Archive for the ‘internet’ Category

Social browsing with Flock

Posted: April 8, 2008 in internet, Technology
0

If you’re into social networking sites, blogging and sharing stuff you find on the web, you know it can get crazy trying to keep track of it all. Which is why you might want to take a look at a browser you may not have heard of, called Flock. What makes Flock stand out from other browsers is that you can build direct links to things like your Facebook account, MyGoogle, My Yahoo, your blogs, Twitter, Flickr and so on – and makes sharing between them as easy and drag and drop right from a web page. You can also run news feeds and media from YouTube right in the browser as well as keep track of your networked buddies in handy sidebars. Importing bookmarks, cookies and other preferences from other browsers was a snap. If I have one criticism is that there seem to be so many bells and whistles that it can seem a little overwhelming and busy but once you’ve got the hang of it, it might just become your favourite browser. The much improved 1.1 version is out now.

Watch the VodPod

Posted: March 17, 2008 in internet, media, music
0

Hope you like the new VideoBreeze feature in the sidebar. This is courtesy of a cool app called VodPod which lets you save videos from YouTube and elsewhere at the click of a button. I’ll be posting some favourite music videos and other miscellany here from time to time, so check back – or check out the BreezeClips vodpod.

Bad news, good news

Posted: March 17, 2008 in internet, media
0

The state of the American news media is “more troubled” than a year ago, according to the annual State of the News Media Report from the Project For Excellence in Journalism. And online alternatives and bloggers aren’t as influential as some people think. Despite the web’s potential for depth – and the fact that more people are going online for news than ever – the report says news isn’t as democratised as some would believe: 

Even with so many new sources, more people now consume what old media newsrooms produce, particularly from print, than before. Online, for instance, the top 10 news Web sites, drawing mostly from old brands, are more of an oligarchy, commanding a larger share of audience, than in the legacy media. The verdict on citizen media for now suggests limitations. And research shows blogs and public affairs Web sites attract a smaller audience than expected and are produced by people with even more elite backgrounds than journalists. 

 

However, the report notes the nature of news reporting on the net is changing significantly thanks to the influence of “citizen media”:

More media sites are taking the reader away from the “walled garden” – their own content – linking to once-taboo outside sources or even inviting in third-party content, allowing hunting-and-gathering consumers to act more directly on their preferences rather than being led to them.

Citizen media are also growing in ways unmistakable and engaging . Web sites run by citizen journalists are multiplying – rapidly approaching 1,500 heading into 2008 – offering stories, blogs and videos. And that trend is considered a healthy one by professional journalists, who call on citizens more frequently to inform their reporting.

The journalism of the future increasingly appears to be a hybrid that takes advantage of the technology rather than fights it. But the questions of who will pay and how they will do it seem more pressing than ever..  

Older Entries
Newer Entries