the mainstream media.
Meanwhile, Bobby and Barry seem to have had a little private exchange about this subject!
I hear America Ninging
Aldon Hynes told Kevin that, by 2012, Twitter might be old hat. He's probably right. Look at this guy who put comment on one of Caroline's posts. He's using something called Ning, which seems to be able to tie a bunch of things -- including Twitter -- together. Aldon probably knows all about Ning. It, or something like it, does look like a pretty effective organizing tool.
UPDATE: Harry found this list of tweeting conservatives. The "ten things to do" list is a pretty simple guide to how to use Twitter to build a network.
UPDATE: Harry found this list of tweeting conservatives. The "ten things to do" list is a pretty simple guide to how to use Twitter to build a network.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Wow
This column, technically appearing in tomorrow's NY Times magazine, says so much of what we have been discussing lately and would seem to say a lot specifically about the dilemma facing the Atlantic:
People who work in traditional media and entertainment ought either to
concentrate on the antiquarian quality of their work, cultivating the exclusive
audience of TV viewers or magazine readers that might pay for craftsmanship. Or
they should imagine that they are 19 again: spending a day on Twitter or
following a recipe from a Mark Bittman video played on a refrigerator that
automatically senses what ingredients are missing and texts an order to the
grocery store (it will soon exist!). Then they should think about what content
suits these new modes of distribution and could evolve in tandem with them. For
old-media types, mental flexibility could be the No. 1 happiness secret we have
been missing.Gail Collins says much the same thing here.
MG: Do you see that role changing, now or in the future, particularly given the proliferation of opinion writing on the Web?
GC: The column as we do it now is something that will probably die off with my generation. Currently, the critical thing you have to have to do a column—besides the general reporting and writing—is the ability to be able to deliver exactly 800 words twice a week, on deadline. On the Web, though, there’s no reason for that. The constraints don’t exist. So the next generation of columnists will be a totally different breed than we are. I don’t know exactly what they’ll look like—I mean, you can see hints now of what it will be—but they’re going to be a totally different thing.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Clarification
Even though you are working in teams, you should not hesitate to post stuff on your own -- about all kinds of subjects. Especially those of you who need to do a lots of posts just to close out the term.
I, for one, would be interested in your thoughts on the elevation of David Gregory to host of MTP. It seems to me a triumph of Oldthink at a time when NBC desperately needs to prove it can go the other way. They got slapped in the Times and elsewhere over the last few days over the Gen. Barry McCaffrey issue. And Gregory seems like a guy who kind of doesn't understand any roles besides Network and Washington Press Corps Loyalist. He sure ain't no Rachel Maddow, who knows how to be of the scene and yet achieve some distance from it too.
It has implications for the Atlantic Online. How DO you do TV without seeming amateurish or, on the other end, complacent? TPMtv? Is that a good model?
For Jindal, maybe the only thing it means is that the media end of the game won't change that much in the next four years -- or, more accurately, it WILL change and the media will be the last to know.
I, for one, would be interested in your thoughts on the elevation of David Gregory to host of MTP. It seems to me a triumph of Oldthink at a time when NBC desperately needs to prove it can go the other way. They got slapped in the Times and elsewhere over the last few days over the Gen. Barry McCaffrey issue. And Gregory seems like a guy who kind of doesn't understand any roles besides Network and Washington Press Corps Loyalist. He sure ain't no Rachel Maddow, who knows how to be of the scene and yet achieve some distance from it too.
It has implications for the Atlantic Online. How DO you do TV without seeming amateurish or, on the other end, complacent? TPMtv? Is that a good model?
For Jindal, maybe the only thing it means is that the media end of the game won't change that much in the next four years -- or, more accurately, it WILL change and the media will be the last to know.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Good morning!
I woke up thinking of your shiny, happy faces.
Here is what I think about Jindal. His campaign definitely needs to generate some videos of him that are not slick but entertaining and inspiring. He needs some vlogger types following him around the country, catching him saying something inspirational to a group of college students, something substantive to a bunch of people put recently out of work, something important at an auto plant. You gotta get these videos not only onto YouTube channels but over to influential blogs and up onto social networking sites (but not now ... maybe in late 2009.) The videos have to look cool -- in a slightly raw fashion -- and have to include montages of Bobby doing and saying stuff, set to edgy, inspirational music (for which the rights and artist cooperation have been properly secured!). Find a really cool alt-Christian group like eastmountainsouth. Even their trip-hop version of "Hard Times" would be great in a montage of Bobby talking to people affected by the recession. The idea is to try to get something like this to go viral, so you have young people circulating it.
