SXSWmas is so near!!

I’m working on my calendar. I’m tired, y’all, but I will be adding to this more each night. So pumped!

Hipster Web trend of the month: dressing up their pets like themselves

This week I was tipped off to the cutest, most ironic and totally underground Web site I’ve seen in quite some time: hipster puppies. (btw, thanks for the link, @rachelwentcrazy!)

Now I must admit that in general I am much more partial to funny cat pics on the Web, but I’m sorry to inform you that cats just don’t look as funny in hipster clothes as dogs do. However, you be the judge: there’s also hipster kitties for all my fellow cat lovers out there. You’ll find that they just took (internet) famous cats and made them seem like hipsters. But I think those kitties are way too mainstream for the site, IMHO.

Here’s an adorable sampling of the pups.

barney is more concerned with “dynamic range compression” and “the loudness wars” than the fact that he has shitty taste in music

no one is angrier than walter that you can’t buy sparks in san bernardino anymore

for tillie, having a mad men premiere party means dressing up, drinking manhattans and being totally fucking insufferable

trigger says the words “bike culture” out loud at least once a day

butters is going to stand directly in front of you and snap pictures for an hour straight because the perfect shot of dave longstreth isn’t going to take itself

perry could have easily informed the waiter that his order was wrong, but has decided to just write a bad yelp review instead

Check out the rest at http://www.hipsterpuppies.tumblr.com!

Does the Internet deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize?

In case you missed this story like I did, the Internet has in fact been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. According to Mashable.com, “The nomination was made after a petition by the Italian version of Wired Magazine, which cited the Internet’s contributions to “dialogue, debate and consensus through communication.” Signatories include Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi, and organizers say the nomination will make for a legitimate entry.”

Two nights ago I stumbled upon a letter from Riccardo Luna of Wired Italy to Pete Cashmore of Mashable. He brought up some beautiful points about the internet’s new nature with the rise of social media. It’s like a living, breathing creature propelled by each individual user’s thoughts, hopes, comments and, let’s face it, rants. After reading Luna’s letter I started to feel completely differently about the Web. In my mind it has become like an ocean reef — it’s not in fact an inanimate object, or a Web site or an index of facts, it’s a new, super-human entity, created by us, which can immortalize us forever.

And as noted by Luna, Web access can now be considered a universal right. (After all, if Hillary says it, IT’S TRUE.) Our right to express ourselves on the Web makes its nature more human. Says Luna:

[The] Internet is not about computers, but living. It is the greatest social interface humanity has ever had. It is a weapon of mass construction. As we have put out in the official manifesto of the campaign, “digital culture is promoting a new kind of society through communication and education.” And communication and education are the roots of a peaceful world. One may not see it clearly now, but in the long run, new generations growing up in this increasingly digital world will bring ahead values of cooperation, sharing of knowledge, mutual respect.

The Internet has definitely been an equalizer among us, which I believe has brought a high degree of peace on our fair planet. But when considering whether the ‘net can really win this I question all the violent crimes and murders that have come about from creepy old men stalking young pretty girls through the same social interfaces that connect us all as one race. Can an entity really win the award when it also opens up a playground for pedophiles and killers?

Happy Valentine’s Day from media m i r a g e

Thanks for reading my blog. I love y’all <3 <3 <3

Soapboxes aren’t for everybody

I realized something just now. No matter how many Twitters and Facebooks and Buzzes there are out there to help us communicate to everybody with whom we have kept mostly friendly relations, I don’t think the loudspeaker feel of social networking will ever impact the way I communicate with friends online like instant messaging and chatting have. Really! I realized that with Google Buzz now all of a sudden all my friends who I never see on Facebook or Twitter have been shackled and thrown into the a prison cell of social media slavery. A few examples (and for the protection of my friends and this social study, I have cloaked the participants’ names with conspicuous photoshop spraypaint).

Exhibit A:

Yes I realize my friends are especially resistant to the practice of thought broadcasting. But you know what’s fascinating? That girl who was forced into social networking by Google used to stay up late nights chatting with me on AIM. We all stayed up all night talking to each other, entering random chatrooms together and creating our own private chats where we all planned gatherings, admitted deep, dark secrets and gave each other updates on our current crushes, with whom we were most likely also chatting.

