Category Archives: Twitter

February 5, 2010 · 8:43 pm

On Twitter, neither a Luddite nor Biltonite be. Simply be human.

The wrangling about whether Twitter is revolutionary, useful or mindless twaddle simply will not end. Given the continued interest in the microblogging platform in the media, that is perhaps to be expected.

Last month, David Carr wrote in the Sunday edition of the The New York Times that “Twitter will endure,” exploring how he’d initially dismissed the platform and then found it useful. In late January,  The New Yorker‘s George Packer responded to  Carr, deriding Twitter as “information hell” and comparing it to an addiction to crack in “Stop the world.” That brought a flood of attention from online media outlets, including Nick Bilton, lead writer for the excellent Bits blog at the Times, who wrote that “The Twitter train has left the station,” defending Twitter from the point of view of a journalist who has found utility amidst the stream.  On Thursday, Mr. Packer offered a rebuttal, positioning himself as neither a “Luddite or a Biltonite.” Jeffrey Goldberg has now weighed in at the Atlantic, consigning Bilton and others who might share his conviction to the arena of “info freaks.”

Well and good. (At least Goldberg tweets.) Two disclaimers:

1) I am a long-time reader of George Packer’s excellent work in the New Yorker. I found “The Assassin’s Gate” to be one of the best books written about the early stages of the war in Iraq.

2) I’ve found considerable utility in Twitter since I joined in March of 2007.

I don’t expect either truth to be degraded by the spat between Bilton and Packer.

I was, however, surprised that Packer had chosen to criticize a platform that he hadn’t used. Few serious technology journalists, book reviewers, movie or restaurant critics would consider rendering judgment without personal experience. Such considerations don’t hold back millions of Twitter users, bloggers or, I believe, any number of television pundits, but since I admire Mr. Packer’s professionalism, that approach surprised me.

When he wrote “The Revolution Will Not Be Blogged” six years ago, my sense was that, despite his misgivings and evident frustration with pajama-clad pundits, he’d read some blogs, even if he doubted their utility as serious platforms for commentary or criticism. Given the maturation of blogs in the years since (including, I might note, at New Yorker.com), I wonder if revisiting that analysis might have been more useful, rather than dismissing Twitter without first dipping into the ebb and flow of news there.

In his second pass, Packer wrote that he had, in fact, “sought out a Tweeter,” without linking to or identifying that person. Well and good, but perhaps a weak strawman. As a commenter at Packer’s blog reflected, much of the content produced there is ambient noise, or digital “phatics” as Kevin Marks has rightly described them.

Twitter is profoundly social. That’s is why, despite the mindless hype surrounding the phrase, “social media” has had staying power in describing Twitter, Facebook or other platforms that allow two way conversations.

Twitter, like so many other things, is what you make of it. Some might go to a cocktail party and talk about fashion, who kissed whom, where the next hot bar is or any number of other superficial topics. Others might hone in on politics, news, technology, media, art, philosophy or any of the other subjects that the New Yorker covers. If you search and listen, it’s not hard to find others sharing news and opinion that’s relevant to your own interests.

Using intelligent filters for information, it’s quite easy to subscribe and digest them at leisure. And it’s as easy as unfollowing someone to winnow out “babble” or a steady stream of mundanity. The impression that one is forced to listen to pabulum, as if obligated to sit through a dreary dinner party or interminable plane ride next to a boring boor, is far from the reality of the actual experience of Twitter or elsewhere.

There’s also genuine utility there for the journalists who choose to experiment. When stories break, we can use it for real-time news and information. In the case of Haiti, Twitter was relevant, immediate and helpful, given that phones went down and the Internet stayed up. NPR was able to use Twitter and Skype to find sources on the ground. Disaster relief agencies were able to coordinate with one another. And in one notable instance, Doctors Without Borders was able to call attention using Twitter at @MSF_USA to the fact that its plane was getting turned away. Ann Curry heard them and helped to amplify the issue:

“@usairforce find a way to let Doctors without Borders planes land in Haiti: http://bit.ly/8hYZOK THE most effective at this. 11:52 AM Jan 17th”

Packer and others are right to caution against hype and techno-worshipers. On balance, however, Packer errs in tarring much of the online community with a broad brush.

One passage in particular stands out: “There’s no way for readers to be online, surfing, e-mailing, posting, tweeting, reading tweets, and soon enough doing the thing that will come after Twitter, without paying a high price in available time, attention span, reading comprehension, and experience of the immediately surrounding world.” As Marc Ambinder tweeted earlier today, “I read many, many books in 2009. Including yours. And I Tweet.”

The same is true for me, and for many others. I read much of the New Yorker, the Economist and the Atlantic each month, along with numerous newspapers and technology blogs or trade publications online. (I write for one of the latter.) I also read on average 2-3 books every month, depending upon the rigor of travel, conferences or other factors. I also dip in and out Twitter throughout the week. That may not be an ideal information diet for everyone but for this tech journalist, it works. Even if I miss a story, it’s extremely rare that my network of friends and sources won’t find it and share it.

That’s why this “social news” phenomenon has become of keen interest to Google, as evidenced by the inclusion of social search into its results.

I share Packer’s concern about how the use of the Internet is changing literacy, critical thinking and creativity. Well and good, if not exactly novel. I look forward to more research on how and where those effects are found. I find hypotheses that place high consumption rates video games, television and movies is at the heart of poor information literacy instead of the wired world more convincing.

As for another comment regarding the tweets that flew about Ann Curry being stuck in the elevator, I share the amusement from the perspective of the man who sat next to that remarkable woman for ninety minutes. (So did the folks at Gawker, who wrote about the elevator incident at length.) Ann and I talked about Haiti, changes in media, religion, the utility of the iPad and yes, Twitter, all gloriously offline and in depth. I enjoy that memory; there’s a lovely montage of images up at GeoGeller.com, whose camera took the excellent shot below.

The fact that the world knew we were all stuck in that elevator was merely amusing, however, as opposed to a critical message that would best be conveyed to a 911 operator. We all found the intercom more useful than our smartphones, given the awful reception.

Sharing our experience with our networks of friends, however, was a natural extension of life in 2010. It certainly wasn’t breaking news but the act of communicating about it offered me, at least, an opportunity to interact with a broader audience of other humans around globe. That’s an unalloyed good.

I agree that “cheerleading uncritically” is not useful, nor a mentality that any writer should adopt. I do not share Packer’s conviction, however, that the news landscape can’t be occupied by more technological platforms, including reporters tapping away on BlackBerrys. One important example of that is Mark Knoller, the CBS White House correspondent whose tweets read like a they’ve been adapted from a history book already written.

If Mr. Packer would like to meet over coffee in DC to talk further about how life has changed in the age of Twitter, consider this an open invitation. Given my experience with his writing, I am certain that @GeorgePacker would be worth following.

-Alexander B. Howard
@digiphile.

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January 24, 2010 · 7:33 pm

Trends and challenges for social media in 2010

What will the rest of 2010 hold for social media? I’m certain will see collaborative technologies be used to cover events and disasters on the real-time Web.

I’m also certain that three issues will dominate the space over the next year:

Identity, Privacy and Security.

Below is an interview where I talk about precisely these issues from Twtrcon:

As you’d imagine, there is no shortage of other opinion on what else the year will hold in social media. For other takes, try:

I left the following comment on Chris’ post:

I suspect the Fortune 500 will go looking for talent to bring in-house, if early adopters aren’t available internally. There’s still a high ceiling — and need — for decent corporate blogs, authentic social media managers and innovative internal implementations of social computing platforms.

Aside from personnel, it’s fun to think about the bigger picture, too. Government is increasingly a big player in this space, as is Google. Social is going to be more mainstream and have more money flow into it than ever before, if marketing investment projections line up.

Here’s hoping that the snake oil is wrung out in the process. I suspect another casualty may be the word “social” itself, as I commented at length on Andy McAfee’s blog. Collaboration and results are in, hype and hysteria are out.
Protecting identity, security and trust will plague adoption of all of these platforms, whether they’re in the public or private space. If we’re giving away our data, social graphs, interactions and transactions, we’ll expect to retain our identities, credentials and privacy. Companies that abuse that relationship will experience viral backlash that beggars the ire we’ve seen to date.

What do you think? What are the trends in collaboration technology that will matter this year?

Please let me know in the comments or reply to @digiphile on Twitter.  I’ll be speaking tomorrow at the inaugural Social Media Breakfast in Washington, D.C. on this very topic.

Update: Here’s the presentation on Social Media Trends for 2010 from Prezi.com.

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January 13, 2010 · 2:07 am

Covering disaster on the real-time Web: Haiti earthquake

Earlier tonight, there was a major earthquake in Haiti.

Reports of seismic activity trickled online about six hours ago and then grew into a torrent.

Since then, CNN, the New York Times, NPR, WSJ, LA Times and thousands of other outlets have covered the news of the aftermath of a major natural disaster in the poorest nation in Western Hemisphere.

Tragedy unfolding in real-time.

I saw the first report of the earthquake in Haiti on Twitter, through Deb Dobson, when she tweeted a report from @WXII:

“AP: A strong 7.0 earthquake has hit the impoverished country of Haiti where a hospital has collapsed.

When I clicked over, Google real-time search for “Haiti earthquake” had already begin rolling.

No geolocated tweets had begun to show up when I did a geolocated search within 50 miles of Haiti on Twitter

That changed quickly.

