Category Archives: two cents
Why can’t newspapers make money online? (Mashable) - So, they’ve got it all figured out? “The bottom line is this: the reason that newspapers can’t make money is because they’re pricing themselves out of the market.” It’s a lot more complicated than that. I like what Paul K. Ward says in the comments of the article: “Newspapers and other information outlets shouldn’t be setting sights on paying their costs, they should be focused instead on creating demand for what they offer at a profit. ” There are so many problems with the way many newspapers present and distribute news online that makes it less desirable than other outlets. And the fact that we’re still calling ourselves “newspapers” is problematic too. If that’s what we identify as, that’s what we prioritize, and the web will always be an afterthought. We are media companies. We have websites and newspapers. And we need to think creatively about the future of both. Create unique demand for our content online, then you can charge for it.
Just initiated the first of many changes to my “personal branding”
I hate going to conferences or speaking to classes and getting the question, “So, is ‘Michell’ your maiden name?” No, actually. It’s my middle name (pronounced ‘Michelle’) and I was stupid to start using that for my global username from … Continue reading
Posted in two cents | Tagged personal branding, SEO, twitter handles, usernames | Leave a comment
How I lost my WordPress virginity
I started to write this post for the Carnival of Fail about CoPress. But I realized that the CoPress story wasn’t really mine to tell (passing the mic to Bachhuber) and didn’t end up writing a Carnival of Fail post. … Continue reading
Posted in random, two cents | Tagged copress, mustang daily, personal reflections, wordpress | 3 Comments
Personal reflections on Osama Bin Laden’s death
I am from the generation shaped by 9/11. I still remember that somber day in 2001. I was in seventh grade. I woke up to my dad watching TV, probably around 6 a.m. PST, telling me that a plane had … Continue reading
Posted in two cents | Tagged osama bin laden, personal reflections, sept 11 | Leave a comment
Five Things AOL’s Patch Is Doing Right. My latest 10,000 Words post about things we can learn about openness and transparency from Patch, despite other criticisms of the hyperlocal effort. These are easily-adoptable concepts for all newsrooms.
Reflections on Hardly Strictly Young
Last week I learned that David Cohn knows how to tell a joke, bust a move and host an awesome conference. In all seriousness, the Hardly Strictly Young conference was a whirlwind of new people, old friends, big questions, bright ideas … Continue reading
Posted in internet, journalism, two cents | Tagged awesomesauce, communities, david cohn, information, knight foundation | 6 Comments
Thoughts on using Facebook Connect
A former teacher of mine saw my recent post on 10,000 Words about The Washington Post’s news aggregation tool, Trove, and wrote me a concerned email. She’s interested in using the app, but doesn’t want to hand over all her … Continue reading
Posted in two cents | Tagged facebook, privacy, trove | Leave a comment
What VegNews should do now that they’ve been called out on using REAL meat stock photos
Yesterday, QuarryGirl.com broke the news after an informal investigation that VegNews — the world’s top vegan magazine — has been publishing stock photos of real meat alongside vegan recipes and articles (while making slight alterations like changing the coloring and … Continue reading
Posted in journalism, two cents | Tagged community journalism, controversies, ideas, istockphoto, openness, real meat, transparency, ucg, user generated content, vegan, vegnews | 4 Comments
My new crazy idea: Startup time.
I bitch a lot. I know. My recent post entitled, “‘We can’t find a web editor?’ Bullshit” was a rant about how behind college media is and how I would quit the school publication and start my own gig if … Continue reading
Posted in entrepreneurship, innovation, journalism, two cents, Uncategorized | Tagged bill macfayden, crazy ideas, noozhawk, personal reflections, startups | 26 Comments
“We can’t find a web editor.” Bullshit.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking and teaching at the Associated Collegiate Press Midwinter Conference in Hollywood, California. Boy had I forgotten how doomed college media is. During the conference, I reconnected with Paul Bittick, the general manager for … Continue reading
Posted in two cents | Tagged ACP, college media, loss of hope, mustang daily, rants, web editor, wtf | 19 Comments
Help a bunch of bright-eyed high school journalists get to NYC
UPDATE: You can now donate to The Grizzly Gazette at gazettetonyc.info. I grew up in a modest town. Porterville, California. Population roughly 40,000. Mostly farmers. It’s a place that smells of cow manure. It’s the “armpit” of California, being the … Continue reading
Posted in people, two cents | Tagged evan hackett, fundraising, granite hills high school, grizzly gazette, pleas for money | 5 Comments
So, what is “news,” anyway?
In writing about this month’s Carnival of Journalism topic (increasing sources of news), I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what exactly “news” is and what a “source of news” therefore is. I still don’t have a solid answer. … Continue reading
Posted in social media, two cents | Tagged carnival of journalism, defining news, facebook, family | 1 Comment
Setting yourself apart 101
This weekend I received an email from an eager young lady, Elizabeth Krupka, at Cabrini College who asked me how I set myself apart in college. (I asked her to post her question on Kommons so I could publicly respond). … Continue reading
Posted in two cents | Tagged advice, answers, life lessons, questions | 1 Comment
The stuff I put on my face
After a personal IM conversation with my good friend Greg Linch, in which we were talking about keeping track of our personal data, I started thinking about what kinds of substances I’m putting into and on my body in my day-to-day routine. Then I realized that, just in putting on my face every morning, my routine creams and lotions are ridiculous. I shocked myself after listing them out. I put a lot of crap on my face every day. Continue reading
Posted in random, two cents | Tagged health, hygiene, ingredients, life, nutrition, personal reflections, preaching | 2 Comments
I’ll be blogging for 10,000 Words!
I know everyone raves about how amazing Twitter is for building connections within your niche. If you’re reading this post on my blog, you probably have already experienced it firsthand and probably only know me through our niche on Twitter. … Continue reading
Posted in design, two cents | Tagged 10000words, mark luckie, media bistro | Leave a comment
My two cents on getting a workout while sitting at the computer
As someone who spends 12+ hours a day sitting at a computer, reading this in the NYTimes this afternoon put a frown on my face: Regular workout sessions do not appear to fully undo the effects of prolonged sitting. ‘‘There … Continue reading
Posted in just for fun, two cents | Tagged desk workouts, inactivity, workout | 2 Comments
If your website’s full of assholes, it’s your fault. Anil Dash is spot on. Part of maintaining a news website is maintaining community and having high standards. He outlines five steps every website should take to keep their community in order. Because whether we like it or not, quality of our comments reflects on how our organizations are perceived, and the quality of comments that will come up moving forward.