Leave Wikipedia alone!
Friday, December 31st, 2004Larry Sanders, one of the founders of Wikipedia, goes off on a rant against his former baby (context: he left amid differences of opinion about the whole project), and says some, well, remarkable things.
“…as a community, Wikipedia lacks the habit or tradition of respect for expertise. As a community, far from being elitist (which would, in this context, mean excluding the unwashed masses), it is anti-elitist (which, in this context, means that expertise is not accorded any special respect, and snubs and disrespect of expertise is tolerated). This is one of my failures: a policy that I attempted to institute in Wikipedia’s first year, but for which I did not muster adequate support, was the policy of respecting and deferring politely to experts.Consequently, nearly everyone with much expertise but little patience will avoid editing Wikipedia, because they will–at least if they are editing articles on articles that are subject to any sort of controversy–be forced to defend their edits on article discussion pages against attacks by nonexperts.
I know, of course, that Wikipedia works because it is radically open. I recognized that as soon as anyone; indeed, it was part of the original plan. But I firmly disagree with the notion that that Wikipedia-fertilizing openness requires disrespect toward expertise. The project can both prize and praise its most knowledgeable contributors, and permit contribution by persons with no credentials whatsoever. That, in fact, was my original conception of the project. It is sad that the project did not go in that direction.
In the Postmodern world in which we now find ourselves, expertise without experience is always suspect, so Wikipedia is an ideal symbol of the new age. Postmoderns (Pomos) distrust institutions and their assumed authority in a top-down, Modernist world. This is a given. Asking, therefore, a Postmodern creation to surrender — in any way — to the authority of a Modernist institution is intellectual homicide.Wikipedia is just fine, and the more the “experts” squawk and complain, the greater the evidence that it is so. This is the Age of Participation, and self-correction will ultimately win out, because experience, not expertise, is the new authority. Only Modernists fear being shouted down, because they fear power and try to control it through logic and reason (and laws and rules). Pomos have no such fear, for they see the artificiality of Modernist power structures and rightly say, “Bullshit.”
Long live Wikipedia!
Who speaks for the common man?
Friday, December 31st, 2004I’m struck today by what I view as my liberal friends returning to same-o, same-o just two months after the election. Whines about the environment. Whines about gay rights. Whines about race. Whines about the arts, abortion, business, Iraq and now Tsunami relief.
I watched a wonderful PBS documentary on Woodrow Wilson the other night on American Experience. Wilson had his faults, but he won as a Democrat on a “common man” platform. His domestic program, called the New Freedom, sought to extend opportunity to all and wrest power away from entrenched interests. He put in place anti-trust legislation, a Constitutional amendment to have Senators elected by public vote, workmen’s compensation, child labor laws, and the right of women to vote. He saw two Americas and did something about it.
So I’ve been asking myself lately, who speaks for the common man today? The big mistake of liberalism is that, by insisting that America is a mosaic of extremes instead of a melting pot, they’ve unknowingly denied the existence of a “common” man and, as such, their roots. That’s just fine with the Republicans. Here’s a bulletin: the common man is very much alive today, and he’s damned sick of hearing you whine about things that don’t concern him! He’s also searching for somebody who will listen.
Wilson’s party today sounds like a broken record of defeat, a hodge-podge of special interest hot-potatoes that don’t begin to touch the common man, and they’ll never beat the GOP unless they speak in a voice that the people recognize. That’s why I still believe the time is right for a third choice in American politics, one that will rail once again against big business and side with the common man — without all the baggage of those special interests.
One of the reasons I feel this way is that the Internet — and specifically the blogosphere — enables a new party. After all, what is the blogosphere but the common man speaking out? We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.
(Note to my liberal friends: the term “man” — as used above — does not denote gender.)
Bandwidth update
Friday, December 31st, 2004The blogosphere is really quite an amazing community. An organization to which I belong, The Media Bloggers Association, is arranging to host the tsunami videos for all of the bloggers who’ve posted them on their sites as a way to relieve the staggering bandwidth costs mentioned below. Great work, methinks.
The bandwidth bugaboo bites
Friday, December 31st, 2004Steve Safran of Lost Remote has issued an appeal to the blogosphere to provide financial assistance to blogs that are hosting Tsunami videos for all to see. The appeal is for funds to offset significant bandwidth spikes caused by streaming the numerous amateur videos of the disaster. One example is Bill over at PunditGuy, a blog that’s been overwhelmed by users wanting to see the videos:
HELP!!! - I’ve been hit very hard on bandwidth usage fees due to the popularity of the Tsunami videos I was hosting. My only goal was to show them so people could get a sense for the enormity of the disaster and desire to give to a charity of their choice. Now, I need help. The bill is more than I can afford. If you feel so inclined, would you please consider sending me a donation? If you donate, I’ll give 50% of whatever you send me to the Red Cross in care of the victims in Southeast Asia. Simply hit the PayPal button below. Thank you!!!