Geolocated tweets from within 200 miles of #Haiti began coming in after the #earthquake‘s main force had hit. And searchers began to pick up local accounts, including overservers like @laurahertzfeld. She picked out @fredodupoux @danloprod and @futurehaiti.

Sharp-eyed picked up on the reports and put it out on the new wire – the real-time Web. After the story broke, the @LATimes reported that there had been multipled aftershock reported for #Haiti, with the initial #earthquake‘s epicenter 10miles inland. Given that location a tsunami was unlikely.

Using advanced search, I was able to find other people tweeting about the #earthquake near Port Au Prince, like @troylivesay and InternetHaiti.

I found that Andy Carvin was following the same electronic channels in real time. He created a NPR’s list of people tweeting from Haiti, adding sources as he discovered them from suggestions from his thousands of followers and his own geolocated searches. A story quickly went up at NPR.org that was updated with details as the story developed.

I heard CNN interview @Wyclef Jean soon afterwards. Wyclef was apparently on the phone with someone in Haiti when quake hit.

Not long after that,@CBSNews tweeted a statement from President Obama: “We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti.”

Within the hour, pictures of the earthquake’s aftermath began to emerge on Twitter, shared on Twitpic. @cristianrguez shared these shots: http://twitpic.com/xurlj http://twitpic.com/xurol

It’s this grainy pic, however, http://twitpic.com/xuthn, that’s on the front page of CNN.com, the LA Times and NPR.org. It’s on the image above.

It wasn’t long before more pictures of the disaster began to stream online. Marshall Kirkpatrick retweeted @RodrigoBNO, who tweeted “the first pictures from Haiti, now via Twitter: http://twitpic.com/photos/marvinady

@TroyLivesay, again geolocated in Haiti, tweeted that “Tipap made it from Carrefour – saw many dead & injured along the way – most buidings w/more than 1 story are down”

By that time, other media organization had made lists sources on Twitter that were near the disaster, including reporters and editors who were curating the stream.

CNN made a list: @CNN/haiti

And so did the @LATimes/haiti-quake

Add that to @NPRNews/haiti-earthquake and there were three columns of real-time news to watch stream in.

And then, hours after raw pictures from the real-time Web had streamed onto Twitter and into Google’s index, the New York Times posted an arresting gallery of earthquake pictures from Haiti.

Now, real-time will shift to real work, as disaster relief is surged to Haiti.

The extent of the damage will only become clear as more cameras and connectivity arrive in Haiti.

For now, the world has seen again how information can spread through the virtual reflectors of the online world. In 2010, fiber optic cables link media outlets in much the same way, connecting humans to one another in much the same way as axons connect neurons in a cybernetic brain.

Even in the worst of times, the current ability of humankind to detect harm and direct resources towards healing wounds to populations can be breathtaking. The digital tools available to nimble editors for informing the audience of what’s happening in real-time by curating online media are unprecedented. And the ways that individuals can directly reach out to help those afflicted are powerful.

How you can help:

As Britt Bravo at BlogHer shared:

• The American Red Cross is accepting donations for its International Response Fund. You can follow their work on the American Red Cross Disaster Newsroomblog, and on Twitter at @RedCross.

• U.S. Fund for UNICEF also needs donations. According to their press release:

“Funds are urgently needed to provide safe water, temporary shelter systems, essential medical supplies etc. . . . Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has a population of 9.6 million inhabitants, of which more than half are under 21 years old.”

You can follow UNICEF’s work on their Field Notes blog, and on Twitter at @UnicefUSA.

• Mercy Corps is deploying an emergency team, and is asking for donations. You can follow their work on the Mercy Corps blog, and on Twitter at @mercycorps.

• According to their Twitter feed, Oxfam America is already on the ground in Haiti and is asking for donations. You can follow them on the Oxfam America blog and on Twitter at @oxfamamerica

• Musician Wyclef Jean, who established Yéle Haiti, tweeted, “Help Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501 501 right now please RT.” You can follow him on his blog, and on Twitter at @wyclef.

The next twenty four hours will be crucial. As Marc Ambinder tweeted, “from what I can gather, Obama is still up and working on response to the Haiti earthquake.the President was still up at 1 AM. Virtually everything I hear from folks in the know begins with “bad, bad, bad.” A catastrophe upon a catastrophe.”

Here’s hoping the digital tools that communicated the news can be used to help those in dire need.

UPDATE: Chris @Sacca has shared 6 ways that you can help in Haiti. His post and further annotations for each link are worth reading.

1) Text “HAITI” to “90999” to donate $10 to the Red Cross

2) Text “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti

3) Donate to Partners in Health (click here) — PIH (@pih_org)

4) Donate to Architecture for Humanity (@archforhumanity) (click here)

5) Donate to @charitywater (click here)

6) Learn more about Haiti

UPDATE II: Brock Meeks posted the following video of the earthquake from YouTube.

UPDATE III Raw footage from after the earthquake ended. Warning: graphic images of death, destruction and grief.

UPDATE IVJournalism professor Dan Kennedy wrote thoughtfully about citizen media and the earthquake in Haiti. As he writes there, Global Voices has a posted “a compilation of tweets and photos and a digest of what bloggers in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean are saying.”

CNN’s iReport also has put together a page on the Haitian earthquake.

UPDATE V: By the end of Wednesday, the New York Times had also assembled a number of useful list of Twitter accounts related to the earthquake in Haiti:

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January 2, 2010 · 12:14 am

George Washington’s Rules for Social Media

George Washington will always be counted amongst the greatest citizens of the United States, for any number of reasons. The first President of the United States was far from a perfect man, given his history as a slave owner, but his contemporaries saw in him a rare nobility of character that still distinguishes Washington today. My heart may lie with Franklin, my spirit with Jefferson, and my mind with Hamilton… but Washington lays claim to respect, for any number of good reasons.

Last year, I came across a list of rules for civility and decent behavior that were ascribed to him by the editors of Foundation Magazine. Their origin?

According to the article:

“By age sixteen, Washington had copied out by hand, 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. They are based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595. Presumably they were copied out as part of an exercise in penmanship assigned by young Washington’s schoolmaster.

The first English translation of the French rules appeared in 1640, and are ascribed to Francis Hawkins the twelve-year-old son of a doctor.”

It struck me as a worthy mental exercise to adapt each to the present day online culture.

The following “rules” are interpretation of his intent, not President Washington’s words.

Make of them what you will and share them as you like.

Note Bene: As I observe below, everyone will use social media differently. A given person’s position, industry or context may mean a given suggestion doesn’t make sense.

And as my friend Paul Gillin has written, it’s important to recognize when to avoid using social media.

As we look ahead to the new year ahead, astute observers may even ditch “the s word” in favor of collaborative media. I’ve commented that I’m open to that terminology when if it comes into wider use.

[Image Credit: wallyg on Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]

For now, here are “George Washington’s Rules for Social Media.”

On the left is Washington’s original phrase. To the right, my interpretation.

Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present. Every public update to social networks should be made with respect for your audience.
When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually Discovered.
 When you’re on the webcam, keep your hands above board and out of your nose.
Show Nothing to your Friend that may affright him. Don’t post NSFW pictures or links to them on the enterprise social network. Or mask them in links on public ones.
In the Presence of Other, Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet. Don’t hum on conference calls or on Skype, nor tap on the table.
If You Cough, Sneeze, Sigh, or Yawn, do it not Loud but Privately; and Speak not in your Yawning, but put Your handkerchief or Hand before your face and turn aside. No coughing, sneezing, sighing or yawning while on a call. Unless you’re on mute.
Sleep not when others Speak, Sit not when others stand, Speak not when you Should hold your Peace, walk not on when others Stop. Stay awake in meetings, bring enough chairs, listen first, don’t stay and chat on empty IRC threads.
Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chamber half Dressed. Avoid NSFW avatars on public social networks, or bathrobes on Web conferences.
At Play and at Fire its Good manners to Give Place to the last Commer, and affect not to Speak Louder than Ordinary. Whether you’re online or at home, welcome guests and don’t shout. (NO CAPS, friends.)
Spit not in the Fire, nor Stoop low before it neither Put your Hands into the Flames to warm them, nor Set your Feet upon the Fire especially if there be meat before it. Don’t bury shared bandwidth during the day with P2P filesharing. Don’t dry out your socks in the office microwave.
When you Sit down, Keep your Feet firm and Even, without putting one on the other or Crossing them. Ergonomics will help Web workers avoid repetitive stress injuries. Avoid slumping, position keyboard properly.
Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails. You don’t need that fourth Red Bull. Nail clippers are a helpful gadget to be used at home. Easy to type with shorter talons.
Shake not the head, Feet, or Legs roll not the Eyes lift not one eyebrow higher than the other wry not the mouth, and bedew no mans face with your Spittle, by approaching too near him when you Speak. Truly listen first to what someone else says or read it through with care. Avoid instant “WTF” or “FAIL” comments. Respect the intellect of others.
Kill no Vermin as Fleas, lice ticks &c in the Sight of Others, if you See any filth or thick Spittle put your foot Dexterously upon it if it be upon the Cloths of your Companions, Put it off privately, and if it be upon your own Cloths return Thanks to him who puts it off. If you must block spammers and trolls, do so quietly and without malice. Inform the community moderator and move on. If you see the opportunity to vote down nasty comments from a discussion thread, do so for the community’s sake.
Turn not your Back to others especially in Speaking, Jog not the Table or Desk on which Another reads or writes, lean not upon any one. Be mindful of generational or vocational differences around the use of smartphones in person. Don’t lean on the keyboards of others.
Keep your Nails clean and Short, also your Hands and Teeth Clean yet without Showing any great Concern for them. Keep your Web design clean and simple. What are people there to do? Help focus that user interface on those tasks.
Do not Puff up the Cheeks, Loll not out the tongue rub the Hands, or beard, thrust out the lips, or bite them or keep the Lips too open or too Close. A goofy avatar may express your personality and professionalism perfectly. Then again, it may not.
Be no Flatterer, neither Play with any that delights not to be Play’d Withal. Don’t mindlessly RT, share or echo the insights of others. If you admire someone, tell them as much and share content because of its worth, not because of social gain.
Read no Letters, Books, or Papers in Company but when there is a Necessity for the doing of it you must ask leave: come not near the Books or Writings of Another so as to read them unless desired or give your opinion of them unasked also look not nigh when another is writing a Letter. Think again before addictively checking your email or texting next to someone. If you have to, explain why it’s important. If you see someone else’s private messages, don’t comment unless invited to do so.
Let your Countenance be pleasant but in Serious Matters Somewhat grave. Tune your speech, replies and links to the context of the conversation they are being shared within.
The Gestures of the Body must be Suited to the discourse you are upon. Use language appropriate to the forum you are speaking within. In general, don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your mother to see.
Reproach none for the Infirmities of Nature, nor Delight to Put them that have in mind thereof. Don’t mock anyone because of social facts, nor celebrate the mockery of others.
Show not yourself glad at the Misfortune of another though he were your enemy. Don’t publicly celebrate the failures of competitors.
When you see a Crime punished, you may be inwardly Pleased; but always show Pity to the Suffering Offender. Share the news of verdicts or fines but do so, if possible, with empathy.
Do not laugh too loud or too much at any Public Spectacle. Share your humor, your goodwill and the reasons for it — but don’t overloard the stream of others.
Superfluous Complements and all Affectation of Ceremony are to be avoided, yet where due they are not to be Neglected. Show respect for the time and experience of others. Use concise greetings and salutations in social messaging. Get to the point quickly.
In Pulling off your Hat to Persons of Distinction, as Noblemen, Justices, Churchmen &c make a Reverence, bowing more or less according to the Custom of the Better Bred, and Quality of the Person. Amongst your equals, expect not always that they Should begin with you first, but to Pull off the Hat when there is no need is Affectation, in the Manner of Saluting and resaluting in words keep to the most usual Custom. Introduce yourself or provide context when initiating a conversation. Treat each person you encounter with respect, until evidence to the contrary is introduced.

 You can learn from anyone, even if it’s how not to do something.
Tis ill manners to bid one more eminent than yourself be covered as well as not to do it to whom it’s due. Likewise he that makes too much haste to Put on his hat does not well, yet he ought to Put it on at the first, or at most the Second time of being asked; now what is herein Spoken, of Qualification in behavior in Saluting, ought also to be observed in taking of Place, and Sitting down for ceremonies without Bounds is troublesome. Relatively, it’s worse manners to remind someone else of a lack of netiquette than whatever deficiency they are showing. Observe proper netiquette when ever entering a conversation, especially when social messages are broadcast to an audience that is unfamiliar with you.

 Look around to see what the established norms for appearance and speech are on a given platform before contributing.
If any one come to Speak to you while you are are Sitting Stand up though he be your Inferior, and when you Present Seats let it be to every one according to his Degree. Respond to @replies, comments and direct messages, if you can. Respect and offer thanks for whomever has taken the time to offer an opinion, with the singular exception of spammers.
When you meet with one of Greater Quality than yourself, Stop, and retire especially if it be at a Door or any Straight place to give way for him to Pass. If you cite the insights or build on the ideas of a bonafide online authority, make sure you link to him or her. Web karma comes around.
In walking the highest Place in most Countries Seems to be on the right hand therefore Place yourself on the left of him whom you desire to Honor: but if three walk together the middest Place is the most Honorable the wall is usually given to the most worthy if two walk together. At conferences, offer the best viewing angles to those who plan to livestream. Share access to outlets.
If any one far Surpasses others, either in age, Estate, or Merit yet would give Place to a meaner than himself in his own lodging or elsewhere the one ought not to except it, So he on the other part should not use much earnestness nor offer it above once or twice. Be gracious in all areas of netiquette, especially to all those, young or old, who are new to a medium or platform. If you receive invitations to betas, try to pass them to those who will actually test the services.
To one that is your equal, or not much inferior you are to give the chief Place in your Lodging and he to who ‘is offered ought at the first to refuse it but at the Second to accept though not without acknowledging his own unworthiness. Make sure it’s easy for everyone to comment upon or share your content. Always attribute to the original source of a link, photo, tweet or story with a hat tip and link.
They that are in Dignity or in office have in all places Precedency but whilst they are Young, they ought to respect those that are their equals in Birth or other Qualities, though they have no Public charge. Founders of companies or other “c-level” executives have the final say in most matters and merit respect. That said, on the Internet, netizens can be from any age, creed or station. An opinion or perspective can have merit on its own, regardless of the source.
It is good Manners to prefer them to whom we Speak before ourselves, especially if they be above us with whom in no Sort we ought to begin. Listen first and give others the opportunity to express a perspective, especially if his or her expertise on a topic exceeds your own.
Let your Discourse with Men of Business be Short and Comprehensive. Get to the point, especially with VCs, CIOs or other business executive. Have an elevator pitch memorized, and a goal for meetings.
Artificers & Persons of low Degree ought not to use many ceremonies to Lords, or Others of high Degree but Respect and highly Honor them, and those of high Degree ought to treat them with affability & Courtesy, without Arrogance. Writers or authors that have earned authority should be respected but not fawned over. Likewise, people in those positions should neither dismiss commenters nor fail to mentor young talent.
In speaking to men of Quality do not lean nor Look them full in the Face, nor approach too near them at lest Keep a full Pace from them. Don’t cyberstalk Web celebrities – or general celebrities and business personalities, for that matter. Everyone deserves privacy, especially with respect to family.
In visiting the Sick, do not Presently play the Physician if you be not Knowing therein. Suggesting drugs or treatments for others online if you are not a physician isn’t recommended. Generally, even doctors will not make diagnoses or treatment recommendations without an in-person examinations. Social media may create new outlets for healthcare. Sharing personal experiences with treatments, diseases or physicians may be helpful. Using online platforms always should be done with an eye towards preserving electronic privacy.
In writing or Speaking, give to every Person his due Title According to his Degree & the Custom of the Place. If you are writing about others, take the time to properly spell names, titles and identify employers or other affiliations, preferably with a link to a biography.
Strive not with your Superiors in argument, but always Submit your Judgment to others with Modesty. Focus on presenting solutions to problems, not in assigning blame. Always look for ways to elevate the good ideas of others.
Undertake not to Teach your equal in the art himself Professes; it Savours of arrogance. Don’t remind savvy bloggers or published authors how to write. If you see a mistake in a link or copy, point it out with tact and, if possible, privacy. Everyone makes mistakes.
Let thy ceremonies in Courtesy be proper to the Dignity of his place with whom thou converses for it is absurd to act the same with a Clown and a Prince. Adopt the conventions of whatever online forum you are in, keeping in mind basic codes of online conduct. Don’t be shocked if gamerspeak about fragging & “n00bs” doesn’t go over well in a healthcare debate.
Do not express Joy before one sick or in pain for that contrary Passion will aggravate his Misery. Be mindful about celebrating business successes or promoting sports and entertainment news during moments of national tragedy.
When a man does all he can though it Succeeds not well blame not him that did it. Recognize good faith efforts to contribute something of value, even if the end result falls short of the quality required.
Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or in Private; presently, or at Some other time in what terms to do it & in reproving Show no Sign of Cholar but do it with all Sweetness and Mildness. Look for ways to correct behavior or express your displeasure in a direct message or email, as opposed to a comment, unless such public commentary serves the greater common good of an online community. Look for ways to lead with a compliment, if possible.
Take all Admonitions thankfully in what Time or Place Soever given but afterwards not being culpable take a Time & Place convenient to let him him know it that gave them. Accept constructive criticism of your words or actions with grace. If you were not at fault for a given outcome, follow up to explain why and suggest a resolution, if possible.
Mock not nor Jest at any thing of Importance nor make Jests that are Sharp Biting, and if you Deliver any thing witty and Pleasant abstain from Laughing thereat yourself. For the few topics don’t lend themselves well to humor, abstain. For the rest, look ways to joke that aren’t demeaning, cruel nor mocking. If you do deliver a perfect one-liner, don’t repeat it until it isn’t funny anymore.
Wherein you reprove Another be unblameable yourself; for example is more prevalent than Precepts. If you’re going to publicly critique another’s social media use, be mindful of whether you’ve made the same mistake. If so, be helpful tactfully.
Use no Reproachful Language against any one neither Curse nor Revile. Skip the curses, misogyny, racism or any other sort of ‘isms that come to mind.
Be not hasty to believe flying Reports to the Disparagement of any. Follow rumors, bad news & smears to a primary source to judge validity, particularly before sharing them with your network. Alternately, quote attribution for such news, allowing your audience the opportunity to debunk it.
Wear not your Cloths, foul, ripped or Dusty but See they be Brushed once every day at least and take heed that you approach not to any Uncleaness. Make sure to take a good, clear picture for your avatar. Or use high resolution logos for a corporate identifier. Check your blog or profile pages against multiple browsers make sure templates or CSS code display correctly.
In your Apparel be Modest and endeavor to accommodate Nature, rather than to procure Admiration. Keep to the Fashion of your equals Such as are Civil and orderly with respect to Times and Places. Stay away from busy backgrounds, garish color schemes or eye-popping animations. Assume users will be browsing your content on mobile browsers, too.

