Waking news regimen
I am sure that I will one day learn that starting one’s day with news briefs, tweets, podcasts and the like is entirely unhealthy, likely causing some form of insanity or depression. But for the time being, I am enjoying my breakfast along with as much information as I can cram into my mug, bowl and toaster oven.
- I am woken by the most pleasant chorus of bells I could find. So pleasant, that I go to bed afraid that I may just sleep through it. Here I see opportunity for innovation: an alarm of news reports, with no need for me to activate it. What better way to get going than learning about something else that is already going on in the world while I have been laying about?
- Until my news alarm is realized, I cue up ‘Winston‘ on my iPhone. An app recommended by my friend @PE_feeds, it presents the latest information—-social updates, weather, headlines, stocks—-in a voice that refined & robotic voice. I would like to see this integrated audio news briefs, as Winston can be a bit too heavy on what my social networks said about something on TV last night.
- As I make my way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, I am listening to audio news briefs on my mobile via the TuneIn app. I go with Sky News, BBC, CBC & NPR for their hourly (or so) news updates. The app can be slow & unwieldy, but the briefs give me a broader sense of what is out there that does’t require hands or eyes which are needed for breakfast detail. Here, I would love to see the briefs more integrated (less user manipulation) and of course on more reliable connection than my home WiFi or wireless network.
- Over breakfast, I slide into Twitter, first checking a list I have built of news accounts: mostly breaking news sources, a few reporters, and accounts that I am involved with that I need to know what the last thing they covered was. Scroll through this over a couple of sips of milk, and I know what is going on at that moment (at least according to these accounts). I would love suggestions of how to supplement this list, which can be found HERE.
- Setting off, I hope to know what I am heading off to, i.e. the news items of the moment. With this accomplished I set to accounting for incoming messages: emails, pings, texts, voicemail, @ replies and the like. Fire off a quick reply, or mark it for follow up.
- Back to Twitter fishing for more developing stories (via the Tweetbot app). If Tweetbot croaks on us in the coming months (as some Twitter third-party apps are), I do not know what I am going to do to replace it. Suggestions?
- In transit I will visit larger news organizations on my mobile device, often through their app, Twitter account, or RSS feed. For scanning the stories contained here, I go with Tweets or RSS posts as they have a time-stamp easily available so I can know where the story stands in relation to the already fast moving world. Next, the Breaking News app which also presents the headlines in chronological article. I don’t pursue the stories further here, but rather get the target then take my search outside the app. I believe I do this so as to be more immersed in the story as it is originally presented. For digging into articles, I tend to go with the news organization app (if they have one), for example the NYTimes app. In this phase, I am looking for a larger perspective of “what’s going on?” and perhaps some inspiration or food-for-thought in one of the pieces I dig in to.
- At my ‘work station’ (desk), I access email. Messages from people to me, and a couple of newsletters that arrive overnight. I have these mass-mailers filtered to a folder that I scan, and open or delete as I see fit. Most valuable here is POLITICO’s Playbook and Morning Money, along with Newser. Even though this is a more antiquated channel, I find it quite valuable to get a bit more about what is going on, & in the case of POLITICO’s offerings, what is expected.
- Next, RSS feeds via Google Reader. Organized by subject matter and value, I get a look at what happened since I last checked on them, and pick out what to pursue from there on out. Some I visit the actual website to get the full exposure, some I share to Twitter, some I skip, some I save for later reading via Pocket, some I flag for follow up. At this point, I am starting to lose track of items to keep on hand for the immediate, as well as things to visit later (i.e. starred, saved). Would love to hear how others keep inventory of the items to spend more time with!
I will cut off my morning information regimen here. The rest of the day consists of iterating between these different channels, turning them on and off and working with the contents.
Where am I vulnerable? Is this too much? Too narrow of scope? Feedback is essential to my growth and I hope the discussion could help both of us.
This entry was written by , posted on April 6, 2013 at 11:41 pm, filed under Uncategorized and tagged information, internet, media, morning, news, productivity, routine. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Sabotage in Breaking News
Gjven the pace of news media, more news organizations are empahasizing or incorporating “Breaking News” in their programming and strategy. Good for them. The immediacy and intensity can encourage civic engagement. But challenges remain in the news, and indeed new ones arise with affinity for speed and immediacy.
For example…
I was reading a USA Today article, something I rarely do, and rather enjoying their new page layout. A aptly-sized red alert banner popped up over the top of the page, informing me of a red-hot breaking news story.
[Click]
But the zinger of a lede, flashy display and my craving for scoops were all sunk by this:
A screen-consuming ad for LOL videos. Not the best way to keep a news-junkie strung on. I ended up reading nothing and watching no LOL videos.