In middle school, AIM was pretty much the afternoon hangout. We could pretend we were doing homework on the computer, we could talk to all our friends at once in privacy (this was a time before cell phones — you had to use the home line) and we LOVED it.

So what is it about neo social networking that is so repulsive to those same individuals that loved chatting online? Is it the vast openness of them? The fact that it’s all public?

Ashton Kutcher claims that his own HUGELY public twitter page, @aplusk, is keeping his life calm, the tabloids Ashton-free and the paparazzi off his back. But honestly, just face it, Ashton, you used to be a hottie, and now you’re a nottie. SIMPLE AS THAT.

Plus we know this wasn’t the case for all celebrities. Take Miley Cyrus, for example, the pressure she faced while on Twitter was so intense that not only did she quit the network, she also released this deliciously wrong YouTube video. Please excuse the unfortunate girl who typed the subtitles to the following video. In fact, you can just pre-hate me for this:

I just had to use it because it works so well. And now it’s so clear: my non-networking friends are just being Miley.

Journalists are poor and chocolate ain’t cheap. Thus, fun, free Valentines for journos!

OK, so I’ve got to hand it to Mark Luckie over at 10,000 words, he’s got quite a site running. Not only is he a great source for journalists and students alike, but he’s got a great sense of humor! Today Luckie posted a screenful of punny, beautifully designed Valentines for journalists. My favorite feature — they’re 100 percent cost-free, environmentally friendly, and easy to post into an e-mail or message at work to give your colleagues and friends a quick day-warming. I’ve posted a few of my favorites below. Be sure to check out the rest at 10000words.net.

And finally, my personal favorite:

This means you may arrive at my heart, take a look around, maybe a photo or two, and ask me some juicy questions. It’s not quite a VIP pass, you’ll notice, so please don’t abuse it as such.

World [wide web] War III: Google v. Facebook

I have concluded that I will witness World War III in my lifetime. Before coming upon this realization, I was always scared to witness the third World War. I was certain none of us would get out alive. But now that I’ve realized it will in fact be almost completely virtual and involve a minimal number of nuclear bombs, I’ve decided to sit back and enjoy the show.

In one corner, we have the veteran champion, Google. From its search engine to its e-mail to its incredible mapping system and documentation of our ENTIRE GLOBE, Google has consistently out-performed itself in the past decade.

Not only that, Google never shows its flaws. Google doesn’t pump the internet full of rumors for months, make a big fancy announcement of a product and then wait a few months to release it. (I’m looking at you, ya goofy iPad-releasing Apple execs!) Instead Google makes a small chink in the internet, and slowly trickles the information down just the way it wants the information trickled, from the utmost elite nerds down to the educated tech-savvys down to, oh, let’s say the tech-savvy people’s parents and friends. For the moment Google doesn’t need lowly AOL or Hotmail users. Not a good target market.

Google not only knows how to market, Google knows how to deliver. Apart from Google Wave, I’ve found most Google services to run flawlessly. The tone behind Google’s minimalist style and cutesy comments keep the company always friendly, always helpful, and always striving to provide the best of the best. For example, after Gmail chat is disconnected it returns by triumphantly announcing, “…And we’re back!” These little details win the hearts of users like myself.

In the other corner, there’s Facebook. Once a hero, the company has turned sinister and has unleashed its “Good guy gone bad” scheme into the world with striking terror. Facebook slowly gained a userbase among American college students, soon broadening the base to include high schoolers. I remember the outcry against such a move, and since that change Facebook’s objectives in staking claim in the social media world have morphed into an unidentifiable, power-hungry beast. The small online community (even in a campus of 60,000) created by my Texas network on Facebook really did work charmingly during my beginning years of college. Facebook helped us plan parties, organize photos of our friends, create groups for our dorm floor, create groups to perpetuate inside jokes and most importantly, post drunken wall notes after a night of bonding over jungle juice. Facebook was a community.

Now with more than 400 million users, Facebook is the internet. It’s the most common topic I overhear being discussed in my workplace. But the networking has changed — it’s almost non-existent. Groups are no longer a friendly spot with a few message threads and wall posts, they’re now formatted like a Fan Page that makes announcement after announcement with no real interaction — just announcements, related comments, and a number of thumbs up given to the post.