 Observe Web standards for accessibility.
Run not in the Streets, neither go too slowly nor with Mouth open go not Shaking your Arms kick not the earth with R feet, go not upon the Toes, nor in a Dancing fashion. Don’t overwhelm your followers or audience with status updates or banal content. Focus on being useful, not being first.
Play not the Peacock, looking every where about you, to See if you be well Decked, if your Shoes fit well if your Stockings sit neatly, and Cloths handsomely. Be considered about adopting the newest trend in avatars or adding so many widgets or script to a page. Load time matters.
Eat not in the Streets, nor in the House, out of Season. Be thoughtful about sharing sports news or spoilers from highly anticipated movies until the next day.
Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for ‘is better to be alone than in bad Company. We are informed by those we follow. We are defined by those who follow us.
In walking up and Down in a House, only with One in Company if he be Greater than yourself, at the first give him the Right hand and Stop not till he does and be not the first that turns, and when you do turn let it be with your face towards him, if he be a Man of Great Quality, walk not with him Cheek by Joul but Somewhat behind him; but yet in Such a Manner that he may easily Speak to you. When commenting on a blog, in a distribution group or other forum, make sure to read the comments of others before you. Take time to read the post itself and comment meaningfully.

 Acknowledge good contributions and make sure that your comment doesn’t simply echo others or ignore facts that controvert the original post.
Never express anything unbecoming, nor Act against the Rules Moral before your inferiors. Keep in mind that your comments on social media platforms ma reflect upon your employer. They will certainly reflect upon you should you be seeking employment.
Be not immodest in urging your Friends to Discover a Secret. If you need help learning something, make sure it isn’t a fact that can be learnt through a simple search of the Web.
Utter not base and frivolous things amongst grave and Learned Men nor very Difficult Questions or Subjects, among the Ignorant or things hard to be believed, Stuff not your Discourse with Sentences amongst your Betters nor Equals. Tailor your language and references to the conversations you are engaged within, focusing on expressing your point in as few words as possible.
Speak not of doleful Things in a Time of Mirth or at the Table; Speak not of Melancholy Things as Death and Wounds, and if others Mention them Change if you can the Discourse tell not your Dreams, but to your intimate Friend. Death, taxes and war are facts of life. That said, constant reminders of them may not endear you to others unless you’re, say, a war journalist, IRS agent or ER doc.
A Man ought not to value himself of his Achievements, or rare Qualities of wit; much less of his riches Virtue or Kindred. Bragging is rarely attractive. Focus on being useful and relevant, not on sharing what you’ve done or how smart you are, much less your net worth or family connections.
Break not a Jest where none take pleasure in mirth. Laugh not aloud, nor at all without Occasion. Deride no mans Misfortune, though there Seem to be Some cause. Jokes without context don’t work well. It’s easy to mistake sarcasm for cruelty. Humor isn’t welcome in every context. Writing “LOL” also may not convey professionalism, though the need for that is also contextual.
Speak not injurious Words neither in Jest nor Earnest Scoff at none although they give Occasion In general, avoid trashing your company, coworkers or other services in public. HR departments can and will use those comments to pre-screen you. Legitimate issues can easily be expressed constructively and are much more likely to be resolved by doing so.
Be not froward but friendly and Courteous; the first to Salute hear and answer & be not Pensive when it’s a time to Converse. Approach each conversation with positivity. It comes through. Listen to what people are saying about you and thank others for their compliments.
Detract not from others neither be excessive in Commanding. Cede the glory of a link, scoop or witty remark to someone else. Share his or her content. Try to avoid the trap of saying “this is how to use [x] service” unless asked. (There’s some irony of writing this is in the context of this guide. Please forgive its author.)