The Internet cuts into socializing, or not
Thursday, December 30th, 2004Here is a case of researchers adding two plus two to come up with five.
According to the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society, a research group that has been exploring the social consequences of the Internet, the time you spend online is coming at the expense of TV (who knew?) and social interaction. Here’s the way the New York Times tells it:
A 2000 study by the researchers that reported increasing physical isolation among Internet users created a controversy and drew angry complaints from some users who insisted that time they spent online did not detract from their social relationships.However, the researchers said they had now gathered further evidence showing that in addition to its impact on television viewing, Internet use has lowered the amount of time people spend socializing with friends and even sleeping.
According to the study, an hour of time spent using the Internet reduces face-to-face contact with friends, co-workers and family by 23.5 minutes, lowers the amount of time spent watching television by 10 minutes and shortens sleep by 8.5 minutes.
If you define socializing only as physical contact, then these researchers are right (and it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out). However, the Internet is redefining socializing. Frankly, I think I’m more socially active these days than I’ve ever been, and I wouldn’t trade my online relationships for anything. There is something inherently freeing about meeting someone at their core instead of their surface.
Here come the video blogs!
Wednesday, December 29th, 2004I’ve been a voice crying in the wilderness about how vulnerable local TV stations are to losing the only real information niche they have in their communities: video. Well, video blogging may be the straw that breaks the news camel’s back, and here’s an excellent article by Heather Green in Business Week that helps make the point. Like text blogs, video blogs (vlogs) are meaningless without a distribution method. Well, guess what? Our old friend, RSS, is coming to the rescue.
Yahoo, which unveiled a video search service earlier this month, is working with Ourmedia, Creative Commons, and commercial sites such as indie-film service AtomFilms to develop a video version of Really Simple Syndication, or RSS.Using RSS, Web surfers would choose the types of videos they want to see and have them sent automatically to their computers. The technology also allows independent video makers to submit their films to Yahoo’s search engine automatically. Separately, startup Kontiki, which has helped the likes of CNET (CNET ) set up online video services, is also creating a free service that plans to aggregate online videos together using RSS.
The biggest impact could be the creation of on-demand services, a sort of alternative TiVo (TIVO ) online. If video RSS takes off, it would present just one more diversion from the established media. And like text blogs, it would be a diversion that evolves outside of the control of big media.
2005: A Year of Trouble for Broadcasters
Wednesday, December 29th, 2004Here is the latest in my series of essays, TV News in a Postmodern World. This one contains my annual prophecies for the coming year, based on observations of trends, conversations with colleagues, and insight into the cultural shift to a Post-modern era.
For a moment, let’s set aside the fact that a television station remains a significant money-maker. 2005 is poised to be one of the most difficult years in local broadcast history in terms of maintaining market share, much less real growth. Local media companies simply must find ways to exploit business opportunities in unfamiliar places in order to set themselves on a profitable path for the future. This is harsh but true.
2005: A Year of Trouble for Broadcasters
For all the difficulties we face these days, it is really a very exciting, pioneering time in media history. We all need to embrace that attitude as 2005 dawns.
May the new year bring prosperity, joy and peace to you and all of those in your tribe.
10 Questions for Ed Cone
Monday, December 27th, 2004Ed Cone is a newspaper columnist in Greensboro, NC and an early blogger. He has been a major influence in a remarkable local media experiment in Greensboro: a decentralized, independent alternative media through local blogs and blogging. The concept is getting a lot of attention, and it’s something local television stations need to consider as they examine the future. Ed graciously consented to answer my questions, and they are presented here:
Ed’s blog is one of my favorites, and it’s been in my blogroll since I first began my own adventure in the blogosphere.
The PoMo blog, circa 2004
Monday, December 27th, 2004Christmas is over, and it’s time to take stock, so I thought we’d have a little fun with statistics today. The subject? This blog!
I started writing this in the summer of 2003, so this is really the first year I can look back on how it has “performed.” Of course, that means digging out mass marketing tools, and you know how I feel about that. I’m not trying to “market” the blog in any way, so I’m not high on Technorati’s list. I don’t think A-list/B-list is what the blogosphere is about anyway, and Technorati’s measurement is links. Anyway, here are some interesting numbers from 2004.