On Atlantic, I have two related thoughts. One of them is that the front page of the Atlantic doesn't change much all day and all night, and people expect a kind of reshuffling, as things become more and less important and current. The other is that the Voices bloggers are all great navigators and cullers, but they don't really report much new information. Fresh reported information is probably one of the more precious commodities right now in the Attention Economy. That's why I think we were right to keep coming back to some kind of model that gives the Atlantic more boots on the ground, some kind of intelligent workforce of journalists (cjs?) that feeds fresh information to the site.
Here is what I think about Jindal. His campaign definitely needs to generate some videos of him that are not slick but entertaining and inspiring. He needs some vlogger types following him around the country, catching him saying something inspirational to a group of college students, something substantive to a bunch of people put recently out of work, something important at an auto plant. You gotta get these videos not only onto YouTube channels but over to influential blogs and up onto social networking sites (but not now ... maybe in late 2009.) The videos have to look cool -- in a slightly raw fashion -- and have to include montages of Bobby doing and saying stuff, set to edgy, inspirational music (for which the rights and artist cooperation have been properly secured!). Find a really cool alt-Christian group like eastmountainsouth. Even their trip-hop version of "Hard Times" would be great in a montage of Bobby talking to people affected by the recession. The idea is to try to get something like this to go viral, so you have young people circulating it.
On Atlantic, I have two related thoughts. One of them is that the front page of the Atlantic doesn't change much all day and all night, and people expect a kind of reshuffling, as things become more and less important and current. The other is that the Voices bloggers are all great navigators and cullers, but they don't really report much new information. Fresh reported information is probably one of the more precious commodities right now in the Attention Economy. That's why I think we were right to keep coming back to some kind of model that gives the Atlantic more boots on the ground, some kind of intelligent workforce of journalists (cjs?) that feeds fresh information to the site.
Monday, December 01, 2008
AO hires The Blonde Excuse for video training
Atlantic Online has contracted with an obscure TV training company called The Blonde Excuse to provide training for reporters so that they function better on digital platforms.
"My boss Courtney believes that reporters have to be converted into digital journalists," said new ME Mike Raciti.
Raciti also denied reports that aforementioned publisher Courtney Antonioli had thrown a chair at Andrew Sullivan.
"That's, uh...that's kind of being blown out of proportion in the blogs," he said.
"My boss Courtney believes that reporters have to be converted into digital journalists," said new ME Mike Raciti.
Raciti also denied reports that aforementioned publisher Courtney Antonioli had thrown a chair at Andrew Sullivan.
"That's, uh...that's kind of being blown out of proportion in the blogs," he said.
L&D enlist SoHo firm
Political consulting firm Levenstein (sorry) and DeCrescenzo has announced a contractual partnership with Mercer Street Associates, an NYC-based shop of futurists and cool-hunters led by senior partner Amanda Craig.
Craig was evasive about whether Mercer would be working on Jindal 2012, but she did offer,"We've seen the end of the days when politicians kind of stumbled into places like SNL and the Colbert Report. In 2010, that kind of thing will be right up front as part of the planning, as will product placement in video games."
Craig said MSA would offer the services of the following partners
-- Sarai Druan, who specializes in outreach to environmental groups. Craig says there is no reason the Demcorats have to own that issue in 2012.
-- Mel Cavanaugh, who specalized in grassroots sensibilities. "For Obama, there was kind of a tipping point, where the grass roots passions burned so hot that you couldn't fight the fire from the other side," said Craig. "Mel is going to see whether the same kind of organizing can work for Jindal. I mean, IF we do any work for Jindal. Can that be off the record? The last thing I said?"
-- Julia Budnick, who specializes in pop culture, with an emphasis on reaching out to the youngest voters. A source at MSA said that Jindal and his handlers wonder if he can be "cool."
