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Twitter Updates
- Hate to say it, but @Pinterest is coming in super handy as I redesign my website. http://t.co/QJcCmAI8 #mediacliche 3 days ago
- 4 Kenyans to be tried at #ICC for 2007 election deaths. Police killings & rapes must be brought to justice next-@HRW. http://t.co/Ri287WS0 6 days ago
- @WITNESSchris Would really like to intvw you on non-profits and their future with video... 6 days ago
- Working with @HRW researchers to turn legalistic NGO language into twitter friendly statements. 6 days ago
- Senegal must send Chad dictator Habre to Belgium NOW to be tried for war crimes and torture says @HRW. #humanrights http://t.co/nV1MsBPZ 6 days ago
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Category Archives: media
Finally. I updated my reel.
Posted in BBC, conferences, freelance work, jobs, media, media tips, media training, mediabistro, reporting work, Reuters, video ideas, webcasts
Tagged anchor, broadcast, demo, host, media training, moderator, on-air, on-camera, presenter, reel, reporter, tv, webcast
Are You Polarized Enough for PollPosition.com?
I’ve been checking out Poll Position, the new website from former CNN chief news exec Eason Jordan. I got to know Eason over the summer when I hosted Mediabistro’s Start-Up Bootcamp and he asked some of the most pointed (and best) questions. Poll Position has already been quoted by Reuters, Fox News, etc. Here’s how Eason describes his endeavor:
“We provide exclusive public opinion poll results and an online platform for everyone to vote and comment on big news and timely issues. Polls are conducted in two ways: scientific polls (by phone) that reflect a representative sampling of the American people, and online polling, which reflects the views of Poll Position users voting online.”
Politico applauds the site’s transparency but wonders if Americans are as versed on current events as Poll Position needs them to be: “Each survey questions at least 1,000 people on a wide variety of topics, many of them on the news of the day. As a result, some polls elicit a large amount of ‘no opinion’ answers — like a recent poll on ESPN’s decision to yank Hank Williams Jr. from its NFL broadcast. 26% of respondents had no opinion.”
Maybe they had ‘no opinion’ because they aren’t ill-informed, just unexpectedly see multiple points of view (some call it wishy-washy)?! Here’s how I answered the following questions online:
Is cellphone restroom talk OK? Yes, if it’s me.
Was electing Obama a mistake? Depends on the alternative.
Electronic readers or books? Both.
Check out Poll Position. How does it compare to Gallup (arguably the most well known poller)? Give Eason some feedback at @EasonJordan
Posted in entrepreneur, future of news, media, mediabistro, Reuters, social media, start-up, Uncategorized, webcasts
Tagged bootcamp, cnn, eason jordan, entrepreneur, gallup, media, mediabistro, news, politico, poll, poll position, start-up, websites
My Webcast with Rafat Ali
Today was Session #1 of mediabistro’s StartUp Bootcamp.
So incredibly impressed that paidContent founder Rafat Ali was our opening speaker…I know it is hard to nail that man down so props to MB! Since he left paidContent almost exactly a year ago he’s been traveling the world, trying to get a life again, and figuring out the his next big idea. He gave us a hint: it’s not his site Guidism, which he hasn’t posted to in months.
My 3 big takeaways:
1. Accept that the Big Idea you have right now will NOT be the one you end up launching. Kind of a good life lesson.
2. Social media etc. are not enough- to generate interest/$/support staff you must be old school and meet people face to face with a short, tech savvy presentation. If you aren’t ready for that, go to events and watch others in action.
3. Rafat said his next project was going to focus on consumers and travel. He was very cagey. Yes, he has the financial freedom to follow his passion….but the amount of time that any new venture requires means that you better be TOTALLY into your idea, not just think it’s a clever money-maker.
We have people participating from all over, from Missouri to Luxembourg. So looking forward to finding out if they have a business idea or are hoping inspiration will strike this summer….
