Month: October 2010

WordCamp Philly Slides

Later today I’m presenting about how to use Edit Flow to master an editorial workflow from within WordPress. The slides below cover what I’m talking about which includes some new features coming in 0.6 which will be released shortly.

If you have any questions about the plugin or the talk feel free to drop by in the comments. We’re also looking for general feedback about features and how Edit Flow is being used. We’d love to hear your thoughts about how you’re using Edit Flow.

Dave Winer’s network nirvana

Dave Winer describes having FIOS installed in the East Village after his move:

Do you find that network installers hate to leave when the job is done? It always goes the same way at my house. When they walk in, they’re bored and don’t say much. When they finally see how my system is hooked up, they realize that I’ve got the nirvana they dream of.

Merlin Mann writes about “distraction-free software” and its problems:

[It is bad to be] leaving your starry-eyed customers with the nauseatingly misguided impression that their “distraction” originates from anyplace but their own busted-ass brain is really not “helping.” Not on any level. It is, literally, harmful.

Tracking a whale via Flickr

Interesting story from the Boston Globe about a researcher who stumbled across a record whale migration via Flickr. Turns out the whale traveled more than 6,000 miles between photographs.

Found via the Atlantic’s Science and Technology blog.

By claiming no opinion NPR inherently has an opinion

Jeff Jarvis nails the problem with NPR limiting attendance at the Stewart and Colbert rallies to staff assigned to cover the event.

In its effort to be hyperjournalistic NPR is being unjournalistic. Journalists, properly empowered, are curious. They want to know things. NPR is telling them not to ask questions.

It’s ironic that a journalistic institution, seeking to uphold ideals of public service, would issue such a totalitarian order. Journalists are people. People have opinions. An internal memo is not going to change that. Nor will it make us forget that the next time an NPR show comes on the air.

Forked version of Notational Velocity

If you are a fan of Notational Velocity, a forked version was released today. It adds things like full screen mode and some other nifty views. I’ve used it for notes today and have to say that the full-screen edit mode is pretty slick.

The Future of the Book

A short video produced by IDEO on the future of the book. The first prototype is the most interesting to me.

VaultPress Stats

VaultPress added more detailed stats yesterday. In this release are ways of measuring your site’s vitality as well as displaying what time of day and what day of the week you blog most often. Pretty cool stuff.

WordCamp Philly 2010

At the end of the month I’m heading to Philadelphia to talk about how awesome Edit Flow is at WordCamp Philly. If you’ll be in the area you should come. There’s quite a list of speakers for the one day WordCamp.

If you’ll be around for a while there’s also a pretty sweet hackathon that will be in Washington D.C. that Sunday. Should be fun.

Notes for discussion with #J361

Tomorrow, I’ll be talking with Suzi Steffen’s Reporting One class. In June I posted a link round-up from a visit with the summer session of the class. Below are some links, tips, and highlights of what I’ll talk about Wednesday.

Short history lesson

I highly recommend reading through two posts that deal with a bit of journalism history.

First is Jay Rosen’s “The Journalists Formerly Known as the Media: My Advice to the Next Generation”. He talks about the fundamental tenants in society that are needed before journalism can exist.

Jay also issues a bit of a rallying cry for prospective journalists:

The digital revolution changes the equation. It brings forward a new balance of forces, putting the tools of production and the powers of distribution in the hands of the people formerly known as the audience. And so you have the opportunity to become the journalists formerly known as the media, carrier class for a new understanding of the people “out there” on the receiving end of what journalists make.

The second must-read post is from Cody Brown. He recently launched a beta version of Kommons and this was the post that kicked it off. My personal favorite for the idea of a “magical journalism box.”

Design and Content

Shawn Blanc’s “Content Distribution, Metrics of Impact, and Advertising” is also a good read. It’s a good thought experiment to think about where users will engage with content and what makes you and authoritative source deserving of their time and attention.

Also, go read Jonathan Stray’s recent post, “Designing journalism to be used.” There are a lot of interesting ideas in there and analysis about why the average American only spends 12 minutes on a news site every month.

Finally, I recommend watching the video embedded below of a recent Khoi Vinh talk. Khoi was the Design Director at the New York Times until he decided to leave and pursue his own work.

There’s also some good stuff in that earlier link post so if you’re looking for podcasts, help with WordPress-related things or just like to read check it out.