Facebook has become a one-stop shop for most of its users. It’s the shop around the corner that has everything — addictive games, information about every human being you deem to be an acquaintance, and even updates about products, businesses and public figures you adore. The problem? It’s cluttered with trash and the interface is buggy and, well, if you’re not careful your religious great auntie might see a post you wrote about women’s reproductive rights. I want all Facebook users to get this because I’m only going to type it once: in two years you won’t even want to speak Facebook’s name. It’s the Myspace of tomorrow and that’s final.

It’s only a matter or time before the anti-tweeters come around. They all came around to Facebook. They’ll come around to Twitter. And they will almost certainly find refuge in Google Buzz. I must admit Facebook’s foray into e-mail is a bit worrisome to me, but I don’t believe it will take off. Facebook can’t get chatting right and after the 12th redesign or so I just don’t care to relearn the navigation.

Facebook has turned into a public announcement fest — some say it has turned into Twitter, but I think that’s false. To me, Twitter is truly a conversation, a network with natural niches and webs built in. Facebook’s not cut out to defeat Google and it never will, because it just can’t deliver. So come on, Google Buzz, knock out Facebook so I can just delete that account already and move on with my life of buzzing and tweeting.

Bizzy body

Hi all. Being the young 20something that I am in the fresh, beautiful beginnings of my brofessional career, I have done most networking in my life the new-fangled way. If we’re talking networking that doesn’t involve a [computer] screen and text then I’m a little inexperienced. It’s intimidating being a n00b in the big scary world of grown professionals, amiright? Being young in the business world definitely leaves you feeling vulnerable, but there are a few shining qualities we share that we MUST EXPLOIT. And the most important of those is the fact that you have a fresh-thinking, creative mind fathered by the 21st century. We’re gifted, it’s true!

In the dark ages there was nothing for me but horrible networking opportunities in the form of communications career fairs in college. You stand in line in a business suit with a fancy black folder and a stack of resumes and try to think of a way to stand out. These events were especially sad for the journalism majors when we realized that none of the companies represented at the fairs actually wanted to hire us. I remember frolicking up to the Statesman’s booth only to find they were only seeking advertising interns. But I digress.

Since graduation my tactics have changed — I mean since graduation Twitter changed everything — and I really only network with other media professionals via social media. (I guess technically my co-workers are media professionals, too, but that’s not networking — that’s just plain old working.)

This will all change in March. I’m taking a plunge and hopping a plane to SXSW Interactive Fest this year. Long story short, I am going to need all the help I can get with this in-person networking. I want to make a lasting impression. So, I’ve decided to come up with an unforgettable business card. I’ve come up with a few winners, I believe. Let me know which ones you like best.

On that note — I’m also hoping to find a way to tastefully and zingfully insert a last name joke. I mean my last name is Blewitt. There’s gotta be something there.

And without further ado, the selection of biz cards from which I will suck out all my inspiration:

I’m leaning toward a combo special between two, three and four. What do y’all think!?

Lady Gaga: cookie.

For the record, I started working on this post BEFORE Lady Gaga posted this on twitter. Now the cat’s really out of the bag, so I’ll just be outright — Lady Gaga has been baked.

So, so awesome. For more, visit fashionindie.com.

New York Times + Apple Tablet = Love?

Online sources are reporting that on January 27 the New York Times will begin charging its readers for access to online content. This change in accessibility is coming the same day Apple’s much-anticipated tablet (well, it looks like we may be calling it the iSlate) is rumored to launch. New York Magazine reported that NYT Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. may “strike a content partnership for the new device, which could dovetail with the paid strategy.”

The exact details of how the pay wall system haven’t been announced yet. Times spokesperson Diane McNulty said: “We’ll announce a decision when we believe that we have crafted the best possible business approach. No details till then.”

Journalists crafting a business approach? Aye, this could take quite a while. With 10 days to go until the rumored pay wall is raised high, we won’t have to wait long to see what the final approach will entail. Sulzberger needs to have quite a few conversations with Jobs pronto.

The Telegraph reports, “Mr. Sulzberger is believed to favor a metered use policy similar to The Financial Times, which allows readers to access some articles for free before they are forced to subscribe.”