1,200 visitors a day
Most-read blog entries:
The reach of viral video 294,691 views— This entry was linked to by Instapundit, which shows you the power of a mention from one of the top blogs in the “sphere.” Other blogs picked up the link, and the rest is history.
Gallup questions reveal CBS fallout 6,643 views — This is another entry that was picked up by many other bloggers.
Most-read essays:
I’m most gratified here that many of these were written in 2003, which reveals another interesting aspect of the Web and blogs — the library-like nature of stored and organized publications. I suspect people will still be reading these essays years from now. I’d also like to note here that some of this work is being used by Universities around the country, which is extremely gratifying to a guy like me.
- The Defensive Newsroom 4,794 readers
- News Is A Conversation 2,985 readers
- The Busine$$ of RSS 2,612 readers
- Local TV’s New Deadlines 2,069 readers
- The Future is Multimedia 1,969 readers
- The Genius of OhmyNews! 1,923 readers
- The Live Coverage Revolution 1,570 readers
- The Challenge of Advertising 1,537 readers
- News Anchors:
An Endangered Species 1,492 readers - TV’s Four New Media Mistakes 1,333 readers
My writing has slowed a bit due to actual paid work, but I hope to continue to observe and journal media events — especially as they relate to Postmodernism — as long as I’m able. To all of you, thank you very much for keeping me straight and for reading this blog. May 2005 bring you peace and prosperity.
Of the people, by the people and for the people.
Sunday, December 26th, 2004Jay Rosen writes PressThink’s Top Ten Ideas for 2004, and I was particularly intrigued by number three, “What the printing press did to the Catholic Church the blogging press does to the media church.” Jay is usually spot on, and this observation is quite brilliant. He quotes Belmont Club from an August 24th post:
Before the Gutenberg printing press men knew the contents of the Bible solely through the prism of the professional clergy, who could alone afford the expensively hand copied books and who exclusively interpreted it. But when technology made books widely available, men could read the sacred texts for themselves and form their own opinions. And the world was never the same again.”
This book shall make possible government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Merry Christmas to all
Friday, December 24th, 2004
Allie and I are heading out for Christmas visits, so I won’t be blogging for a few days. It’s been an incredible year of change for both of us. God has blessed us, and we’re very thankful this holiday season.
Christmas holds a special place in my heart. I grew up in Michigan, where snow was commonplace this time of year. I also grew up in the 1950s, when innocence was exalted in the U.S. and the holiday was pure magic. Perhaps it’s that way for every generation. I certainly hope so.
From our family to yours: may this Christmas find your stocking filled with everything you seek; may your heart be occupied with joy; and may the presence of the One who is All-in-all be with you always.
Broadband tops dial-up in the U.S.
Friday, December 24th, 2004According to Nielsen/NetRatings, broadband connections now account for 53 percent of all Internet users in the U.S. That measurement came in October (a lot quicker than anticipated), and it’s a huge, huge landmark in the development of the Internet.
Broadband users spend more time online and do more things. I’ve been following their habits for a couple of years, and it’s why I feel so strongly about local broadcasters and the Web. Broadbanders ARE the streamers of our culture, and the more of them, the greater the reality of TV over IP. A lot of people are predicting that 2005 will be the breakout year for Internet video, and this statistic would give that credence.
A long time ago, I sat in on a private presentation by Saatchi and Saatchi where they talked about advertising and the 50% threshold. At that time, households in the U.S. with remote control devices had just crossed that barrier, and the presenter was saying how it was getting the attention of the ad industry. Trust me, the ad industry is sitting up and taking notice of this landmark.
On the surface, it’s bad news for broadcasters, but this should be heralded as an incredible opportunity, because it means stations can move video content to the Web with a reasonable assurance that it will be watched.
M E M O
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2004From: Terry Heaton
To: Joe Hagan
Subj: Your New York Observer column, “NYTV ’05 Predictions”
Joe, I love you, man, but lay off the egg nog for a minute.
THIS is your prediction for the year 2005? The return of non-ideological news? This prophecy can’t come true, because there is no such thing as non-ideological news. I realize you THINK there is, but that’s just self-deception gone to seed.
You wish for a market demand for a newscast the entire viewing public can trust, and you write: “Right-wing media was invented as a foil to a supposed left-wing bias in New York newsrooms.” There’s no supposition about it, Joe. While your column is interesting, it’s just more of the same delusion that the MSM exists (or can exist) in a safe, middle ground between two opposites. Not true.