Craig was evasive about whether Mercer would be working on Jindal 2012, but she did offer,"We've seen the end of the days when politicians kind of stumbled into places like SNL and the Colbert Report. In 2010, that kind of thing will be right up front as part of the planning, as will product placement in video games."
Craig said MSA would offer the services of the following partners
-- Sarai Druan, who specializes in outreach to environmental groups. Craig says there is no reason the Demcorats have to own that issue in 2012.
-- Mel Cavanaugh, who specalized in grassroots sensibilities. "For Obama, there was kind of a tipping point, where the grass roots passions burned so hot that you couldn't fight the fire from the other side," said Craig. "Mel is going to see whether the same kind of organizing can work for Jindal. I mean, IF we do any work for Jindal. Can that be off the record? The last thing I said?"
-- Julia Budnick, who specializes in pop culture, with an emphasis on reaching out to the youngest voters. A source at MSA said that Jindal and his handlers wonder if he can be "cool."
Antonioli and Ambinder in Spat; More AO staff changes
Uber-blogger Marc Ambinder has reportedly asked for an unspecified-length leave of absence after one of many dust-ups with abrasive new publisher Courtney Antonioli.
"I have nothing but respect for Marc, and my guess is that he'll be back in the office on Tuesday," said Antonioli. "My only point to him is the point I'm makingall over the building: don't reinvent the wheel and then tell me it's a jetpack."
"She spat in my coffee. She's a crazy person," Ambinder said.
At issue was Ambinder's post sizing up the 2012 field.
"I'm asking all my people to think less conventionally. 2008 broke all the old rules. How will 2012 break the 2008 rules?" Antonioli said.
In a series of related moves, Antonioli announced that Caroline Mooney will become special national correspondent assigned to over the Jindal campaign "starting yesterday."
Kevin Simpson has been added to the Atlantic culture desk with the special responsibility of watching how political campaigns interact with the entertainment world. Brent Rydin will write a new "digital life" column about the next wave of campaign communication styles.
Veteran newsman Ernie Mintel will also write and edit a series of features.
"I don't want to lose sight of what makes the Atlantic the Atlantic. I see Ernie's work as providing context and history," said Antonioli.
"I have nothing but respect for Marc, and my guess is that he'll be back in the office on Tuesday," said Antonioli. "My only point to him is the point I'm makingall over the building: don't reinvent the wheel and then tell me it's a jetpack."
"She spat in my coffee. She's a crazy person," Ambinder said.
At issue was Ambinder's post sizing up the 2012 field.
"I'm asking all my people to think less conventionally. 2008 broke all the old rules. How will 2012 break the 2008 rules?" Antonioli said.
In a series of related moves, Antonioli announced that Caroline Mooney will become special national correspondent assigned to over the Jindal campaign "starting yesterday."
Kevin Simpson has been added to the Atlantic culture desk with the special responsibility of watching how political campaigns interact with the entertainment world. Brent Rydin will write a new "digital life" column about the next wave of campaign communication styles.
Veteran newsman Ernie Mintel will also write and edit a series of features.
"I don't want to lose sight of what makes the Atlantic the Atlantic. I see Ernie's work as providing context and history," said Antonioli.
D&D Consultants Ink Jindal Pact
Mary Dain and Joe Durette have signed on to work with possible 2012 candidate Bobby Jindal on issues of new communication strategies and strength and conditioning.
"One thing we saw, with Obama, was the way people, at a certain point, took ownership of the campaign, made their own videos, became a sort of parallel-track media covering the event the way THEY wanted it covered," said Dain. "We think we can do that for Bobby."
At the same time, Dain and Durette, who have an unusual sports-based approach to consulting, will try to increase Jindal's muscle mass. "This is mostly going to be increased anaerobic training with free weights," Durette explained. "He's a stringy little dude. But he inspires me. I could amost feel good about being a Republican again."
"One thing we saw, with Obama, was the way people, at a certain point, took ownership of the campaign, made their own videos, became a sort of parallel-track media covering the event the way THEY wanted it covered," said Dain. "We think we can do that for Bobby."
At the same time, Dain and Durette, who have an unusual sports-based approach to consulting, will try to increase Jindal's muscle mass. "This is mostly going to be increased anaerobic training with free weights," Durette explained. "He's a stringy little dude. But he inspires me. I could amost feel good about being a Republican again."
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