Easy to see why BlackBerry share is dropping
In the past 18 months, I’ve had the opportunity to move among smart phones using three different operating systems — Windows Mobile (I used an HTC Mogul), Android and BlackBerry. My move to a new job has landed me with a BlackBerry. I’m grateful for the company-supplied phone and the service from Sprint; now three weeks into using the phone, I’m just disappointed with the operating system.
It’s a BlackBerry Bold and, as far as I can tell, the advantages to the BlackBerry operating system have nothing to do with what the user wants or needs and everything to do with what the company can control and protect. I grant that protecting company information and property is important and it’s something Android hasn’t locked down yet.
But if we stipulate that mobile is the future of the web — we agree on that, right? — we’re going to need something better than the BlackBerry to carry us forward. Using my BlackBerry, I feel like I’m stuck in the past, using Nintendo 64 in an age of 3-D gaming. It’s easy to see why BlackBerry’s market share is plummeting (from 55 percent to 41 percent in a year). And with my Droid, I could see the future. Read more
Thanks to the Post-Dispatch; now, Patch.com
Today, I head to New York for three days of orientation at my new job with Patch.com. I’ll be a regional editor in St. Louis for the fast-growing company. How fast growing? When I started interviewing for the position in early June, there were about 60 Patch sites up and running; now there are more than 80. And the feeling I get is that the pace is only going to increase.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Tuesday was my last day at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where I spent eight years as online news director and, in the past couple of years, as an assistant city editor. I had eight good years there and I am am greatly appreciative of the time I spent at the P-D. The people I worked with were all professionals, who cared about journalism and their public service mission. They made me a better journalist. I have always been impressed with the standard my colleagues set for their work, and for the kinds of stories that deserved front-page play. They never settled for the best of the that day’s news; they expected front-page stories to live up to a certain standard before they were considered. It was a wonderful environment in which to work. Read more
Listening to readers helps win a Loeb award
The Post-Dispatch's Loeb award.
My St. Louis Post-Dispatch colleagues Matthew Hathaway, Elizabethe Holland and Jim Gallagher won a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism this evening. I am proud to have been associated with their work and I’m proud of the recognition they earned today.
The three reporters won for three stories they each had a hand in reporting and editing. The stories all focused on the after-market auto service-contract industry, which, as it happens, is largely centered on the St. Louis area. Matt, in particular, has been reporting extensively on the industry, documenting how the players solicit customers, how they deal with consumer complaints and how regulators and consumer advocates have been going after the companies. He’s consistently stayed ahead of other national and local media.
The task was made more challenging by the fact that none of the players are public companies, so none are compelled in any way to reveal any information. But Matt has made great use of his blog and story comments to stay connected. Though he’s not embraced Twitter (which might have helped), he’s watched the comments closely and been able to read between the lines as readers gave insights and ideas about stories he should pursue.
He also participated in the comments and made sure readers knew how to reach him. He and I also worked together to create an interactive map (powered by Google Maps and Docs) of the dozens of area service-contract companies, including nuts-and-bolts information, links to stories, websites and Better Business Bureau complaints.
Ultimately, his ability to work his sources and keep an eye on what the readers were saying helped keep him ahead on the story — so much so that he was able to accurately report on the downfall of US Fidelis, the biggest player in the industry until late last year. US Fidelis had carpet-bombed the country with direct mail and robo-calls for months before attracting the attention of regulators and consumer advocates. Read more
Bloggers and mainstream media can cooperate
One of Toby's dino pictures, from the Sinclair station in St. Louis at South Broadway and California, near Interstate 55.
I weary of the drama that exists sometimes between the pure “blogging community” and the so-called “mainstream media.” If we can just communicate, we can work together nicely. I think we’ve missed some opportunities to do that at the Post-Dispatch, but I think we did it right this week with a story that ran on Wednesday.
The story was a brite about the disappearance of the Sinclair Oil dinosaur mascots in St. Louis in the wake of a takeover of the company-owned gas stations. My colleague Matt Hathaway found the tip on a blog called BELTSTL.com, which writes about local preservation and architecture.
It wasn’t hard news, but it was a worthy feature, given how ubiquitous the dinosaurs are on the Sinclair logo and the toys that the stations sell.
While Matt wrote his story, I reached out to the blogger, Toby Weiss, to ask for permission to run some of her pictures of one of the dinosaurs in the paper. She granted it, asking that we credit her by name and by the name of her blog. When the story ran, Matt included this paragraph in the story.
After rebranding of the stations started early this month, a local preservation blog — beltstl.com — broke news of the dinos’ disappearance. And since then, Sinclair enthusiasts have been ramping up their searches.
Toby was also happy to have us work on the story, apparently, because she was “ultra-curious to know” what came of the statues. Toby sent us a nice follow-up after the story ran: “Great reporting makes a good story. So glad you guys did that!”
The iPad doesn’t make me swoon; is that wrong?
Just not that excited.
OK. Is that all there is to it?
Our newsroom got a 3G iPad this week. I got a chance to play with it yesterday afternoon. I took it home, installed some apps, did some reading and put it through as many paces as I could in 12 hours. Honestly, I’m just not that excited about it — and I love toys. Here’s my thoughts on the ups and downs in my brief encounter.
It’s slippery. OK, this might seem like a nitpick. But I really like the rubbery texture on the back of my Droid. It feels secure in my hands when I touch it. As I understand it, the Nexus One has the same sort of soft, rubber-like feel. The iPad is sleek, smooth — and it feels like I could drop it at any moment. Stephen Colbert’s salsa notwithstanding, it’s a sheet of glass. It doesn’t feel indestructable. I note that CrunchGear’s John Biggs had the same observation today. Read more
Kurt's Tweets- Bravo. RT @pwthornton: "Banning unsigned online comments undermines the media’s role as a forum for debate.” http://bit.ly/bmZsOn
- I would like to just take the two steps forward and skip the one step back. How about that? Would that be OK?
- Still seeking talented journalists to run #Patch sites in two south St. Louis County communities. Know anyone? http://ow.ly/2Axnv
- Waiting for a listings collector to give her more #Patch marketing cards. The work never stops.
- Realizing how woefully out of touch I have been with this part of the county. (@ Saint Louis Bread Company) http://4sq.com/5z5Bfh