Personally I’m completely comfortable with supporting the dying art of journalism (it feels a bit like supporting your local community theatre). I’m also happy to pay for quality news and reporting. But I do hope the Times gives some sort of mix’n'match deal. No Dowd for me, please.

Also… DO WANT THE TABLET. Holy jeez it looks amazing.

Flag-draped transparency

Since 2003, at least 4,251 flag-draped coffins have arrived from Iraq. Since 2001, at least 584 have come home from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
[AP]

Today Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to announce that news photographers will be able to capture these tragic homecomings. Soldiers who come home in the ultimate defeat will no longer be hidden from the public eye. However, the photographs may only be taken if the family of the deceased comply.

Critics of the Pentagon’s old policy said the government was trying to hide the human cost for our wars abroad; is that really the case?

Shadow the bongkitty

This 20-year-old Nebraska man, Acea Schomaker:

Stuffed this cat, 6-month-old kitten Shadow:

Into this homemade bong:

The AP says Schomaker wanted to “mellow out” his cat by stuffing her into his homemade bong — and now he’s facing criminal charges (GOOD!)

Read the rest of the story here.

From boob signings to book signings

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is moving up in the world! No longer does this shameless man have to sign blonde boobies outside of Chicago Cubs games. But, you know, just because he’ll eventually move on to bigger and better signing materials, (OK, so maybe not bigger!) like freshly-bound books published on the dime of a “six-figure” book deal with Phoenix Books, doesn’t mean he’ll be all books from here on out. I can definitely see more boobies in Blago’s future.

The book, to be titled The Governor (more like The Former Governor, LOL!) will outline his “downfall” and all of the “factors” that were “involved” in the “decisions” he “made.” And yes, all those scare quotes were very necessary.

This is what I don’t get, Americans, why are we PAYING this criminal after we hand him federal charges for trying to get PAID to pick a senate seat? Are you out of your mind, Americans? Have you gone bonkers? It was bad enough that you watched him on The View, or let him sign your boobies or whatever it is you let him do. Shame on us for paying attention to this governwhore turned attentionwhore.

I am going to lose sleep for months over this garbage. Well, Blago, your indictment’s coming in April, so you better be a quick writer.

Laid off at 22

Bust out your tissues. This post contains sensitive material.

Last night I had a thought — it went something like “omigawd I haven’t blogged in like four days and I have no clue what I should write about next!!!!”

Well, have I got a doozie of a blog post topic now.

Today I got laid off. Or, rather, my “position was eliminated.” To be completely honest, I knew it was coming. Last week we gained word that web producer positions had “been eliminated” in Dallas and D.C. If those two cities were down to three web producers, there was no way Austin would get to keep four.

I guess I should back up for those who didn’t know, but I worked at the local FOX TV station here in Austin. I was a web producer. I LEARNED TO READ A LOT OF SCRIPTS, E-MAILS, ETC. IN ALL CAPS THERE.

I learned a lot of other things, too. But the all caps thing was definitely a big adjustment for me. It’s all about being flexible.

The real kicker for me, though, is that I feel like I taught a lot while I was there, too. I was the official AP Style guru to one of my close colleagues, I created a Facebook account that began generating about 20 percent of our daily page views, oh yeah, and I taught the reporters how to use Twitter. Now I already know what it will feel like when I teach my child how to ride a bike someday.

When we heard about the layoffs last week, a colleague and I went into states of complete shock and paranoia, but he kept telling me (ever so sincerely) that I deserved to stay because I was smarter, more skilled, more attractive and generally cooler that he was. I hope he knows how much I appreciated those comments, and I’m glad that all the hard work I put in went noticed by my superiors, but those who mandated the layoff on the national level didn’t know me — I am just the entity that fills a position — and I was the newest one on the team. The “position elimination” was solely decided by the fact that I was most recently hired. And that’s fair, I guess.

But you know what wasn’t fair? I worked so hard to become a journalist since the day I switched my liberal arts major over to multimedia journalism. I did everything I could to gain experience, learn new skills and become a concerned, involved and accurate journalist and citizen. I went from general newspaper reporting to web editing to radio reporting looking for a way to become a part of the media. And once I got my job as a web producer I felt like it all paid off. I’d always thought of myself as a jack of all trades but master of none in the worst way. But when I was hired as a web producer everything clicked — all that I’d done had perfectly prepared me to be where I was.

