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
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
Why name the suspect’s nationality?
The original story as of 9:45 a.m. May 4.
The New York Times breaking news alert popped into my inbox at 9:02 p.m. today and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it: “U.S. Seeks Man From Pakistan Who Bought Vehicle in Bomb Case.” The news alert linked to the home page, which included a headline for this story, with a similar headline: “U.S. Seeks Man From Pakistan Tied to S.U.V. in Bomb Case.”
All night, I have been trying to figure out why the New York Times included the nationality of the suspect in the story, which I read completely at 10:30 p.m. today. In the lede of the story, the suspect is identified as ”a naturalized United States citizen from Pakistan.”
The headline and the lede are the only place the nationality are mentioned. It mentions that the suspect recently returned from a trip there. But based on the story as it stands, the only thing this story does it set off hysteria about Muslims. I can’t imagine a headline that would ever read, “U.S. Seeks Man From Canada Tied to S.U.V. in Bomb Case.” Or Mexico. Or France. By all means, let’s let readers use their imaginations if the suspect — a U.S. citizen — happens to come from an Islamic country. It would be one thing if the story could offer a substantial reason for including that detail, but as the story stands now, it doesn’t.
UPDATE :: Nearly 12 hours later, the story that I linked to earlier eliminates the Pakistan reference in the headline and tones it down in the lede, but still doesn’t eliminate it or support its relevance. Meanwhile, the later write-through, headlined, “N.Y. Bomb Suspect Said to Implicate Self” at 9:45 a.m. May 4, offers support for the relevance of the information for the first time: The suspect “was already aboard Emirates flight 202 when he was identified” by Customs officials and the plane was called back to the airport. As I said earlier, the fact might have turned out to be relevant, and it has — but the support for that information was reported or wasn’t available when it was initially reported.
Kurt's Tweets- Why is this not a national story? Maybe I missed it. Appalling. Disabled woman was tortured and held as a sex slave http://ow.ly/2CiAq
- 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.