Observation

Posting about friends

Nicholas Butler - Nov 3, 2007 For me, I like knowing their Twitter profile it says more about where they are at than where they have been or are heading to. That’s a very interesting question… I’ve been pondering it. :) I think for me, I tend to link to people’s websites (when I’m referencing them in a blog post, for example), b/c their website or blog feels to me like the “living room” of their social-networking life.

Posting about friends

When people write about friends should they post their twitter profile page or the websites their friends are working on. I’m asking this question because whilst reading a post today I was interested in the ability to follow these friends and see what they’re up to rather than read the website. Reading a twitterstream is quick. 140 Characters are read almost instantly and adding someone that sounds interesting is instantaneous. As a result I’m far more likely to follow and read a person’s blog if there’s a consistant reminder both of what they’re doing and who they are as a person.

On the Importance of understanding what you are writing about

Nick O’Neill needs to do more research. Most of what he writes is speculative based on two or three months of research rather than sociological research. He goes after trends and gut feelings. As a result whilst his content is interesting to keep a track of it’s not relevant to the type of content I am looking for. Podcasters and social media people need to take a more academic approach to their writing.

why RSS feeds should be complete

Jennifer - Nov 3, 2007 Ironically, your own feed is not complete. :) Maybe you weren’t aware of this, so just wanted to let you know. When I’m reading it offline, it only shows the first few lines and then gives a “…” and you can’t read anymore until I actually go to your website.

why RSS feeds should be complete

When you’re creating web content that’s fed please think about those that are reading your feed from a device that is disconnected. here I am on a train and I’m captive to the content that you make available on your feed. Some feeds have the full article but others don’t. The result of this has a simple consequence. There is no use for your feed on my mobile device since there is no content.

Print advertising and google

The way we’re consuming information has changed completely. i see the freesheets as doomed and look forward to the day when more and more people have ipod touch like devices. I want to see a world where you select the news and information you consume as you’re on the room rather than before setting off. Already I’ve got a taste of the future (although to the occasional few it’s the present).

Black Gold - Documentary about ethiopia and coffee

Whilst in Paris I was given a coffee due to a misunderstanding between the waitress, a friend and I and as a result this was the first coffee I ever finished. It’s almost a week later and I’ve just been to see the documentary Black Gold which discusses the plight of Ethiopian coffee farmers. The documentary is shot in an observational style with the use of intertitles rather than voice over.

503 is an interesting protest documentary.

Whenever I hear that people are protesting I discount this as bored people keeping themselves entertained but upon watching the film 503 I changed my mind. The documentary is about the protests that took place over a period of 503 days when Augusto Pinochet was kept under house arrest in England for his crimes against humanity. When interviewed the protesters explained that these actions were their way of remembering all the disappeared people.

Current Affairs in Podcast Form

There is an increasing number of professional outfits now offering their content in podcast form, from Euronews to the BBC, from Reuters to The Guardian and others. As a result there are a number of great resources for news content. The Media guardian was one of the earlier outputs and concentrated mainly on media news but since then The Guardian have diversified their content output to include a number of news programs.

Jamaican Gang Culture And South African Drug Culture - Unreported World

As I write this I am happy that I have been to watch quite a few interesting documentaries at the Frontline Club. The two most recent were made for Channel 4’s Unreported World. This is channel four’s “acclaimed foreign affairs series” and covers a number of topics. The two documentaries I watched were South Africa: Children of the Lost Generation and Jamaica: Guns votes and money. Both are investigative observational documentaries showing the progress made by the journalists as they try to uncover the stories that other documentary channels cover.