 Everyone uses social media differently.
Go not thither, where you know not, whether you Shall be Welcome or not. Give not Advice without being Asked & when desired do it briefly. Use PowerTwitter to expand small URLs to avoid phishing or malware. Be mindful of tracking cookies and virus-infected sites, or of allowing unfamiliar third-party Facebook apps access to your data. Thinking before clicking.
If two contend together take not the part of either unconstrained; and be not obstinate in your own Opinion, in Things indifferent be of the Major Side. Argue constructively. Try to understand what someone else’s position or grievance is thoroughly before stating your own position. Take debates that are not helpful to the public private.
Reprehend not the imperfections of others for that belongs to Parents Masters and Superiors. Be helpful, not critical. Be useful, not scornful. Karma can be rough.
Gaze not on the marks or blemishes of Others and ask not how they came. What you may Speak in Secret to your Friend deliver not before others. Humans are by nature imperfect beings. Highlighting the physical, emotional, spiritual or relational imperfections isn’t likely to endear one over time. Avoid “DM fails” at all cost; don’t write anything on a social network, protected or not, that you wouldn’t want everyone to read. Cut and paste is easy.
Speak not in an unknown Tongue in Company but in your own Language and that as those of Quality do and not as the Vulgar; Sublime matters treat Seriously. Write in the language that others in a conversation are using. Use translators integrated into the Web to aid the effort, or the feature in Tweetdeck that does the same. Avoid cursing.
Think before you Speak pronounce not imperfectly nor bring out your Words too hastily but orderly & distinctly. Self-edit and spellcheck twice before hitting send. Get to the point with the best words possible. If you’re podcasting or video blogging, take the time to annunciate.
When Another Speaks be attentive your Self and disturb not the Audience if any hesitate in his Words help him not nor Prompt him without desired. Interrupt him not, nor Answer him till his Speech be ended. Listen first. Read your @replies and comments and, if possible, respond. Wait a beat on webinars and podcasts to ensure that speakers don’t cross over (and to make editing easier).
In the midst of Discourse ask not of what one treateth but if you Perceive any Stop because of your coming you may well intreat him gently to Proceed: If a Person of Quality comes in while your Conversing it’s handsome to Repeat what was said before. Put answers to public question in context; one half a conversation is a challenge. If someone joins a conversation with something substantive to say, offer a quick summary to get him or her up to speed – or provide a link to the thread.
While you are talking, Point not with your Finger at him of Whom you Discourse nor Approach too near him to whom you talk especially to his face. Don’t poke or nudge people. Seriously. Just talk to them.
Treat with men at fit Times about Business & Whisper not in the Company of Others. Focus on sharing hard news that you want to see read on Monday – Thursday mornings. Soft news will play better in the weekends, particularly on sports, entertainment and gaming.
Make no Comparisons and if any of the Company be Commended for any brave act of Virtue, commend not another for the Same. Share links liberally and equitably. If you have a broad audience, try to share the views of those who don’t.
Be not apt to relate News if you know not the truth thereof. In Discoursing of things you Have heard Name not your Author always; A Secret Discover not. Confirm a link goes to where it says it does before sharing it. If your job is to curate news, make it clear where something is sourced and attribute/quote accordingly. Don’t pass on unattributed, unsourced rumor, especially if it’s by anonymous sources. Cultivate a network that does the same. Trust is currency.
Be not Tedious in Discourse or in reading unless you find the Company pleased therewith. Get to the point, both in writing and speaking. Save the 9,000 word rants for a personal blog you aren’t depending upon professionally.
Be not Curious to Know the Affairs of Others neither approach those that Speak in Private. Don’t hack into the servers or Web accounts of others. If you find digital identities or sensitive data online, whether on a P2P site or other board, don’t publish it for profit. Respect the privacy of others.
Undertake not what you cannot Perform but be Careful to keep your Promise. Your word is your bond. If you commit to work, meet that expectation. Don’t overpromise and underdeliver.
When you deliver a matter do it without Passion & with Discretion, however mean the Person be you do it too. When it comes to controversial news, if you choose to pass on news, stick to the facts. If you don’t, understand you’re going to segment or outright lose some audience.
When your Superiors talk to any Body hearken not neither Speak nor Laugh. Save unconstructive criticism of a boss for offline discussions. (Or skip it entirely.) Don’t tweet or update anythiing you wouldn’t want him or her to read.. After all, forgetting that you’ve friended a superior can be worse than embarrassing.
In Company of these of Higher Quality than yourself Speak not til you are asked a Question then Stand upright put of your Hat & Answer in few words. If you’re going to ask a celebrity, politician or busy executive a question, listen first to how or she uses a platform and consider whether an answer is likely. If so, be informed, be polite and get right to the point.
In Disputes, be not So Desirous to Overcome as not to give Liberty to each one to deliver his Opinion and Submit to the Judgment of the Major Part especially if they are Judges of the Dispute. If you’re using social media for a dialogue, as opposed to a monologue, make sure to actually listen to the responses of others. Is your aim to “win the argument” or to get to the truth of the matter being discussed. If the consensus of a community supports a policy decision that you disagree with, voice the difference of opinion with clarity, respect and evidence supporting your contention. An uniformed majority isn’t always right in the long run.
Let thy carriage be such as becomes a Man Grave Settled and attentive to that which is spoken. Contradict not at every turn what others Say. During meetings, be aware that updating a service or focusing on the social media backchannel instead of those present is often a breach of etiquette. Face to face meetings are too valuable to damage the relationship by prioritizing any request that can wait. Listen first, reply with context. And don’t always take a contrary position.
Be not tedious in Discourse, make not many Digressions, nor repeat often the Same manner of Discourse. Keep your copy short and your voice messages even shorter. Brevity is a vertue. Focus on the topic at hand and what you want the reader to take away. Avoid redundancy.
Speak not Evil of the absent for it is unjust. Posting unconstructive criticism or personal attacks to conference backchannels reflects more poorly upon the writer than the speaker.
Being Set at meat Scratch not neither Spit Cough or blow your Nose except there’s a Necessity for it If you’re out to dinner with friends, family or colleagues, focusing too frequently on your smartphone may be regarded in the same way as spitting or burping loudly.
Make no Show of taking great Delight in your Victuals, Feed not with Greediness; cut your Bread with a Knife, lean not on the Table neither find fault with what you Eat. Unless you’re a chef or food critic that adds a lot of flavor to the update, reconsider updating social media platforms with whatever you’re eating. Notable meals deserve recognition, just like good books, movies or any other media form you “consume,” but banal updates about eating humdrum food aren”t likely to endear you to friends.
Take no Salt or cut Bread with your Knife Greasy. Don’t use smartphone touchscreens after eating pizza, fries or other greasy fast good. Especially the devices of others.
Entertaining any one at the table, it is decent to present him with meat; Undertake not to help others undesired by the Master. Unless the circumstance demands extra security or privacy, make it easy for visitors to register to comment or view content. Once acquired, don’t pass out your login credentials to other parties.
If you Soak bread in the Sauce, let it be no more than what you put in your Mouth at a time and blow not your broth at Table but Stay till Cools of it Self. Avoid directly linking to large media files on social media platform unless you offer clear information to readers concerning what users may be clicking upon.
Put not your meat to your Mouth with your Knife in your hand neither Spit forth the Stones of any fruit Pie upon a Dish nor Cast anything under the table. Don’t spam the comments of blogs with unrelated links or simply to promote a product or service. Don’t flood a popular hashtag on Twitter or a Facebook group with links to a similar service, especially if it’s unrelated to the topic.
It’s unbecoming to Stoop much to ones Meat. Keep your Fingers clean & when foul wipe them on a Corner of your Table Napkin. Be aware of both posture and keyboard position. Logging many of typing without care puts you at increased risk of repetitive strain injuries.
Put not another bit into your mouth till the former be swallowed. Let not your morsels be too big for the jowls. Wait for a while between updates, especially if you’re in charge of curating an organization’s content. On Twitter, that might be 15 minutes. On Facebook, the ideal may be closer to 60-90 minutes, at least for NPR.
Drink not nor talk with your mouth full; neither gaze about you while you are drinking. Don’t update social media platform when you’re drunk. Unless you want uncomfortable publicity about drunk tweets.
Drink not too leisurely nor yet too hastily. Before and after drinking, wipe your lips; breath not then or ever with too great a noise, for its uncivil. If a fact seems doubtful, out of place for a user or it’s a breaking news story, take a moment to validate the link and the source before passing it on. Getting it right should often trump posting it first.
Cleanse not your teeth with the table cloth napkin, fork, or knife; but if others do it, let it be done without a peep to them. If you see a breach of social media etiquette, bad link or copy error, try to alert the author to it discretely if possible.
Rinse not your mouth in the presence of others. Take the necessary steps to secure email accounts that control your social media accounts or, says, DNS settings.
It is out of use to call upon the company often to eat; nor need you drink to others every time you drink. Begging for links, retweets or only promoting your own work is neither welcome nor community-minded. Share the best of what others have written or advised. Look for opportunities for reciprocity.
In the company of your betters, be not longer in eating than they are; lay not your arm but only your hand upon the table. If you’re participating in a roundtable or moderating a chat, give equal time to the contributions of contributors.
It belongs to the chiefest in company to unfold his napkin and fall to meat first, but he ought then to begin in time & to dispatch with dexterity that the slowest may have time allowed him. If influential members of a community are given prefential access to the Web, power outlets or other resources in scarcity, offering others the opportunity to log on, charge up or ask questions is an admirable courtesy.
Be not angry at the table whatever happens & if you have reason to be so, show it not; put on a cheerful countenance especially if there be strangers, for good humor makes one dish of meat a feast. Avoid recording video in the heat of an angry moment. If you’ve been treated poorly by an organization, don’t take it out on a online representative if he or she isn’t personally at fault. Offering candid, constructive and critical reviews of bad service, faulty products or unprofessional is beneficial for consumers. Couching feedback in good humor is generally welcome.
Set not yourself at the upper of the table; but if it be your due or that the master of the house will have it so, contend not, least you should trouble the company. If you’re given special treatment, a beta invite or a prototype of the year’s hottest widget, be humble about it. Share details that inform others, as opposed to celebrating privilege.
If others talk at the table, be attentive but talk not with meat in your mouth. If you’re participating in a podcast or chat, wait a second or two after others speak to allow for easier editing.
When you speak of God or his attributes, let it be seriously & with reverence. Honor & obey your natural parents although they be poor. If you must discuss religion in online forums, be respectful and tolerant of differing views. If you become friends with your parents on social networks, be kind: keep submissions to MyParentsJoinedFacebook anonymous.
Let your recreations be manful not sinful. Lean towards offline activities that inform that mind, enliven the spirit or energize the body.
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. “Conscience is an ability or a faculty that distinguishes whether one’s actions are right or wrong.”-WikipediaBefore using any form of social media, consider whether that action – tweet, link, comment, share or update – is ethical. “Google never forgets.” – Seth Godin

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December 21, 2009 · 10:25 pm

Google Wave: Good for a 2009 Year in Review but is it useful for more?

Barb Dybwad over at Mashable picked up on a video by Whirled Interactive where they use Google Wave as vehicle for a clever 2009 Year in Review that breaks down the major news events.

As Dybwad writes, this video shows the potential for Wave as a “video production medium,” like the “Pulp Wave Fiction” movie that Mashable shared elsewhere. And as Adam Ostrow tweeted, the folks over at Whirled Interactive are “super talented.”

As funny as these videos may be, I’m still looking for a personal use case for Google Wave. I’ve been dipping in and out of Wave for months as new people log on and explore. I expected the network effect of having more contacts there to result in some pick up. Enterprise 2.0 is not THAT big of a deal,as Andy McAfee says: what about Google Wave?

The Good

Google proposes any number of functions for Google Wave, including:

  1. Event Organizing
  2. Creation and Management of “Living” Group Projects
  3. Drag-and-Drop Photo Sharing
  4. Creation of “Living” meeting notes
  5. Interactive Gaming

The best way to learn about the software, however, is to read Gina Trapani and Adam Pash’s Complete Guide to Google Wave and to watch this (long) intro video from Google itself:

Lorraine Lawson wrote about Google Wave’s potential for enterprise integration over at IT Business Edge back in June and offered any number of potential use cases. (I have yet to hear about their transition into case studies.) Dion Hinchcliffe was bullish on the potential of the tool when he wrote about the enterprise implications of Google Wave at the end of May. He offered an excellent “first look” review there, for readers who want a more detailed breakdown of what Wave it and how it works.

More recently, Lifehacker included Google Wave on its 5 best collaboration tools, and collected an impressive breadth and variety of Google Wave use cases that range from family life to wedding planning,  disaster relief to translation for research.

The bad

For me, combining a heterogenous suite of wikis, microblogging, email, IM and Skype has continued to be more useful than Wave. As a working environment, I’ve found it to be both noisy, as I watch other contribute, and often unstable.  (I even gave it a try on my iPhone over wifi, an experience akin to pouring molasses down a snowdrift).

My colleague, Rachel Lebeaux, expressed much the same reaction when she wrote about Google Wave as an enterprise collaboration tool. (She found a CIO who is installing a Wave server in her comments; I hope to hear more on that.)

Since then, however, the reaction online has often been withering, due in part to the learning curve required of new users that don’t have the attention span to watch that video or read the manual. For good or ill, people expect to be able to figure out collaborative software without that time investment. The editor-in-chief of TechRepublic, Jason Hiner, put the software at the top of his “worst tech products of the year.” Tough year in review to make:

“After trying Google Wave when the product was released into the wild, my opinion hasn’t changed (and others such as Robert Scoble have come to the same conclusion). Google Wave is basically a super-chatty IM client, and a badly overhyped one at that. The only use I can see for this product is for geographically dispersed project teams collaborating and brainstorming on documents and product development ideas in real time.”

And as Shaun Dakin @replied tonight, “@RWW named it as one of the top 10 products failures of the year, I agree. Solution in search of problem.” To say that Jolie O’Dell was rough on Wave is an understatement:

“We have to hand it to Google’s publicity team; we don’t know one geek who wasn’t positively salivating for a Wave invite. The ReadWriteWeb back channel was a complete melee when the first invites were rolled out to team members. But once we got there and saw the new tech tricks, like watching one another type, we started thinking about use cases. And the more we struggled to understand and use this product, the more frustrated and bored we became. Blame it on the steep learning curve. Blame it on our misunderstanding the product. Mount whatever feeble defense you like, but techies know Wave was a flop.