But now here I am at home. At the end of December I had two jobs — my web producer job and another freelance editing job with a local magazine. Now it’s March 9th, and I have zero jobs. The magazine folded and my position was eliminated.

I’ve worked so hard to keep ahead. I graduated a year early and put myself out into the industry as fast as my little feet could take me. I wanted to succeed and grow as a professional as fast as I could, but you know, maybe I jumped the gun. After all, I SHOULD STILL BE A SENIOR IN COLLEGE RIGHT NOW! (Oh my gosh, I guess the caps lock skill really DID stick!) But instead, I’m laid off. Laid off at 22.

SPRING BREAK 09!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, really though, I have come up with a few options for my future, and I’d like some feedback, so please read this list of possible jobs/ventures I will be looking into over the next few days and tell me which one I should choose.

1. I could become a full-time snarky Gawker commenter. My cynicism index has recently broken through the glass ceiling, and now that I have become “just another statistic” I can really relate to their daily (soon to be hourly) posts about media layoffs. So that’s an idea.

2. I could put myself up for sale on eBay like this Austin family did. (Sorry, I have this bad habit of shameless linking to myfoxaustin.com to generate more page views. I need to stop doing that!)

3. I could go live with my parents in Katy!!!!!

OK I can’t really think of any other options at the moment.

Um, SPRING BREAK!

Are you ready for a layoff?

Yes.

I was reminded of a piece I worked on back in October 2008 called “Are you ready for a layoff?”

Hmmm….

So glad about that nest egg I’ve saved up over the years.

Free the mannequins!

Tell me if I’m wrong, but is it a sign of the times that Old Navy is using mannequins in their commercials instead of real actors and actresses? I was watching this commercial earlier today and the thought crossed my mind. (And made me giggle a lot.) I would really, really like to know how much money Old Navy saved by using mannequins in their commercials.

Support the mannequins! They deserve their cut, too.

Haha I forgot to mention how ridiculously sassy they are. So I wanted to find out more about the mannequins (technically they’re called Supermodelquins, you know, since they’re stars of Old Navy commercials.) Kinda like these guys:

Something makes me think that Travis the chimp was in a very similar Old Navy commercial star situation. Unpaid acting. It’ll drive a chimp crazy!

Back to the mannequins, I found this REAL CELEB STORIES video that gives a look into the mannequins’ backgrounds. Let’s be honest here, I didn’t watch past :39. BUT, I thought I’d leave the option open for those who are interested.

[Since I've got so much more taste and class than the New York Post, an unintentionally potentially racist phrase has been removed from this post. Sincerest apologies to anyone who may have been offended by the phrase.]

Get out of town, NY scumbags

Blessed are the hipsters, for they shall inherit the Earth. Oh, wait, wrong verse.

I ended my glorious week of SXSW in the teenie tiny Green Shoelace Garage for a very special party featuring a “secret” guest, the widely celebrated and loved MSTRKRFT. I was so pumped to see them, last time I saw them they blew me away and I expected the same last night. Let’s just say I fell vicitim to hype of my own making.

The whole performance wasn’t really about dancing or listening to some high-quality electro music, no, it was about the entourage. It was about being seen passing a bottle of Crown Royal from one sexy person to another. And taking sexy photos of all the beautiful drunk girls willing to drink their away their dignity in exchange for the chance to dance on the stage with a cool DJ guy with a crazy design on his T-shirt.

I’ll admit that I sound more bitter now about the entourage than I actually felt at the time. They were annoying, yes. But not to the point where my night could be ruined. Still, I couldn’t help but think that it was a little sad to end my SXSW with pretentious New York hipsters who think it’s OK to invade our city with their “hawter than thou” party mentalities.

Anyway. lastnightsparty was at the show. I’m pretty sure I’ve linked the man behind the lens:

Sure, he seems all right on stage, innocent enough. But my friend and I left the show early (sheer exhaustion, it was going on 4:30 a.m., ah). We rode our bikes back around the garage and I spotted the same cameraman crouching behind a dumpster, coaxing an intoxicated topless woman to pose for some photos.

