November 2011
8 posts
3 tags
Learning to work and collaborate in the open...
To make “open” truly relevant to the Average Joe, which is anyone from your grandmother to a twenty-something kid living out their hipster lifestyle in Berlin, we have to explain it in their terms. Talking about how copyright or closed Internet protocol is going to spell the end of the world won’t do anything but bore people to death, or preach to the choir (which is most of you reading...
6 tags
Walkthrough - Using FusionTables to power...
Updated to reflect coding help and suggestions from Kevin Schaul and Slawek Kolodziej that fixed an issue with the chart appending data to existing data. Thanks Kevin and Slawek!
Since the spring, Wisconsin State Journal multimedia and graphics gurus Jason Klein and Laura Sparks started to use the Highcharts javascript library to produce data visuals that could be used in print, on the web and...
2 tags
Tracks of Life: Now it's tomorrow, and everything...
Reading this now, four years later, I remember the reporting process being really enjoyable. At the time, our family traditions were changing, it was really nice to talk about these kinds of really normal things with others.
It’s certainly not the best article I’ve written. But as such, it was easy to report on a quick hitter without dwelling on the subject or trying to do too much,...
1 tag
Tips & tools for journalists who want to learn...
So you want to become a developer, journo-coder or hired geek and you’re wondering where to begin. Maybe you’ve coded a bit before and you’re wondering what languages to choose, or maybe you’ve never seen a piece of code and are starting from the beginning.
It can be overwhelming to think about all the programming, markup and data languages in the Web application world. So, let’s make it...
1 tag
Constructive comments on online news articles......
NFL owners and administration are doing exactly what is good for their business model. You can’t see the players’ faces, you can’t tell them apart from style, they can’t have unique celebrations… it’s a blurred blob except to fantasy football owners. Team and symbol > individuals. Gives the benefits to the ownership and league. NBA markets on star...
3 tags
Let’s look back at the lessons from the week…
If you see something happening that shouldn’t be happening — or that could escalate into something bigger — don’t just tell one person about it. Tell several people.
Unless that something is happening at a Burger King.
And if someone else says or writes something, make sure you put quotation marks around it.
2 tags
If it adds value, do it. If it doesn't, don't. No...
Note: This post is similar to comments I made on Jeff Sonderman’s post and on Matthew Ingram’s post about the subject.
On Tuesday, Jeff Sonderman began to wonder if there’s a problem with Twitter’s retweet options — automatic, manual and modified — when it comes to journalists and that thing called opinion.
Put another way:
Are these three types of retweets sufficient for journalists? Do they...
2 tags
Found in my stash of writing, a random old poem...
Ode to a bar rag
Wiped sweat and sweet liquor, dripping from iced reflections of a needful self-image
Wiped grease sodden dreams, left by patrons too lonesome to tip the barkeep; Pennyless conversation left by salty peanuts still resting in a dried-wide shell
Wiped tears and regrets of a bad day’s dreadful scene; of lost wives and plaintive cries, drifting farther and further along a...
