Interesting stuff I saw online, Aug. 26 to Sep. 9

September 9, 2009 by · View Comments
Filed under: What I've Read 

Here’s some of the stuff I thought was interesting while stomping through the Internet from Aug. 26 through Sep. 9:

  • The newsroom view of user content revealed – Well, this isn't really a surprise. Most journalists find user-generated content a distraction.
  • Social Media: Fighting the Fear – Good piece reinforcing the ways individuals (and, particularly, businesses) can get past the fear of social media.
  • Measuring the Value of Social Marketing and Media – "While social marketing was originally developed from the desire companies had to capitalize on commercial marketing techniques, it has evolved into a more integrative and comprehensive discipline that draws on a wide array of technology, from the traditional media to new media referred to as 'social media.'"
  • ‘Skanky’ Blogging, Anonymity and What’s Right – More helpful fodder for those of us who are constantly fending off attacks on the ability for readers to post anonymously. I was particularly fond of your point, “People who’d ban anonymity don’t seem to realize that it’s technically impossible unless we’re willing to turn over all of our communications in every venue to a central authority — a system that would herald the end of liberty.”
    It’s a point I’ve made often to anyone who will listen. Even Facebook, which prides itself on “requiring” real names, can live up to that requirement.

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Interesting stuff I saw online, May. 30 to May. 31

May 31, 2009 by Kurt · View Comments
Filed under: What I've Read 

Here’s some of the stuff I thought was interesting while stomping through the Internet from May. 30 through May. 31:

  • Four observations about charging for news that are often overlooked – “Plenty has been written about the futility of erecting pay walls — much of which I agree with — but a few points are often overlooked.”
  • 100 Amazing Free WordPress Themes for 2009 – “High quality free WordPress Themes have become harder and harder to find in the past year, with the influx of premium themes, more and more designers and developers are selling themes (and rightly so, they do amazing work). But, that aside, the quality is certainly there, and we are sure you will be impressed with this WordPress theme compilation for 2009.”
  • Getting the mean out of comments – A group of citizens meeting on the evening of May 20 in Knoxville over sandwiches and sweet tea might be end up influencing how news sites across the country view and manage comments.
  • Cyberbullying: What the research is telling us… – “Delivered to the Year of the Child summit, this talk surveys the current research on cyberbullying and online harassment, pulling in Pew Internet data as well as the work of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, Internet Solutions for Kids and other academics and scholars researching this topic.”

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Pew study: Gains in social media for political info

June 17, 2008 by Kurt · View Comments
Filed under: general 

The obvious news from Pew’s latest study is the huge increase in the percentage of people using the Internet to get information about politics — that number is 46 percent. So far, the study says, “more Americans have gone online to get political news and campaign information than during all of 2004.”

And the “real” election season is only just beginning.

But I was more interested in this sentence from the study’s summary: “Two-thirds of Internet users under the age of 30 have a social networking profile, and half of these use social networking sites to get or share information about politics or the campaigns.” (Emphasis is mine.)

They are likely to be the people who will be running for office and among the largest voting bloc in the next election season. These are also the same people who aren’t reading newspapers, but are well-informed people, interested in their world, and seeking news.

Here’s the bad news from the Pew study: Internet users have mixed views about the general role of the Internet in politics. Here’s what researchers found about these questions:

Sixty percent agree that “the Internet is full of misinformation and propaganda that too many voters believe is accurate.” (32 percent disagree)

People are closely split on this: “the news and information you get online is just the same as you can get anywhere else.” (48 percent agree, 47 percent disagree)

Happily, 56 percent disagree with this: “The Internet lets those with the loudest voices and most extreme positions drown out average people’s views.)

But sadly, 67 percent disagree with this: “The Internet helps me feel more personally connected to my candidate or campaign of choice.”

And, though I’m not sure I believe this, 74 percent disagree with this statement: “I would not be as involved in this campaign as much if it weren’t for the Internet.”

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