Aug 24, 2009
Posted by VC on Aug 24, 2009 in Business, Musing, New media | 0 comments
Nine days from now, I’m starting the engine on my white Jetta and cruise controlling my car full of irreplacables to the west coast. For the these last precious sweat-drenched, jersey-dress clad Texan days, I will do everything in my power to live afk as much as possible. Do all the things I meant to do while I was here. Hug all the people I wanted to hug. Drink all the free booze that I would normally turn down in the name of linear thought and early morning basic motor functions. I’m not ruling a return drive out, but I’m not planning on coming back.
To document my adventures which were inspired by a new-to-me Hunter S. Thompson book, The Great Shark Hunt, as well as the communication department’s equipment requirements which cause me to wonder what my tuition pays for exactly, I’ve acquired some fab new video and audio gear. I’m also switching up the focus of my blog to reflect my new interests.
Looks like I wasn’t all that interested in my last topic, ‘cos I didn’t blog much about it, hmm? Nah. In actuality companies were paying me to write for them in such quantity during the day that when I came home, it was all I could do to read my freshest New Yorker or watch movies lethargically.
As an aside, Festen aka The Celebration is an especially jaw dropping flick. The bland Netflix synopsis doesn’t do it justice.
My time in the corporate jungle is short (4 days left), and the time has come to leave the comfort of my ergonomically sensitive chair and temperature controlled climates and emerge from the security badge activated electronically powered revolving door armed with a sound growth strategy, a cell phone with internet access, and an open mind.
My lunch break is over… I’ll write more soon.
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May 5, 2009
Posted by VC on May 5, 2009 in Musing, New media | 2 comments
It’s hard to take tweets seriously, when ninety percent of them are crap. But more and more credible sources are using Twitter to share information. On the flip side, I am concerned that these new methods of delivering content could make it more difficult for journalists to make a decent living than it already is.
Take Breakingtweets.com: One of their goals is to use Twitter as a “journalistic platform.” Their editors, predominantly grad students, write a few lines which summarize a hot topic and then compile choice tweets to show how people in the immediate area are reacting to it. The two are then blended into single entry which reads like a succinct blog post with authority. The site has the potential to really dive into the deep end of some thick and hearty issues in a sexy way. And it seems like a lot of fun for a journalist to do. But despite their aim to increase dialogue, I don’t see a ton of comments. It might be that people haven’t heard of them yet. They’re fairly fresh on the scene.
The site’s founder Craig Kanalley hasn’t identified how to sustain the site after grad school.
“ckanal@ohmyafly working on that as we speak, talking to lots of business/marketing people. honestly, not much luck yet.”
Delivering user-generated content like tweets is mad cheap, and having editors around to filter through them is a really good idea. Aside from selling ads and providing intelligence to companies, however, I’m not sure how breakingtweets is going to bank on this. He wouldn’t tell me how large their regular audience is. I don’t see content or features unique enough to keep people coming back for more. No integration with mobile devices. I’d like to see them break a tweet at you that’s relevant to your location. A most pressing question is whether the site will create jobs or hobbies for journalists who are looking ways to pay their rent in the future. Time is expensive. And no one there is getting paid to bust a tweet.
On the larger end of perspective assemblage, Google News is now twittering their site’s headlines with links to full stories. Not the most creative way to advertise. I know reporters who do this kind of thing all the time. In fact, it gets really annoying when they hog your twitter feed with their tweets. I digress. I’m mentioning these tweets because they’re related to their news site which will soon complicate things for journalists in a job market that massively sucks. The Google intends to roll out a journalist-job-killing feature in about six months which will passively search for and deliver customized content to googlers. Google CEO Eric Schmidt told The Wrap’s Sharon Waxman:
“Under this latest iteration of advanced search, users will be automatically served the kind of news that interests them just by calling up Google’s page. The latest algorithms apply ever more sophisticated filtering –- based on search words, user choices, purchases, a whole host of cues -– to determine what the reader is looking for without knowing they’re looking for it.”
“And on this basis, Google believes it will be able to sell premium ads against premium content.”
The news outlets from which they pull stories are not going to get a cut of the revenue action as of right now. Except for the AP of course.
Sure, they might get more clicks. But will that really translate to much of an increase in ad revenue? For the small sites that don’t normally get a ton of traffic, perhaps. I doubt that the bbc.co.uk will see a change in the number of total clicks. It’s unclear whether Google would be willing to pay a fee to all the news outlets after funneling their content. Hard to negotiate that when the news sites are putting their product out there for free.
From the breakingtweets to the Google, the trend right now is to take existing content and mash it together in a new way which exploits free data distributors like Twitter. Google uses it to advertise. Breakingtweets uses it to accurately portray varied perspective. It’s rad that these sites are focused on delivering valued content to users in a fresh way that keeps it timely. Unfortunately, it sucks that neither has adequately addressed the need for the creator of the content to eat.