Posted in conferences, future of news, media, mediabistro, social media, Uncategorized, webcasts
Tagged bootcamp, business, conference, entrepreneur, mediabistro, online content, paidContent, rafat ali, startup, websites
5 Reasons Why: Sign up for Startup Boot Camp…
I’m prepping to host mediabistro’s 8-week online Startup Boot Camp which kicks off July 20th with live sessions on Tuesdays from 2-3pm EST . (the nitty gritty: you log into learnonline.mediabistro.com which uses the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro platform so you see live video/chat/slides etc.).
You’ll be put to the test: do you and your Big Idea have the chops to succeed as an online content business? Draft a biz plan with 1-on-1 guidance from a top advisor…at then end, we’ll all vote on the most viable plans. The winners get exclusive feedback from venture capitalist Larry Kramer (Polaris Ventures). Meanwhile, each week you’ll hear from some sh*t-hot online entrepreneurs who are going to make you work. it. out. (I usually hate when people write. like. this. But here it applies. Also, “out” should be pronounced “owwwwwt”). So DO something with yourself this summer!
And if that wasn’t enough: here are my top 5 reasons why you should sign-up for mediabistro’s Startup Boot Camp:
1. A bonus session has been added with Alexa Andrzejewski, cofounder of the power start-up Foodspotting (1mil. app downloads) for a live interview on funding your startup.
2. Even if you don’t have a Big Idea, this course will help you either come up with one (think Winklevoss…just kidding) or help you be a better consultant to others who are working on their Big Idea.
3. Watch me try to not look nerdy while wearing headphones while webcasting. It will be done.
4. Anytime, anywhere. Tell your boss you are going to a conference. Then log-in from your Fire Island share.
5. Prove to yourself that you have better ideas that that guy who just told you he’s launching an app that “curates content”. Please. Sounds like aggregation to me.
P.S. Use my promo code for $50 off….just type in MZ50 when you sign up. Make me feel useful.
Journalism Start-Up Boot Camp
Our boot camp will be more interactive.
My Thursday afternoons this summer are spoken for: I’ll be hosting mediabistro’s weekly online conference and workshop on entrepreneurial journalism. Here’s the description:
Learn what to consider when launching your start-up. Draft your business plan over eight weeks with the help of your peers. Participants will vote on the most viable business plans in the group and the winner will have the chance to hear feedback from entrepreneur and venture capitalist Larry Kramer, who will also answer questions from the group. We’ll discuss viable business models for media start-ups and address key questions related to content distribution and monetization.
Very excited. Not only a new method of teaching for me and mediabistro but also looking forward to getting to know participants with big (or small) media ideas…
See the full program and speakers list here. Join us.
Posted in conferences, freelance work, future of news, media, media tips, mediabistro, reporting work, social media, Uncategorized
Tagged boot camp, business, conference, entrepreneur, journalist, media, mediabistro
Inside Scoop on Mediabistro’s 2-Track Socialize Summit
I’m hosting Mediabistro’s Socialize event on Thursday and Friday. The goal? To discover how to leverage social media to drive revenue.
Each days kicks off with a keynote speaker (Mitch Joel of Twist Image and Ian Schafer of Deep Focus) and then we break up into 2 different rooms. Day #1: Choose between Social Gaming or Going Mobile. Day #2: Focus on Optimizing your Social Media strategy or New Ways of Monetizing Social Media. OR- mix and match- go hear the panels that you think are most going to give your business a boost. I’ll be in the Grand Room for the Mobilize and Optimize tracks. I’m particularly psyched for the Social Video session on Friday- we’ll discuss how businesses should put video to work, with Online Video-Analyst and Videologist Grant Crowell of ReelSEO.
We’re expecting several hundred people with about 8 exhibitors, an on-site bookstore, a cocktail reception, and the surprisingly good coffee from The New Yorker hotel. Come on down! And before you do, download the conventionist app to get the schedule, map, social, and other cool features.
Just 1 Minute of News
The website OneMinuteNews.com launched last week. It offers, obviously, a one minute video wrap up of news (mostly AP footage, as far as I can tell) and claims: “You might notice news is different here. We give it to you straight up.”
They don’t seem to have quite got their footing yet but the idea of a minute of video news has been tested. Successes, for example, include the BBC’s One-Minute of World News and its “60 Seconds” on BBC3.