You write of Al Gore’s difficulties. What about Air America? Attempts to make a left-wing response to what MSMers view as “right-wing media” turn out to be just silly and so extreme as to be laughable. Why? Because the MSM already occupies the position. Fox news (and Drudge and Rush, to a certain extent) are successful, because they’ve offered a voice that is different. Nothing mysterious about it. No conspiracy. Just different.
You think this is a fraud, because you don’t believe news people represent a more liberal view of life than the audiences they serve. Let’s see. They’re more educated. They make more money. They cover the odds and ends of life along with the poor and the afflicted. Dog bites man; it isn’t news. Man bites dog; it IS news. But when four men in different parts of the world bite four dogs on the same day, it presents a distorted view of reality. Can’t you see that? By nature, the “news” has a leftward tilt. It has to be that way, and there’s nothing wrong with it.
But let’s be honest here. Just because this right-wing conspiracy has success pulling a mass audience doesn’t mean the left needs to rise up in response. What if (think about this) the people were just tired of the man-bites-dog concept? What if they KNEW such stuff didn’t reflect their experience and that it was irrelevant to them? What’s wrong with somebody doing it differently?
Nobody has a lock on what it means to be “the press.” There isn’t a right or wrong way, and thankfully, nobody has the authority to make it so.
So stop complaining, and for God’s sake, get off the nostalgic longing for the way it used to be. Hop aboard the Cluetrain and you’ll lose your fear of tomorrow.
It would also help if you laid off the egg nog.
Cheers!
More handwriting on the wall
Tuesday, December 21st, 2004The table below comes from the Gallup Organization via Lost Remote. It tells a story that I’ve been screaming for the past two years. Local television news, while still on top of the heap, is sliding down a slipperly slope — one that I believe will only get steeper in the months ahead. The only media to show growth is the Internet. Everybody else is going down, down, down. Why on earth can’t people see this and find the balls to act on it?
News Source: 2002 2004 Change Local television news 57% 51% -6% Local newspapers in your area 47 44 -3 Cable news networks 41 39 -2 Nightly network news programs 43 36 -7 Morning national news programs 29 27 -2 News on the Internet 15 20 +5
I’m writing my thoughts for the year 2005 — which I’ll publish soon — and I think we’re going to see broadcasters morphing into two groups: those who wish to move forward and, as a result, embrace the Internet, and those who cannot or will not see the future and, as a result, wind up with disgruntled shareholders and ultimately as fodder for bottom feeders with cash.
Bonus link: Tom Hespos thoughtful prophecies for 2005. Excellent stuff. I especially like this one:
The FCC Exceeds Its Mandate - Michael Powell and crew will attempt to enforce indecency standards on either cable TV or satellite radio and will be taken to task for overstepping its bounds. The resulting controversy will result in either further clarification of the FCC’s rules (what constitutes an indecency violation) and boundaries (which media are subject to FCC regulation and which are not) or an overhaul of the legislation that created the FCC in the first place.
HELP WANTED!
Tuesday, December 21st, 2004As most of you know, my paying job is consulting to television stations and TV station groups. My mission is to drag everybody kicking and screaming into the 21st century, and people are starting to pay attention. Broadcasting’s goose is cooked, and the smart owners are looking for answers (revenue) beyond what their transmitter can provide. Ignorance is their enemy, and ignorance of things Internet is rampant in the industry.
I’m now being asked to help with candidates for news management positions in stations that are sitting up and taking notice. So here’s your opportunity. If you read this blog and are in a current TV news management position — regardless of the level — I’d like to hear from you. I’d like an email that spells out the extent to which you “get it” and a resume. I’m developing a list of people who’d be interested in working for companies that want to stretch their Internet wings.
Survival in video news downstream will require a different mindset and a different skill set than most news managers possess today. If you read this blog, I suspect you understand that, and I want to hear from you.
I make no promises except to get your name in front of decision-makers who might want to talk to you.
FTVLive launches group blog
Monday, December 20th, 2004Scott Jones at FTVLive.com (subscription required) has never shied away from controversy, so the idea of enabling a group of anonymous (to us) bloggers from every market is right up his alley. The FTVLive Market Report launched today with writers from eight markets talking about “the biz” in their respective markets — Boston to San Francisco to West Palm — and he hopes one day to have bloggers from every market.
