- Posts tagged writing
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Mediagazer, Techmeme for media stories
The media business is in tumult: from the production side to the distribution side, new technologies are upending the industry. Keeping up with these changes is time-consuming, as essential media coverage is scattered across numerous web sites at any given moment.Mediagazer simplifies this task by organizing the key coverage in one place. We've combined sophisticated automated aggregation technologies with direct editorial input from knowledgeable human editors to present the one indispensible narrative of an industry in transition.
It's worth reading, I think. How do you think?
Blogging has changed my life
"What does blogging mean for you?" That’s one of questions many people (even journalists) frequently asked me. For me, blogging means a lot. I will tell you why.
I left Tempo Daily on March 1, 2007, and started to be a full-time blogger: write tech posts for some established sites and blogs like CNET, SlashPhone and PhoneMag; and then run a Jakarta-based Asia Blogging Network. Two years and half later, I joined an Internet giant company, Yahoo!. As Country Editor for Yahoo! Indonesia, one of my tasks is working with bloggers and online communities.
Talking about the professional blogging's opportunity, there are two models that you can choose if you really wanted to pick blogging as your main job: As a (1) publisher; or (2) freelancer. The first one requires knowledge and skills to monetize your blogs -- you should be an expert on online advertising, referral programs, SEO and so on. Another one just need your skill as a writer-- just write for some sites or blogs and you'll get paid.
I preferred the second one --since writing is nothing new for me. But I need to know the nature of blogging’s tools and communities. That’s why I should start blogging. It’s a new world and we can’t understand it just by relying on our common-sense. I believe that blogging is a kind of “science” –that’s why we need to learn its methodology, theory, medium, community and so on.
I just started to blog [seriously] since the beginning of 2006 when I started to write for my own gadget site called 3GWeek. Written in English, the blog mostly discusses about telecommunications and mobile technology.
Why did I choose technology as a major topic for my blogging? It's simple. I love everything about technology. I was also conducting a small research and noticed that even the big tech blogs were still fighting to seek good writers and bloggers for their publications. That’s a big opportunity, right? I became more convinced that my preferred topic (technology) and medium (blogs) is a good decision…
And blogging is not only about content, but also about community. I found that writing for blogs is a bit different than writing for printing media --in term of interacting with readers. I already wrote a bunch of newspaper's articles for years but I don't know whether the readers like it or not. On the other hand, with blogging, I could get readers’ response quickly. That’s amazing. I learned a lot from them. I try to talk with them, instead of to teach them.
Just about a few months after I started blogging, CNET, the world’s leading tech news portal, invited me to blog for them about Indonesia's technology scenes. Then a U.S. based online publications also offered me to write for SlashPhone, PhoneMag and iPhoneBuzz.
As a blogger, I was invited to some tech events and conferences in Singapore, Beijing, Hong Kong, Stuttgart, Barcelona and Amsterdam. I was also invited to be a jury member for the Deutsche Welle Blog Awards in Berlin (November 2008) and April 2010 (yes, I am now here in Germany to attend the meeting).
So, if you again ask me, what does blogging mean for me? "It means a lot. Blogging has changed my life!"
The Deutsche Welle Blog winners have been selected!
The sixth annual Deutsche Welle Blog Awards has now ended, check out the User Awards winners here.The winners for the Jury Award will be announced tonight at the Friedrichstadtpalast building in Berlin in conjunction with the re:publica conference.
Finally, Pulitzer for new media!
When The New York Times and The Washington Post topped the list of Pulitzer winners --and finalists, that's not a shocking news. But when new media publications like the nonprofit ProPublica and the self-syndicated Mark Fiore on Monday announced to be part of the winners, that's really a big news. At least for new media experts and enthusiasts.
Established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City, the Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition.
2010 Pulitzer Prize winners
Journalism
Public Service - Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier
Breaking News Reporting - The Seattle Times Staff
Investigative Reporting - Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman of the Philadelphia Daily News and Sheri Fink of ProPublica, in collaboration with The New York Times Magazine
Explanatory Reporting - Michael Moss and members of The New York Times Staff
Local Reporting - Raquel Rutledge of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
National Reporting - Matt Richtel and members of The New York Times Staff
International Reporting - Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post
Feature Writing - Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post
Commentary - Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post
Criticism - Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post
Editorial Writing - Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson and William McKenzie of The Dallas Morning News
Editorial Cartooning - Mark Fiore, self syndicated, appearing on SFGate.com
Breaking News Photography - Mary Chind of The Des Moines Register
Feature Photography - Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post
Letters, Drama and Music
Fiction - Tinkers by Paul Harding (Bellevue Literary Press)
Drama - Next to Normal, music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey
History - Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed (The Penguin Press)
Biography - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles (Alfred A. Knopf)
Poetry - Versed by Rae Armantrout (Wesleyan University Press)
General Nonfiction - The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman (Doubleday)
Music - Violin Concerto by Jennifer Higdon (Lawdon Press)
Special Citations
[via Yahoo! News, Pulitzer.org]
Why people blog?
Dan Blank writes an interesting post on why people blog and what we can learn from it.
Even a busy editor still want to blog. Why? The reasons:
“It forces me to connect with others.”
“Readers provide helpful and interesting comments.”
“Enables me to better connect with my audience, and get a better understanding of their focuses and thinking.”
“Blog provides another vehicle for reaching readers.”
“I enjoy having conversations with people I wouldn’t otherwise connect with.”
“It opens a dialogue between me and the industry’s manufacturers.”
That's true! The list really fits with my experience... :-D
Check-out the complete list here
Journalism students turn to Wikipedia
This is another approach in using Wikipedia: for student assignment's tool. There is no doubt it will spark a pros-cons discussion. A nice try though.
Journalism instructors Lynn Schofield Clark and Christof Demont-Heinrich said students are told to check their sourcing carefully, just as they would for an assignment at a local newspaper.
"There's a sense of anxiety about it, because professors have a pretty negative attitude toward Wikipedia," said Demont-Heinrich, who first assigned the Wikipedia writing to students in his introductory course taught during the university’s recent winter semester.
"Students are leery about mentioning Wikipedia, because they might be subjected to criticism. … But I tell them it’s an online source of knowledge that just has some information that might be questionable, but that doesn’t mean you have to dismiss all of [its content."
[via eCampusNews]
Stop launching blogs, start contributing!
It's an interesting discussion. But one for sure: keep blogging!
Chad Mueller of Inspired Magazine said, "Let’s contribute to already established blogs instead of creating new blogs."I know guest blogging isn’t a new concept, but when you are thinking about launching a new blog be sure to weigh out the options. Think about it, what are the main reasons for starting a blog – you want to express your thoughts. Does it really matter where your thoughts are expressed? Established blogs are always accepting guest writers...
[via @enda]
