In May, I got all excited when David Pogue previewed a new wireless device called the MiFi from Novatel. I’ve used all manner of devices and services to connect to the Internet from wherever, and this device looked like a real step forward.
Archive for the ‘Future is now’ Category
Mark Briggs 
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May 26th, 2009
GonzoCamp report: An emerging role for journalism when mixed with technology
A key role for journalism in the digital age is to provide intelligence to data. That emerged as a common theme running through each of the projects developed Friday at GonzoCamp in Seattle. Now that we are swimming in more data than ever, journalists need to develop technology to help them provide intelligence for that […]
May 21st, 2009
GonzoCamp goals: discover, play, learn
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve encountered this persistent conversation about the future of news and journalism in a digital world. A Senate sub-committee spent three hours on it recently and most cities in the U.S. have had their share of panel discussions and one-day workshops focused on […]
May 15th, 2009
Not a bad time to launch a career
If you were just starting out in journalism and were given the chance to turn back the clock to the 1970s, a golden era for newspapers, would you do it? About half of the young journalists I spoke with yesterday would. The discussion was a kick-off to a full week at the Freedom Forum in […]
April 29th, 2009
Joining forces: it’s time for universities and media houses to work together
Academia, meet industry. Industry, meet academia. Last year I had the honor of participating in a symposium in Chapel Hill, N.C. (in honor of the retiring Phil Meyer) that featured two days of discussion on the topic of journalism education in the digital age. The final conclusion was clear: in these uncertain and disruptive times, […]
April 23rd, 2009
Five things a ‘complete journalist’ should know today
In baseball, a 5-tool player is someone who can hit for power, hit for a good average, runs well, is good defensively and has a strong throwing arm. Basically, this is who you want on your team. It describes a “complete ballplayer.” I thought about this yesterday as I was speaking to a journalism class […]
April 6th, 2009
The future of journalism depends on the future of the Internet
Drop what you’re doing and take 30 minutes to listen to Brooke Gladstone’s interview with Lee Rainie for the latest edition of On the Media. The two discuss the results of the Pew Center’s latest survey on the future of the Internet. No, not even 600 “experts” can predict the future. But the discussion of […]
March 18th, 2009
ABC’s Gibson out of touch, sends college journalists wrong message
ABC World News Tonight anchor Charles Gibson entertained several hundred college journalists and their advisors in New York yesterday. He was witty, warm and engaging (see poor iPhone photo). Unfortunately, he was also dangerously out of touch. The sky is falling and it’s your fault, he told the audience. But you can still make up […]
March 2nd, 2009
Fire starter for Journalism That Matters
Participants in the Journalism That Matters conference at Poynter were asked to bring a “fire starter” to get the discussion going, something “to spark a conversation about the emergence of a new news ecology.” Along with the assignment, we were given four examples of a fire starter: 1) From Rusty Coats, VP Interactive for Scripps: […]
January 13th, 2009
Are you putting the user first?
If you’re editing a news site, are you publishing what users want or what you have? Assuming you have what users want, are you organizing it the way your users would want it organized? Or is it organized based on some legacy notion like print sections? Or worse, is it displayed based on the org […]