The controversy here is that these bloggers will each be employed within the industry, so there’s a reasonable chance for hanky-panky. Scott told me he carefully screens each blogger and that his finger is on the delete button should anybody get out of line. “Whether its the weather guy or a photographer,” he said, “I want them to tell their own story about each market. They’ll be like local TV critics, except these people actually work in the business.”
He’s aware of the dangers of anonymity. “I’ve never been a big fan of people who hide behind an anonymous Website,” he told me, “but in this situation, I understand. They’re not being compensated. They’re paying members of my site.” He says the bloggers may be doing it as a hobby, out of love, or just as an ego stroke. For others, it might just jump start something more permanent. Regardless, he doesn’t expect problems.
“I’m not looking for some guy to just get on and trash his news director,” he said, “or simply be a cheerleader for his own station. If that does slide through, it’s easy enough for me to edit that out.”
The bloggers’ employers won’t know they’re participating “unless they tell them.”
I like this idea, because I like it when people can talk about things that are important. The only thing I don’t like is that the project doesn’t begin with comments, and I think that’s a set-up for manipulation. Without the ability for readers to respond to posts, a blog is nothing more than an editorial page. Scott says he’s open to the idea of comments, but not right now. “I don’t want it to become just another message board, and I don’t want these people to get slammed right off the bat.”
Okay. Accepted. But I’ll be watching. The plan is bold and ambitious and loaded with risks, which basically means it’ll be fun to watch as it unfolds.
Newspapers as TV stations
Friday, December 17th, 2004Not only is this going to happen, but the ground floor is already being built. Here’s an excellent article from Editor and Publisher. Here’s a taste:
Online editors at newspapers across the country are looking to add video clips, video reports, and even online TV newscasts to their sites, taking advantage of the recently exploding popularity of broadband Internet access.Kinsey Wilson, editor in chief of USAToday.com, calls “continued, expanded use of video, and real experimentation around how video is best deployed on the Internet” the top trend to watch on newspaper Web sites in 2005.
Check out Delaware Online
Video game ads are another blow to broadcasting
Friday, December 17th, 2004The announcement yesterday by Nielsen and Massive, Inc. to track the effectiveness of ads in video games is another knife wound to the solar plexus of broadcasting. Massive is a privately-held company that provides ads (there are plenty of places to put ads in these virtual worlds) to the video game industry. The two companies said they would spend the next few months determining the best way to measure and validate the data Massive gathers from games before launching a product for ad buyers in the second quarter of 2005.
The holy grail here is 18-34 year old men, the same group that “went missing” from prime-time television viewing a year ago.
This is yet another piece of the fragmented, former mass market that advertisers can pick to spend their money. And guess who’s going to lose all that cash?
CNN disses itself in Web ad
Thursday, December 16th, 2004
Well, here’s something amusing and amazing. This ad for CNN.com, which is currently running on Salon.com, takes a remarkable shot at cable (or any broadcast) news for being slow on the take when it comes to news. It’s a great ad for CNN.com, because it just tells the truth — you can get news faster on the Web than you can on-the-air. Fascinating.
A message every station owner/manager needs to read
Tuesday, December 14th, 2004This quote is from Nick Pahade, Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Beyond Interactive, in a nice little summary of online advertising’s current state by DoubleClick.
2005 will truly be the year of the consumer. No longer will advertisers be in control of when, where, and how advertising is received by the mainstream consumer. The days of a family of four gathered around the TV set at 8:00 p.m. to watch a prime time show is a distant memory. If you are lucky enough to get one person’s TV-time attention — away from their computer, gaming console, cell phone, or iPod — then they are just as likely to skip, zap or fast-forward your message as watch it. The challenge in 2005 and beyond is getting consumers to want your message by providing real value to them in all the forms of media and new digital communication they receive. Consumers are paying for their entertainment at an ever greater rate, and unless you meet their needs, your brand has little value to them.
I’m amazed at the number of my TV colleagues who don’t understand that they are the ultimate sellers of a service (news, entertainment) in their communities. Local stations are also the largest advertisers in a market, although they often limit their ads to their own medium. Everything that applies to our clients also applies to us, and that includes comments like Mr. Pahade’s.
I recently did some research for a broadcasting company and found that while many people still watch local news and read newspapers, they increasingly believe that those forms are less useful than the Internet. How many times have we heard that the news just isn’t relevant to viewers, yet we do nothing about it.
My mission in life these days, it seems, is to help stations figure out that their broadcast signal is only a part of the picture in terms of meeting the information needs of the communities they serve. This isn’t theory; it’s fact. And Mr. Pahade spells it out: “…unless you meet their needs, your brand has little value to them.”