The trouble-y

Even with all of that negativity, I still have trouble with dismissing Google Wave as a victim of hype. I’ve already read about some innovative use cases for those who can get through the UI challenges. And I’ve met CIOs and CTOs who are interested in what happens next, when Google’s engineers iterate to address user feedback.

Many media organizations are trying out Google Wave for news, as Leah Betancourt shared on Mashable and Lifehacker wrote about above. As she writes:

Additionally, as Revolution Magazine reported, Welt Kompakt, a spinoff of the German daily Die Welt, is among the first newspapers around the world to integrate Google Wave into its coverage.

When I asked if any of my followers had found a use for Google Wave, Wayne Kurtzman @replied that “Google Wave is amazing if people use it as a collaboration tool; not just e-mail. Google does not make it easy to learn how & holds it back. I used Wave to collaborate on a voice over script for a video; elements SoundFX, vid, script, etc. Goog has no resources to teach others. Security, cultural (collab) and our size are challenges. Wave can be a game-changer.”

As quoted in Forbes, Tom Mornini, CTO and founder of Engine Yard, “pointed out recently (see: “The Real Meaning of Google Wave”), the major impact of Google Wave will ultimately come from its power as a development platform for serious, distributed applications.” If you’re wondering at how far Google Wave will get, consider whether enterprise software makers like SAP are taking it seriously as a platform. As Forbes described, SAP Research  used of it in its Gravity demonstration prototype, combining SAP’s business process modeling (BPM) technology with Google Wave.

My colleague Kristen Caretta was balanced  in assessing what Google Wave may mean for IT, offering that Gravity use case. Kristin also wrote that “Salesforce.com is working on a prototype extension to Google Wave that could help its customers provide customized, documented support in their own businesses.”

Attendees at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference in San Francisco this fall were presented with other Google Wave use cases by Google Wave product manager Gregory D’Alesandre, including Novell Pulse and ThoughtWorks. The collaboration tool is certainly part of Google’s plans for its enterprise customers. “Wave will be available as part of the Google Apps suite if you have Google Apps for your domain,” said D’Alesandre.

That might all imply that at least some techies do not, in fact, regard Wave as a flop. Google continues to add more to its development team with the recent acquisition of Etherpad, a Web-based collaboration app that may well be a boost to Google Wave.

As for this geek, caught somewhere in the intertices between journalism and techiedom, I’ll be on the lookout for more enterprise and media use cases. If you have one at hand, please share it in the comments.

Welt Kompakt, a spinoff of the German daily Die Welt, is among the first newspapers around the world to integrate Google Wave into its coverage, Revolution Magazine reported yesterday.
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November 8, 2009 · 8:09 pm

When “we are the media,” how does it change us or society?

The changes that smartphones with camera and an Internet connection are wreaking in society have been both thoughtfully reported upon, relentlessly evangelized and ruthlessly derided, depending upon the angle or intent of the commentator.

The past days will occupy a few lines in the history books. Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a milestone healthcare bill. And earlier in the week, a soldier killed fellow servicemen and women at Fort Hood.

Today, Paul Carr wrote that “citizen journalists can’t handle the truth at TechCrunch.

I agreed with him on a few things. The video from “This American Life” (below) that Carr embedded was deeply affecting on this point, in terms of what becoming an observer can do to our involvement in what we are filming.

Changing an avatar to green or changing a location to Tehran did not, despite good intentions, prove to substantively help students escape repression. I gather from reading accounts from journalists that the solidarity demonstrated by doing so was both noticed and appreciated there. And there was a tipping point in terms of the use of the platform to bring attention to a political cause.

Where I was left frustrated is in Carr’s suggestion that those who are watching should be doing something more, whether in the hospital or, in the case of Neda, on the streets of Tehran, instead of documenting events with the digital tools at hand.

Mathew Ingram posted a thoughtful response about this notion on his blog, “Citizen Journalism: I’ll take it, flaws and all.” David Quigg wrote   a thoughtful reply to Carr’s post as well. Dave Winer was less charitable.

I found the example of Neda to be unworthy of the point I think Carr was trying to make.

It also brushed off two key factors: the effect that the release of that video had in revealing the death of a protester and that of the bullet’s impact itself on her heart.

As Suw Charman-Anderson pointed out in her detailed critique and debunking of Carr’s post, “Killing Strawmen,” (which I won’t repeat here), there was a doctor on-site, who was unable to do anything because of the massive trauma to her chest.

In my limited experience, you provide the standard of care to which you are certified and are able to deliver, ceding primary responsibility to others more able as they arrive on scene. As an EMT couldn’t do much more, for instance, than to gauge consciousness, stanch bleeding, stabilize injuries, provide oxygen and transport people. Your choices must change if someone is in the wilderness but in most scenarios, that’s accurate. Paramedics, nurses, doctors and surgeons each have progressively more expertise and responsibility.

In all of that, communication with the nearest hospital and ER docs available is crucial. Transferring information to both medical professionals and law enforcement is something a bystander can and should do.

And to some extent, communication and documentation is precisely what a member of the public equipped with a cameraphone can contribute, despite the vigor with which Carr has chosen to deride that role.

I don’t doubt that seasoned correspondents, armed with an understanding of the ethics and laws that pertain to reporting, are needed to convey information from the battlefield or to analyze the meaning of the trends that confront us.

In fact, Brock Meeks, one such trusted newsman, made a comment on my post about Twitter lists that emphasized just how important getting the facts right is to both the audience and media.

I was left wondering about other situations where the “citizen journalists” Carr derides are providing an important function in the newsgathering ecosystem, whether in reporting national disasters, disease, voting irregularities or consumer sentiment.

A more calm approach might consider whether models of “hyperlocal” journalism that marry traditional media to online platforms might have a chance of success.

My intention is not to suggest that observers couldn’t play a useful role in a crisis. It was to say that when there are qualified staff on scene, documenting what is happening in the absence of mainstream journalists may be useful for those that follow – including news outlets that may use video or audio gleaned on site.

I agree with Paul that running images shouldn’t occur without a full understanding of the ethics or privacy rights involved.

Unfortunately, many tabloids have shown a poor grasp of either historically.

The fact that technology changes behavior doesn’t make it inherently bad. We’re all struggling to make sense of exactly what living in a modern panopticon created by one another will mean. It changes news, our conception of privacy, and even our perception of self.

The traits for good character and decency that the Greeks described millennia ago remain applicable, however, just as the ethics taught in journalism schools pertain to modern reporters armed with Flip cams, iPhones and a direct line to YouTube.

There will continue to be moments when war correspondents are confronted what choices about how covering conflict, versus participating in it, will mean.

Similarly, people driving by an accident will need to be thoughtful about “playing paparrazzi” as opposed to making sure that those involved are receiving the aid they need. Anyone who has a conflict about whether to “tweet or treat” might to do well to consider what basic human decency means to them, personally.

Does an event need to be documented? Or does calling 911 and then moving to help trump rendering assistance?

Citizens are looking for truth, honesty and facts, where ever we can find them.  That need was frequently the subject of discussion during Public Media Camp, after which I wrote that “2009 is the year of We, the Media.”

Perhaps, as news organizations and citizens alike contribute to the body of knowledge online, a new model for collaborative journalism will emerge that serves each better.

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November 7, 2009 · 6:58 pm

Twitter Lists: We are informed by those we follow. We are defined by those who follow us.

“The power of Twitter is in the people you follow.”-@nytimes

You’ll find that quote at NYTimes.com/Twitter, where the New York Times has built a page of Twitter lists curated by its editors, its writers and, presumably, the help of its considerable audience.

As this feature has rolled out, I’ve read knee jerk criticism, thoughtful analysis, wild evangelizing and observed “lists of lists” be collected as sites like Listorious and Listatlas.com spring up to rank them.

Tech pundits and, rapidly, news organizations have all created lists that offer apply new taxonomies, imposed human-defined categories onto the roiling real-time tweetstream.

Readers are defined and informed by the diversity of the information sources that they consume. In a user-created Web, we are defined by those who choose to follow us, including any lists or tags that they associate with  our names.

It’s been exciting to watch. And if you’re a reader of David Weinberger, author of “Everything is Miscellaneous,” you might recognize this emergent behavior as a familiar phenomenon. Twitter users are using lists to organize one another into understandable taxonomies. Folksonomies, to use the term coined by Thomas Vander Wal.

Users have some control over which Twitter lists they appear upon. If you block a user, for instance, you can remove yourself from that user’s lists, if for some reason you don’t want to appear on it.

What we can’t control, once we make ourselves public there or elsewhere on the Web, is how others tag or list us.

This goes back to what Weinberger (along with Doc Searls, Rick Levine and Christopher Locke) wrote about in “The Cluetrain Manifesto” ten years ago. “Markets are conversations.”

I suspect that in the weeks ahead, both companies and individuals may find themselves on lists that they perhaps would not wish to define as part of their brand identities.

“I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member”

As I quote Groucho Marx, today, I feel fortunate, for two different reasons.

First, to date, I’ve been included on 176 lists, none of which I’m embarrassed or insulted to be on. You can see all of them at “memberships,” which is a friendly way of describing inclusion.