It’s not like I haven’t seen the topless party photos before. But seeing it in person and seeing that poor drunk girl’s confused face just really put me over the edge. Go home, New Yorkers, we Southern Belles try to keep it a little bit classier than that.

Superhero senator wants to save us all

Yesterday U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) introduced a bill that would allow newspapers (smaller ones, not the huge media conglomerates) to run just like a non-profit — tax breaks and all. They’d become kind of like public broadcasting companies.

Newspapers would still be allowed to report on political issues (dear God, let’s hope so) but wouldn’t be able to make endorsements anymore. Here’s what Cardin had to say about his brainchild:

The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.

See, rest of the professional world, our industry is doubly screwed! Our business model is “BROKEN!” Too bad for all of y’all, because now your “DEMOCRACY” is going to be “BROKEN.”

Seriously though, I do like this idea. Too bad the rest of Washington hates it; Cardin has yet to attract any co-sponsors. Tell me, mediafiends, what do you think?

Are you even reading this?

TGIF — Thank God I Facebook. I don’t think people my age will ever be able to organize any sort of coalition, protest or any grassroots movement without it. And if we actually do figure out how to bring an issue to people’s attention without creating a group or event, well, chances are the cause will never be quite as successful.

Thanks to this Keep Richard Finnell at The Daily Texan Facebook group, all of us concerned Texan Exes were able to do something about Texas Student Media’s troubling proposal to consolidate positions and layoff six people in an effort to shrink TSM’s deficit for the year. Within a span of 48 hours the page was filled with our comments and encouragements to each other to flood the TSM board members’ inboxes with e-mails pleading them to vote no on a proposal that would get rid of an advisor that has molded so many of us into the passionate journalists we are today.

wuddup world.

i’d just like to say that joining a facebook group is akin to wearing a save darfur shirt and that everyone should take 15 minutes to write all these people a quick dissent.

When the board meets Friday we will discuss the projected revenue shortfalls and explore options for cost efficiency.

No decision has been made, or will be made without thoughtful consideration of all possible alternatives regarding the future of the staff members involved and the financial best interests of TSM and its ability to serve UT students.

Cash said it would be a great disservice to students if the board did not address the real challenges facing media industries.

“It would create an artificial world for the students,” Cash said. “I think a lot of this is consolidation, which makes sense from a business model.”

Cash did seem affected by our presence in the meeting. And while TSM director Kathy Lawrence laid out her layoff agena, Cash asked thorough, aggressive, tough question after thorough, aggressive, tough question. Just like she’d taught us in her infamous reporting class (self-proclaimed as the hardest course offered within the journalism school). In the end, Lawrence’s own lack of preparedness cost her the vote.

She had a powerpoint presentation ready to explain what the new positions would entail … but those descriptions didn’t match the agenda. After a good amount of discussion, Cash moved to postpone the vote. We’ll have to wait until April 24 to see if Lawrence can convince the board to make the cuts.

Daily Texan’s editor Leah Finnegan and managing editor Vikram Swaruup made some comments after Lawrence’s powerpoint went bust. They expressed a deep concern over the lack of transparency and communication between the board and the students who are running The Daily Texan. They said they heard the news about Richard Finnell’s potentional layoff from the man himself, not from the board. Swaruup said he thought the two most influential students running the paper should have a chance to see the proposal on paper before it becomes a part of the meeting’s agenda.

The two then brought up the fact that there are board members who have admitted to not reading the Daily Texan regularly. Finnegan pleaded with the members to spend some time in the basement and learn what the publication is really all about. She said that nothing rang more true than the opening line of Swaruup’s opening to his progress report to the board: “Everytime I write one of these, I end up wondering how many people actually read it.” If they’re not even reading the Texan, who’s to know?

Did you know?

Earlier a friend of mine asked me, “Did you know one in every eight couples married in the U.S. last year met online?”

I didn’t; did you know that? Save yourself five minutes at the end of the day to watch this video about “pace of innovation.” [via @mashable.]

It’s a trip. What struck me most was the classification of an event that occurred “B.G.” — before Google. I’ve never heard this before. It got me thinking: OK, Google was founded in 1998, just around the turn of the millennium, two thousand years after the birth of Christ. Are we going to start measuring time on a B.G. basis instead of B.C.? Is Google becoming as important as Christ in our human history?