This entry was written by , posted on February 8, 2013 at 7:18 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Shark Tracker Makes The Internet So Much More Wonderful
The problem with following journalists on Twitter is that they post a lot of junk (not excluding myself). Wait, that is just a problem with media. But I was assured today that buried beneath all the mud, there be treasure. Treasure of undeniable value. Think Shark Week, all the time.
This 3,456 lb Great White Shark is cruising off the coast of Philly right nowbit.ly/N4w5QX twitter.com/ABBruns/status…
— Alex Bruns (@ABBruns) January 28, 2013
This is what I saw. Be it real or not, I enjoy sharks. In this case, Mr. Alex Burns was sharing this incredible specimen being tracked on a slick new site, Shark Tracker, “where you can observe the navigational pattern of sharks that have been tagged with satellite tracking technology all for the purpose of shark conservation.” Among the beauties they are tracking now is Mary Lee, the shark that came across my Timeline.
The fine people at OCEARCH (the non-profit behind Shark Tracker) have nice profile (16 ft., 3456 lbs., eyes of steel) of Mary Lee. Mary Lee’s vanity shots are wonderful. I would love to post them, but OCEARCH has staked their copyright claim, so instead I will urge you to go visit their site, and meet Mary Lee: http://bit.ly/N4w5QW http://www.OCEARCH.org
This entry was written by , posted on January 29, 2013 at 5:45 am, filed under Uncategorized and tagged map, marine, ocean, shark, shark tracker. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
University of Chicago panel on gun politics
A good friend of mine was involved in the production of panel on gun politics at the University of Chicago. The panel was world class: Tom Brokaw, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, columnist Steve Chapman, and University of Chicago Crime Lab Director Jens Ludwig. I cannot wait to hear the discussion, which should come out next week. For more info, visit the U of Chicago news site.
@tombrokaw interviewed by MaroonTV after our #GunPolitics panel twitter.com/UChiPolitics/s…
— UChicago Politics (@UChiPolitics) January 16, 2013
This entry was written by , posted on January 16, 2013 at 4:56 am, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Your email is not yours
With social networks and cloud storage abundant, email often gets overlooked as a vulnerability to user privacy. Sadly, not even a tool as widespread as email (I have an email address of a bird) is exclusive to the user.
For this, we can credit The Stored Communications Act. The Act, originally written in 1986 (yes, the eighties), makes it legal for law enforcement to access data stored on servers longer than 180 days. Back in 1986, it was reasoned that most data would have been removed from servers by this point, but that is certainly not the case today. While you may have difficulty tracking down that email from a special someone from years ago, I am sure there are legions of goverment data sleuths who could do so.
Sen. Patrick Leahy attempted to pass a bill that would have made a warrant necessary to access emails from any date, BUT that didn’t pan out.
If you would like to verify that email is being accessed or need some interactive-map fun, Google has a Transparency Report where you can track attempts of government bodies to access user data and other neat Internet things. google.com/transparencyreport.
This entry was written by , posted on January 6, 2013 at 10:23 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Saturday
And this page is boring. Consider this a place holder.
This entry was written by , posted on December 9, 2012 at 12:52 am, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Citebite
Citebite is a new tool to me, and it has quickly made it into my bookmarks toolbar. Citebite generates a link directly to selected text within a website. I have found it useful for sharing targeted content with others, as well as a means to highlight something I would like to recall.
The simple interface takes a chunk of text and the URL of the page containing the text and in return get a link that opens directly to your selection and highlights it.
Give it a go. Send poignant quotes to your colleagues, friends and yourself.
This entry was written by , posted on October 14, 2012 at 5:16 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Another word for Wordnik
Recently came across Wordnik, and have been growing more fond of it each day. Initially, it was a utility: looking up words, finding synonyms and the like. I discounted the romantic claim from Wordnik’s “About” page: “Wordnik is a new way to discover meaning.” I can now appreciate this.
Give Wordnik a word, and it will return definitions, examples, related words, lists, comments, images and audio. There is also a community (meh), a Word of the Day and random words. To boot, the site is well designed, making it enjoyable to browse. Thus, my brief synonym consult turns into a deep-dive exploration of language.
Kudos to you Wordnik, you have been bookmarked.
This entry was written by , posted on September 15, 2012 at 4:55 am, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Notes from the selection of Paul Ryan as Romney’s running mate
Following the national news of the day, some of the interesting items said and learned about Paul Ryan and the state of the election.
“If the ticket was a new home, envision Governor Romney painting the outside of the house and Paul Ryan painting all the rooms, inside, which are the details that the new buyers fall in love with.”