Thank you. I’m humbled.

Second, most of the lists are being used by an individual user to categorize others for providing particular sort of information.

Overall, I’m most closely associated with technology, journalism, security and media. That’s  a good sign, given my profession! I was glad to see that the account I maintain at work (@ITcompliance) has been added to 33 lists, primarily compliance, information security, cybersecurity and GRC.

I’m talking about the right things in the right places.

Certain lists, however, have meant that many more people reading me than would have otherwise because of the hundreds or thousands of people that have chosen to follow them, due to the influence of their creators.  I’m thinking about lists like these, some of which have gone on to become popular at Listorious.com.

@palafo/linkers

@palafo/newmedia

@kitson/thought-leaders

@jayrosen_nyu/best-mindcasters-i-know

@Scobleizer/tech-pundits

@Scobleizer/my-favstar-fm-list

Thank you, fellas.

Like any other tools, lists will no doubt be used for good and ill. An outstanding article by Megan Garber, “Fort Hood: A First Test for Twitter Lists” in the Columbia Journalism Review, shows how news organizations can leverage the feature to curate the real-time Web for the online audience.

The lists—which offer a running stream of information, updates, and commentary from the aggregated feeds—represent a vast improvement over the previous means of following breaking news in real time. In place of free-for-all Twitter hashtags—which, valuable as they are in creating an unfiltered channel for communication, are often cluttered with ephemera, re-tweets, and other noise—they give us editorial order. And in place of dubious sources—users who may or may not be who they say they are, and who may or may not be worthy of our trust—the lists instead return to one of the foundational aspects of traditional newsgathering: reliable sources. Lists locate authority in a Twitter feed’s identity—in, as it were, its brand: while authority in hashtagged coverage derives, largely but not entirely, from the twin factors of volume and noise—who tweets the most, who tweets the loudest—authority in list-ed coverage derives from a tweeter’s prior record. Making lists trustworthy in a way that hashtagged coverage simply is not.

Garber goes further in exploring what role lists may play in journalism’s future, as organizations collaborate with both their audience and one another in curating user-generated content. It’s a great piece. Pete Cashmore, of @mashable, has written more about this at CNN in “Twitter lists and real-time journalism.”

Individuals and news organizations alike can create lists as needed. For instance, as the House debates a historic health care bill here in Washington, you can follow the discussion at @Mlsif/healthdebatelive

As Cashmore points out, in the social, “people-centric Web,” we use our friends as a filter. As Paul Gillin observed,  everything that you’ve learned about SEO may be useless in a more social Web. Google’s new Social Search shows how, if we choose, our search results can be populated with content from our circle of friends.

On Twitter, we can now use the lists from trusted friends and news organizations to curate the real-time Web. That makes them useful, immediately.

And after a week full of public grief here in the U.S., that’s good news.

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October 19, 2009 · 11:48 pm

At the NPR and PBS unconference, 2009 is the year of “We, the media”

John Boland at Pubcamp

John Boland at Pubcamp

“TV, radio and pro journalism still matter in this new ecosystem”-John Boland, PBS.

This past weekend, I attended Public Media Camp, an unconference at American University in Washington, D.C.

I came away from the two days of sessions, talks, informal discussions, random encounters and rapid-fire information exchange inspired, exhilarated and a bit exhausted. That last is why it took a day to get a post up. By its nature, I couldn’t go to everything. What I did attend, I tried to take notes upon and livestream to Livestream.com and uStream. When it comes to the archiving that video, unfortunately, I endured two crashes and suffered from the lack of a decent mic. Happily, much better video will be coming online from other sources over the next week. What follows are my thoughts, links and video from “Pubcamp.”

Citizen Journalism and public media

The first session of the day remains one of the most memorable. Citizen journalists and local bloggers have much to learn from – and about – one another. “We the media” is a theme I pick up later in this post. Suffice it to say that democratization of the tools for information sharing has taken some producers unaware and left many stations understaffed, at least at the level it takes to effectively engage with those in the community creating the content. That said, many NPR editors and writers are doing quietly effective work in finding, engaging and collaborating with bloggers in the community. I mentioned Universal Hub in Boston, although I’ll leave it to Adam Gaffin, Radio Boston and WBUR to relate exactly how well that relationship works.

@jessieX referenced the tensions in this session in her post on generational differences, “My Takeaway,” where she captures the insight she shared with me in person.

Video of the  citizen journalism session is available on-demand.

Tools for curation of audience-generated content

This was one of the best attended sessions of Public Media Camp and, due to any number of reasons, one of the best, at least in my view. The standing room-only group was organized into as a circle and shared dozens of useful tools and services that can aid stations and editors in aggregating, organizing, filtering and curating pictures, video and text generated from listeners.”We all want to open up the floodgates to UGC and crowdsourcing but there’s issues of trust,” said Andrew Kuklewicz.

My favorite metaphor from Public Media came from Andy Carvin here, in the idea of “trust clouds,” or the social network of people around us that represent who we can believe, retweet, link or otherwise invest with our own reputation. A tool for doing just that if at Trustmap.org. Newstrust.net also came up as “a guide to good journalism.”

Such tools and relationships are critical to both the use of user generated content by stations and the decision of readers and listeners to trust and, in the social media world, pass on information. As I commented during the session, increasingly consumers of media follow bylines, not masthead. To borrow David Weinberger’s phrase, “transparency is the new objectivity.” By showing readers how and where the audience was sourced in real-time, media organizations can make a stronger case for the veracity of such information.

Tools included:

Greg Linch shared the approach to curation that Publish2 takes: “Social Journalism: Curate the Real-Time Web.”

Social Media Success

The most obvious case study in social media success may be Andy Carvin himself. The impact of his efforts have been deep and far-reaching throughout NPR’s shows and staffers. As Amy Woo put it, “I feel the same way about Andy and his tweeting as I do about Diane Rehm.”

Carvin offered compelling examples of success, like an NPR partnership with content discovery service Stumbleupon to create a reciprocal connection w/Twitter. With a little tweaking, a retweet can equal a stumble.

Another site, criticalexposure.org, “teaches kids to take pics as a way to be advocates for social change,” said Carvin.

He also said that NPR’s Facebook fan page generates some 8% of NPR web traffic. Their testing shows 1 post every 60-90 minutes is ideal for audience. That connection came courtesy of a listener, at least at the outset: The NPR fan page on Facebook was created by a fan. That fan then gave it back to the organization, says Jon Foreman. Carvin’s curation of public radio content took it to the next level.

Hurricanewiki is likely to be cited as a classic case in social media success, where more than five hundred people came together, organized through Twitter by @acarvin. You can see the results  at Hurricanewiki.org. Carvin also created a hurricane resources community for Gustav on Ning, built in about 48 hours.

One example that came up in multiple sessions is NPR’s Vote Report . Jessica Clark and Nina Keim wrote a report on it: “Building #SocialMedia Infrastructure to Engage Publics.” And while Carvin pointed out where Vote Report fell short, the idea behind enabling listeners to “help NPR identify voting problems” holds some promise. The use of social media for election monitoring is spreading globally now, as can be seen in Votereport.in in India.

The was a different issue with InaugurationReport:- volume. Carvin said that there was simply “too much social media content to effectively curate.” By way of contrast, even a few hundred engaged listeners could effectively use the #factcheck hashtag by http://npr.org/blogs/politics to fact check the U.S. presidential debates in real-time.

Greg Linch shared a collection of social media guidelines curated at Publish2, including NPR’s social media guidelines. There’s a careful eye keeping watch here on the ethics that go with the new territory: the @NPR ombudsman was present (she’s @ombudsman on Twitter) and brought attention to how the public will relate to any perceived bias shown on social media platform.

A standard for conduct matters. It’s not all peaches and cream, after all, given the ugliness that online discourse descend into on many occasions. “Posting on our site is a privilege, not a right,” said Carvin regarding the scrum on comment trolls, online spammers & NPR sites.

Video of the social media success session is available online at uStream.com.

Public Media and Gaming

One of the more entertaining and creative sessions at Public Media Camp was the hour on gaming. Educational gaming can raise literacy rates in children, after all – could NPR deliver further by reaching into this interactive medium? Nina Wall (@missmodular) said, in fact, that PBS Kids will soon have available an API similar to NPR’s for educational games.

An excellent summary of this discussion can be found at AmericanObserver.net. Video of the public media and gaming session is available online at uStream.com.

PictureTheImpossible is one intriguing example of the genre. The online, community-based game jointly developed by RIT & the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

The discussion also included  Kongregate and their “social gaming” model, which provides a platform & revenue share for developers. Could NPR follow suit?

Or what if NPR created a fantasy league for news? Points could be accrued for newsgathering, with players trading shows or writers.

It’s been done for politics – check out the case study of an @NPR fantasy league, from Julia Schrenkler: Minnesota Public Radio’s “fantasy legislature.”

My favorite suggestion, however, came from Andy Carvin: a social “Wait, Wait, don’t tell me!” game where the audience can create news quizzes and then challenge one another on Facebook or the Web.

Social Media FAIL

The first FAIL from Andy Carvin? When the hype around crowdsourcing with Amazon’s Mechanical Turk didn’t deliver. Here’s the Wired story on questions about crowdsourcing.

Video of the social media FAIL session is available on-demand. Amy Woo and other attendees offered many more examples of failures.