Don’t worry, y’all, I also know about the BCE/CE classification system. I guess that would change to “Before Google Era” and “Google Era.”

Innocence legislation goes to Texas floor

A little something I whipped up for BurntOrangeReport.com. I hope you all enjoy it!

There’s a storm gathering!

I have been a lazy blogger lately, sorry. Just trying to enjoy my free time before it’s cruelly ripped away from me. Anyway, I wanted to share this ad created by this group called RIM: Restoring Integrity to the Military and Marriage. They have an awesome name for their Web site, it’s http://rimsjob.org. I shit you not. Here’s an ad they put out recently, it’s a must-watch:

I couldn’t help but notice how similar it was to an ad I read about last week that made me laugh and cry all at the same time. This group goes by the name of NOM: The National Organization for Marriage and it was released in the launch of their Religious Liberty Ad Campaign. Shyeah.

Oh, and just for fun, NOM NOM NOM NOM.

Teabaggers

I love being able to talk about teabaggers. Tee hee hee. Today was Tax Day. I guess that’s the best day to describe it? I honestly don’t think any description that I could whip up in less than 20 minutes would do justice. Today was crazy. Basically, people decided to protest the fact that they have to pay taxes. First of all, here’s the best response to the protests that I’ve seen today:

Moving, right? I enjoyed it. I tried to hop over to some of the Texas Tea Parties today, but I ended up being a little late to both of them. Curses! Still I was able to experience them (I feel) through the twitpics and news coverage of them that I saw throughout the day. Here were my favorite two twitpics:

This one’s from KT Musselman. @karltm #Austin #teaparty best sign? Got fascism?

This one’s from Elise Hu, @elisewho A wide shot of all the marchers headed set from the Capitol to dump tea into the lake.

The Statesman’s multimedia coverage of the event was pretty awesome. And I just have to say, I would have enjoyed the whole ordeal much more if there were more people dressed up in their proper 18th Century tea party attire, but whatever.

I’ll leave you with the words of Paul Krugman and the footage I was able to catch — but I must warn you it’s not too thrilling since I arrived late to the City Hall party AND the marching party. I guess Conservatives haven’t heard about being fashionably late.

But the charge of socialism is being thrown around only because “liberal” doesn’t seem to carry the punch it used to. And if you go back just a few years, you find top Republican figures making equally bizarre claims about what liberals were up to. Remember when Karl Rove declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to the 9/11 terrorists?

Your ≠ You’re

Found a new exciting Web site today called MuckRack.com.

What if you could get tomorrow’s newspaper today?

Now you sorta can, by tracking the short messages on Twitter written by the journalists who do the muckraking for major media outlets.

Muck Rack makes it easy to follow one line, real time reporting.

If you are a journalist on Twitter or know of anyone not yet included in Muck Rack, please let us know.

I was so close to signing up. And I probably will. But in the process of signing up a big, glaring YOUR stared me in the face.

TYPE “SELF” IF YOUR ADDING YOURSELF!?! Please, I beg of you, fix this spelling error, MuckRack.com! A site representing journalists that made a your/you’re error? Not OK.

Paper cuts can cause surprisingly acute pain

There’s nothing that online journalists love more than interactive google maps, so it makes sense that a multimedia and graphic designer from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Erica Smith, would take on the huge task of launching Paper Cuts, a blog tracking newspaper layoffs across the country. Click on the map to the left to search around the site. Zoom in, click on a city and get the numbers on individual papers. It’s even color-coded, but of course, by number of layoffs. So far the current count for the number of layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers is — get ready, y’all — 8,484+.

Did that seem like a large number to anybody? We’ve nearly completely the first 1/3 of 2009 and we’re up to about 8,500 layoffs in newspaper alone, I would love to see the numbers for other media outlets (like, let’s say TV, cough).

You can also browse layoffs from 2008 and about half of 2007 (Smith started the project halfway through that year). Additional listings include newspapers that have ceased publication, papers making the switch to “dot com,” and, but of course, layoff rumors. Make sure to contribute any layoff tips if you’ve got ‘em.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the corny headline comes from Wikipedia’s definition of a paper cut.