- Brad Dayspring, former top aide to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), as told to BuzzFeed.Mr. Ryan is the most conservative Republican member of Congress to be picked for the vice-presidential slot since at least 1900. He is also more conservative than any Democratic nominee was liberal, meaning that he is the furthest from the center. (The statistic does not provide scores for governors and other vice-presidential nominees who never served in Congress.)”
- FiveThirtyEight
Paul Ryan Voted To Eliminate EPA Limits On Greenhouse Pollution.
Paul Ryan Voted To Block The USDA From Preparing For Climate Change.
Paul Ryan Voted To Eliminate White House Climate Advisers.
Paul Ryan Voted To Eliminate ARPA-E.
- ThinkProgress
Thank God!Now we might have a real election on the great issues of the day.Paul Ryan almost perfect choice.
— Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) August 11, 2012
“The choice is a sort of highly leveraged credit-default swap between the Romney campaign and the party base. Romney’s whole campaign might be an impenetrable framework of lies and fraud, but if it goes bust he just bought a AAA-rated security with the base. Like a prudent manager of a global fortune, he’s covered his worst case scenario and provided an out in case of non-performance.”
- Anonymous comment
Just passed $2 million raised since
@mittromney announced@paulryanvp#RomneyRyan2012
— Andrea Saul (@andreamsaul) August 11, 2012
Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the VP Candidate
[UPDATE 11 August 2012, 15:16 p.m. PST]
News of presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s (@MittRomney) selection of Paul Ryan (@PaulRyanVP) as his running mate spread quickly on Twitter. The conversation peaked at 3,749 Tweets per minute at 9:29 am EDT this morning as Ryan took the stage at a rally in Norfolk, Virginia.
Both Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) tend to perform better in the Index than the candidates at the top of the ticket. But while President Obama (@BarackObama) has generally scored more positively than Governor Romney over the past six weeks, Ryan has most recently generated more positive sentiment than Biden.
“Now would be a good time for that app to go off,” tweeted Ethan Klapper, social media editor at Huffington Post.
- IB Times
The overnight vetting of Paul Ryan.From August, 2010, the Times’ “A Young Republican With a Sweeping Agenda”
From August of this year, Ryan Lizza’s “Fussbudget”
Lizza also shares this photo from Ryan’s high school yearbook, in which Ryan was named “biggest brown-noser.”
Paul Ryan’s classmates vote him “Biggest ‘Brown-Noser.’”twitter.com/RyanLizza/stat…
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) August 11, 2012
Here’s Ryan on C-SPAN in 1998, when he first joined Congress.
Here’s his big ol’ house in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Paul Ryan has a nice house here in Janesville instagr.am/p/OL5-WLi-xR/
— John Dickerson (@jdickerson) August 11, 2012
Some other notes:
First prez election with no military vet on either ticket since 1932.
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) August 11, 2012
Last year we found Florida voters opposed Ryan plan by 16 points, North Carolina voters opposed it by 23
— PublicPolicyPolling (@ppppolls) August 11, 2012
Some early analysis of the pick from Lizza and The Atlantic’s James Fallows (who is not a fan).
The best early analysis is Ezra Klein’s “Seven Thoughts on Ryan”.
But if you’re looking for detail, here is a 290-page opposition research book on Ryan, released by a Super PAC.
Undoubtedly, more to come.
- @pbump
This entry was written by , posted on August 11, 2012 at 9:33 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Paul Ryan VP selection: How it played
Mitt Romney announced his selection of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate for the White House on Saturday, a move that has charged both parties. In front of the USS Wisconsin docked in Norfolk, Va. Romney introduced the 42-year-old congressman as a person who will help lead the country “to widespread and shared prosperity.”
Leading up to Saturday’s announcement there was increasing conversation among press and pundits over Ryan’s potential for the Romney ticket.
On Friday at 11:06 p.m., Romney communications director Gail Gitcho tweeted, “.@MittRomney will announce his VP pick tomorrow in Norfolk. Download the VP app to be the first to know. http://mi.tt/Mitt-VP #Mitt2012.” Shortly thereafter, an press release to reporters trumpeting: “MITT ROMNEY ANNOUNCES VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE IN NORFOLK SATURDAY.” ABC’s Jonathan Karl reported that other frontrunners – Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Minnesota Gov. Pawlenty and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio – had been told they were not the pick. Near early dawn, the Romney app officially announced Ryan as the running mate.
More on the announcement and the Romney campaign at Reuters.
This entry was written by , posted on at 9:15 pm, filed under Uncategorized. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.