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Apr 29, 2009
Posted by VC on Apr 29, 2009 in Live bloggin | 0 comments
For those of you just tuning in to my blog, hello there. My name is Vanessa. I’m a multi-platform journalist who is experiencing all that the world in a recession has to offer. Whee! That means I’ve been doing random gigs to expand my understanding of a variety of professions.
Subsequently, this blog has morphed. It used to be a forum in which I would take a position on an issue in the news and then rip it up and down (but not around my head like a helicopter) for fun. Lately, it has been a bit unstructured.
Time to return to more responsible conversations.
Expect to see more posts about the journalism industry from a student’s perspective as I read everything I can get my eyes on before I start grad school classes this fall. I’ll be studying how new platforms such as mobile phones and other interactive media are morphing story production, and what this means for a journalist who wants to produce video for the web. I’m fascinated by the intersection of storytelling, interactive/multi/social media and business models. Let me know if you find articles you think I should read.
On my reading list:
The State of the News Media on News Investment
http://www.breakingtweets.com/
The WSJ: Bloggers for Hire
Neiman Reports
A Tale of 2 Journalism start-ups
The Wrap
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Apr 22, 2009
Posted by VC on Apr 22, 2009 in Food, opinion | 0 comments
The area code: 404
The place: Holeman and Finch Public House
When you first pull open the door, the place feels inviting. Air-dried meat hangs in a glass display case by the bar, giving the joint a European market feel, albeit modified with an American pane of glass to section the flesh off from the vegans. Polished steel stools lift us our thirsty bodies into the aroma of joy juice which hovers over the dark cherry counter.
The snack:
Whole roasted garlic, chevre, lemon and crostini
The garlic poured out onto the plate in a wave of warm zesty goodness as my butter knife pressed down on a clove. I spread it onto a crostini which was slightly chewy in the center with a golden crispy crust as easily as spreading heated Nutella on a bagel. The textures perfectly complemented each other, and the flavors were divine. I highly recommend having a Duvel with this snack.
If you’re into more carnal southern comforts,
they have plenty here for meat eaters: 
The drinks:
Sazerac
The bartender’s tattoo contracted on his arm as he squeezed a fresh lemon rind on the rim of the glass, modifying the timeless recipe with a bit of tang. Touted as the world’s first cocktail, the deep cherry color of the Sazerac has the power to seduce even the non whiskey drinkers in the room. “It’s like taking a sip out of American history: sweet, strong, to the point, decadent. Most of all, genuine,” Nicholas Adelung, fellow H&F Public House explorer, said when asked to describe the beverage that made me gag.
The Re Animator
I decided that beer before liquor would not make me sicker. Slightly intimidated by the drink’s ingredients: absinthe, gin, and Cointreau, my last hour in the A-T-L deserved this experiment. Easy on the tongue, it felt like running your thumb lightly in a circle onto the tips of your index and middle finger while nodding your head. The drink was surprisingly smooth, considering the alcohol content,and tasted exactly like black citrus licorice.
Approximate time to render animation: 24 minutes
The verdict:
Holeman and Finch Public House is where you’ll find me blissfully embracing the A-T-L next time I visit. This spot was clean, had decent prices, adept servers, a casual atmosphere despite the upscale kitchen, and divine drinks.
Overall: 4.5 stars
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Apr 16, 2009
Posted by VC on Apr 16, 2009 in Musing | 0 comments
To narc or not to narc, that is the question.
I filed taxes for an obviously improperly documented immigrant couple, yesterday. When I called their attention to the fact that the husband’s IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number didn’t match the Social Security Number on his W-2s, the wife initially tried to play like they forgot the Social Security card at home. My face must have revealed my you-must-think-I’m-retarded thought, because the wife subsequently admitted to me that the # on the w-2s was “el numero que usa para trabajar,” not a real number. But if they guy has a real ITIN, then why use that other # to work?
The lady gave me a letter from the IRS Departamento del Tesoro Servicio de Rentas Internas, Philadelphia Campusas proof of an ITIN assignment which was dated 04/18/2005; she told me that she hadn’t received her card yet. Come on, woman. How have you not been busted yet?
I don’t intend to report these people to la migra; I think that Darwinism will take care of things for me. Why bother trying to pay taxes if you aren’t going to present at least a fake SS card with numbers that match up to the one on your W-2s ? Is the IRS scarier than ICE? When you made $4,608 in 2008, you’re not going to get a ton of cash back.
Naturally, I’m processing the file which the IRS rejected for having “typos” in it today. Typos in the sense that the social security number doesn’t match the name on the card. No typos exist, brah. Just poppycock and sugarplum dreams of golden highways. I wonder if by blogging this, I admit to being an accessory to some sort of crime for which I do not have a name.
At this point, I’m uncertain how to proceed. The only good reasons for narcing would be to prevent future penalties against me for not divulging this info to the government entity that hasn’t been bright enough to catch a pair who has lived in the US for at least five years. And to get this file off my stack.
I’m certainly not going to narc out of some patriotic falderah. Perhaps they’ve been slipping through the I don’t really cares for all these years.
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