Obviously, as an ex-BBC reporter/producer I’m partial to my roots but here’s the thing: to get people to believe everything they see in 1 minute, I think you need to have established cred. I’m curious to see if OneMinuteNews will be able to establish itself as anything than just another news aggregator that recuts wire service video. Am I soooo Generation X? Here’s Fast Company’s take on the new venture. Short and interesting read if you are a news nerd.
Posted in BBC, future of news, media, Uncategorized, video ideas, webcasts
Tagged BBC, fast company, media, news, on-camera, oneminutenews, online content, video, websites
Wrestling Big Brains on Digital Privacy
Last week, with CSpan cameras rolling away, I kicked off Mediabistro’s Digital Privacy Forum by asking audience members (mostly marketers and brand managers) if they worried that more internet regulation will spell trouble for their business. Almost everyone raised their hand. And yet the main message of several of the speakers was that regulation is the only way forward for American growth. Take Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in DC. This man talks, Congress listens. And the guy makes a gripping, if terrifying speech- he told us about a congressman who referred to 2010 technology as Web 2.0 at government hearings. Later Marc mentioned to me that the US government understanding of the digital world is really lagging by about 20 years. They could use some field trips to the Mac store down there.
On a more personal note, I loved the philosophical bust-up between anti-put-your-life-on-the web thinker Andrew Keen vs. I’m-all-out-there-even-about-my-prostate Professor Jeff Jarvis. The best conferences are when speakers are yelling at each other across the room. So I wrestled their large brains to the ground and we found common ground on whether or not the more we share digitally, the better we are. Just kidding- no detente was reached. Watch the conversation continue in person at Mediabistro’s mega conference on social media on March 31-April 1.
Posted in conferences, media, mediabistro, social media, Uncategorized
Tagged business, conference, cspan, Digital privacy, EPIC, Jarvis, Keen, mediabistro, regulation
EBook Summit around the corner
I’m MC’ing mediabistro.com’s 2nd EBook Summit on Wednesday. We got awesome feedback last year but this year the event has exploded. Inside scoop: publishing houses have been calling and wondering if there is room for them on the agenda. Sorry! The schedule is packed with goodies…NYU author and thinker Doug Rushkoff opens it up, The New Yorker’s Ken Auletta closes it out. If you are a writer, publisher, editor, or anyone creating content in the digital age, come on over to The New Yorker hotel on Wednesday. As a video person, I’m also particularly interested to hear from Jacqueline Bosnjak and Mark Beukes, founders of Ideologue, the award-winning digital studio…check out their website, they do some crazy stuff. Oh, and free drinks on mediabistro are on the agenda too.
Posted in books, conferences, media, mediabistro, social media, video ideas
Tagged auletta, ebook, Idealogue, mediabistro, rushkoff, user generated
QVC endures
QVC's New Control Room in Milan
I’m fascinated by the fact that the shopping channel QVC continues to not only do well, but attract high quality and prestige brands. The image I used to have was of porcelain dolls and collectors coins being hawked incessantly. But somehow, in the past several years, the products have changed and expanded. Now you see makeup from Estee Lauder, clothes from the Mad Men costume designer, and even Birkenstocks being sold. I’ve been working with a client who is bringing his brand to QVC and it’s made me wonder: when did QVC become “cool”? Ok, maybe not cool, but desirable enough that ‘prestige’ brands are anxious to be on-air? My theory is that when wealth became more showy and was no longer considered distasteful (ie during the boom years of the 2000′s) brands were happy to cash in on the cache they had built with more discreet and discerning customers. Remember Coach handbags? Only fancy ladies had them when I was growing up. Now the hoards snap up the much flashier mid-level prices totes and the company’s latest annual revenue was $3.6B. But it’s not just the mainstream masses- apparently the highest number of QVC orders come from zip codes on NYC’s Upper East Side.
From a media trainer’s perspective, savvier audiences mean defining your company/product’s narrative and delivering a succinct and sincere message is paramount.
Posted in media, media tips, media training, Uncategorized
Tagged business, media training, on-camera, QVC