Apps for Public Media

The last session of Pubcamp kicked off with a description of @AppsForDemocracy by Peter Corbett. Interesting examples about:

ParkItDC helps people find parking in DC, including which meters are broken.

AreYouSafeDC shows potential threats.

StumbleSafely is a guide to bars & avoiding crime in DC.

FixMyCityDC is a web-based application that allows users to submit service requests by problem type.

And the winner, DC311, enables iPhone access (download from iTunes) to the District’s 311 city service site, coupled with a  Facebook App.

There’s more to come: In 2 years, the vision laid out by Corbett  includes “muni data standardization, open civic app ecology and the ‘real-time muni web.’ And in 5 years, the vision for includes ideas seemingly lifted out of science fiction: augmented civic reality, AI-driven civic optimization & “virtual flow working.”

What could be created for public media? Apps that enable listeners to create channels from the API for specific topics. Apps that combine real-time data feeds from government sources with local bloggers and radio stations. Apps that allow listeners to help filter the flood of information around events, like the Vote Report project.

Why develop such apps? Andy Carvin believes that  “the line between content, services & apps is blurring. To create a more informed public, it now takes more.” To not create such innovation would, in effect, be irresponsible.

More posts, eclectica and public media resources

The PBS News Hour has partnered with the Christian Science Monitor on “Patchwork Nation.”

The work of Doc Searls at the Berkman Center on “vendor relationship management” came up, mentioned by one Keith Hopper. More details at http://projectvrm.org.

FrontlineSMS.com is a free group text messaging tool for nonprofit that is useful in disaster and crisis response.

Swiftapp.org was shared by @kookster: free, #opensource toolset for crowdsourced situational awareness.

Plenty of social media application develop is going on at PBS. Their social media guru, Jonathan Coffman,  pointed to the tools at PBS.org/engage.

The Participatory Culture Foundation has launched Videowtf.com.

Economystory.org is a cooperative effort of public media producers to provide financial literacy.

Check out Radio Drupal and Radioengage.com for open source public netcasting information.

Session notes for @PublicMediaCamp are going up at the wiki at PublicMediaCamp.org and are being aggregated under #pubcamp on Delicious.com by Peter Corbett.

My Takeaways

There a lot of smart, savvy, funny geeks in public media, passionate about delivering on the core mission of education, media literacy and good  journalism.

This same cadre is pushing innovative boundaries, whether it’s engaging the audience, creating new technology platform or expanding the horizons of computer assisted reporting. Database journalism is alive and well at NPR – just look at this visualization of the U.S. power grid.

Vivian Schiller said during her keynote that “2009 was the year everything changed.” Out of context, that statement drew raised eyebrows online. In person, there was more clarity. The massive disruption to the newspaper and traditional media industry is now resulting in significant layoffs and a seachange in how people experience events, share information and learn about the issues. Despite the issues presented by ingesting a torrent of new sources of information, the concept of “We the media” has deep roots, given that so many more people now have the ability to contribute news and help analyze it now that the tools for communication have been democratized and often made freely available online.

What’s missing in that fluid mix of updates, streams and comments is trust in veracity. As we all move into the next decade of the new millennium, the central challenge of public media may be making sense of the noise, taking much the same approach that it has in the past century: report on what’s happening, where it happened, who did it and why it’s important, with a bit more assistance from the audience. Given the loyalty of tens of millions of listeners, “we the media” might just have some legs.

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Oct 17, 2009

digiphile: Next up from @acarvin’s presentation of #socialmedia successes: @VoteReport: “Help NPR Identify Voting Problems” http://j.mp/1fysxf #pubcamp

from Twitter / digiphile
digiphile: Next up from @acarvin’s presentation of #socialmedia successes: @VoteReport: “Help NPR Identify Voting Problems” http://j.mp/1fysxf #pubcamp
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September 17, 2009 · 12:38 am

MSM using social media tools at the National Press Club

I went to the Washington, D.C. Social Media Club‘s fall kickoff meeting tonight, which featured a terrific panel on Mainstream Media Using Social Media Tools. The moderator,  Jeff Mascott of Adfero, facilitated an excellent discussion with three journalists from traditional print publications:

I livestreamed the event through the digiphile channel at livestream.com. I couldn’t get the video from livestream to embed below correctly, so you’ll need to watch the session on demand at livestream.com. I wish I’d had a better mic and found a seat in the middle for a closer view. That said, the Social Media Club recorded a high quality version of the panel that will be available soon, so you won’t have to rely on my artifacted stream and low sound levels. Nota Bene: forward ahead to 6:30 or so, when the panel actually begins!

My insights for the night?

Challenges for the @Washingtonian include retaining a traditional editorial “voice” online and yet adding some  irreverance and snark on social media platforms. Apparently, the editors want stories to be published in print first and then the  Web second. That may be a  tough balance to strike.

Social media “enables me to compete with NFL and ESPN,” said @Cindyboren of the @WashingtonPost. Twitter levels the playing field for her.

The toughest challenge for  for @RickDunham? Time management, given the need to keep up with updating the Houston Chronicle’ digital outposts and the conversations . Community moderation is unending and necessary.

Rick also made a fascinating point about #journalism ethics and #socialmedia: keeping ideological balance with subscriptions to fan pages for politicians on Facebook is important in the digital age to maintain balance. Reporters need to follow everyone on their beat.

I asked a question about sourcing, as you’ll see if you watch the video. The panel provided good answers. Both @cindyboren and @rickdunham apply classic standards of #journalism to confirm the truth of statements, usually by calling people or  “@’ing the source.” Pick up that phone!

Rick also made a fascinating observation: the Chronicle is  realizing real adverstising revenue by livestreaming confirmation hearings and Congressional town halls to interested readers. Er, viewers.  By carrying such news events on their websites, newspapers have become in effect independent Internet TV stations. Hello, convergence.

As an aside, I learned Helen Thomas is @frontrowhelen on Twitter. @IkePigott made her an account.

Great event. Many new faces, with others now becoming more familiar as I get to know the local DC new media community.

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July 17, 2009 · 11:27 am

It’s not about the numbers. It’s about the connections.

Connections
Image by Amodiovalerio Verde via Flickr

Last night, I had a surprise:  my follower count on Twitter dropped by 148 in one fell swoop.

At first, I thought it was something I had tweeted – oversharing about the Forrester tweetup, or disinterest in sharing a clip of Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor. That didn’t jibe, however, with my gut.

What was inflammatory? What had I done that resulted in a huge loss of followers? As I drifted off to sleep, I thought: how important is this, really, in the grand scheme of things?

I’ve long since learned one hallmark of netiquette on Twitter (Twittiquette, if you will) was not to talk about one’s follower numbers. (If only I could retrieve some of the replies I received back in 2007 after doing so, I’d be thrilled. No good.)

A paraphrase of most of them essentially boiled down to this: are you here to get followers or here to connect?

It didn’t take long to see where the real value was. And, more than two years later, I’m elated to look back and see how many marvelous connections I’ve made, many of which have led to friendships offline. Why is that important?

For me, that’s a a simple answer: we live in a number-obsessed culture. Thinks about how many metrics we track, filter and can recall: poll numbers, net worth, MPG, CTR, Web uniques, 0-60 in __, GPA, APR, circulation, P/E ratios, DJIA, TCO, Mbps, R/W speed…on and on.

And, naturally, for those in the social networking world,we count subscribers,  friends and followers. I’ve received far too many messages and spam promising me thousands of followers if I use this software or that service.

Honestly, they all leave me with the taste of fermented cough syrup in my mouth, with a healthy side of cod liver oil.

It’s not about the numbers: it’s about the connections.

Every follower or friend I’ve made has been through a conscious choice or organic growth. I’m proud of that. I’ve done it in what I might term the “new-fashioned way,” using much the same approach that Chris Brogan describes in his Twitter FAQ: “be helpful, share, communicate, use @replies a lot.” I tend to attribute “by @username” or “via @” nearly as much as directly @reply these days but the sense is the same.

Yesterday, I met Josh Bernoff, co-author of Groundswell. I had dinner with Shava Nerad and her beau, “Fish Fishman,” with Laurel Ruma joining in a bit later. I saw dozens of other friends from the local social media scene at two different tweetups.

I shared some groundbreaking journalism tools and advice, like best practices for journalists curating the Web. I shared messages and stories with newsies at the New York Times, Guardian, Wired, Gizmodo, Slate, The Register,The Center for Democracy & Technology and many others.

I read Stephen Baker on what may become of BusinessWeek and Bernard Lunn on creative destruction in publishing

I shared a lovely bit of science fiction made real, via the irrepressible Steve Garfield, watching the latest in augmented reality:

I reviewed my sources, notes and interviews from a conference earlier this week and wrote an article. I enjoyed a two hour workshop with my colleagues, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of our journalism. I even enjoyed a late night cocktail with someone I love deeply.

In all of that, what does a dip in follower numbers mean? Not a helluva lot.

And, as it turns out, the scuttlebutt that Twitter is doing another purge of spammers and bots, a process that I recall from last year as well. My existential angst was unwarranted, my concern without merit – but the thought process and recounting it led me to was worth it.

I’m proud of my connections and my friends, of the social news network we’re all collaborating upon, and up the quality of the communication within it. I’m glad to bring it with me to Washington in a few short weeks.

The spammers can go live on whatever lower circle of digital Hades is reserved for ’em.

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