Twentysomething lands managing editor gig at The New Yorker

Today I learned that a 26-year-old woman landed a managing editor gig at The New Yorker. Amelia Lester, an Australia native, graduated from Harvard and began at The New Yorker as a fact checker. She left to edit for the Paris Review. Now she’s back and the envy of, um, well, me at least.

Things may not be perfect in the media world right now, but God damn it, if we’re not hopeful and we don’t at least try to make things work, well then we deserve our plight, now don’t we?

An anonymous contributor published this heart-breaking piece on Gawker today. It really got me down. I may not be an official member of the media in my current position, but my title includes the word “editor” in it and I’m going to jump on the first opportunity I find to get back into the writing game. Or at least that’s been my plan as of late. I thought that as a recent journalism graduate I was in one of the worst positions possible amidst the media meltdown.

There I was, a rookie ball player waiting on the bench and so ready to finally get my first chance step up to the plate. I made the cut got placed into the line-up, and by some grace of God I got a hit and ran my little heart out, slid into second base and MADE IT. Then some old fart who followed me in the lineup hit a grounder to third base and I was tagged out. Cut from the game.

The other rookies and I never even got our chance! Yet Gawker’s quoting a guy in his early 30s working for a glossy Conde Naste publication who said, “All these young kids still wet from college complaining about the lack of media jobs—at least they’re young enough to figure something else out. It’s the guys like me, who’ve been doing this shit for a decade and don’t know how to do anything else, who are fucked.”

You know what I have to say to this bitter old man? First of all, If you’re gonna call me a young kid “wet from college” I won’t hesitate to call you old. Second, STFU. Srsly. You want my job? I’ll teach you how to do something else.

Here’s what a “friend” says of Ms. Lester: “she got this far the old fashioned way — hard work and smarts.” Hopefully with enough motivation and journalistic prowess all of us “wet from college” (what does that even mean?) can slowly but surely replace all the whiny old farts.

‘damn’

Tao Lin is a really funny guy. I’m going to go ahead and tell you about his new book now. It’s called Shoplifting from American Apparel.

Seems pretty good. I wonder if it has a twisty plot. Or a surprise ending. Something tells me neither will be the case.

An excerpt of the book was posted on hipster runoff. I’m going to have to admit that the portion he chose to share hit close to home. Here it is:

“You know those people that get up every day, and do things,” said Luis.

“I’m going to eat cereal even though I’m not hungry,” said Sam.

“And are real proactive,” said Luis. “And like are getting things done, and never quit their jobs. Those people suck.”

“We get shit done too,” said Sam. “Look at our books.”

“I know, but that brings in no money,” said Luis. “Are we, like, that word ‘bohemians.’ Or something. Our bios: ‘They lived in poverty writing their masterpieces.’”

“We are the fucked generation,” said Sam. “Someone release the press release announcing this. Look at that typo.”

The word “announcing” was almost twice as long as normal.

“I’m laughing,” said Luis. “That is a good typo.”

“How do we get out of this,” said Sam.

I want to read it. I do. But I would feel so much less awkward about giving the dude money if he wasn’t always coming up with online marketing schemes and/or selling his possessions on eBay.

But then again, I read his Hipster Runoff blog and give him ad sales at least weekly. So maybe I should just suck it up and do it.

But then I see then again maybe I shouldn’t.

And if you need any help deciding whether to love or hate Tao, here’s a sampling of one of his poetry readings. Dare I say, “hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe?”

Journalists’ lives three times more likely to suck

That’s right, because most journalists are three times more likely to be out of a job. (Or into something else.) According to a study by UNITY: Journalists of Color, while the rest of the country is losing its jobs at an 8 percent rate, journalists are being shed at a 22 percent rate. I couldn’t help but wonder who UNITY’s 2009 Layoff Tracker Report was really tracking. I mean, was I tracked? Because if so, I most certainly was not notified.

Either way that means we have three times more the reasons to wallow and complain.

I especially enjoyed what Onica N. Makwakwa, executive director of UNITY, had to say about the study.

“These numbers confirm that the economic downturn has hit the news industry very, very hard.”

It has finally been confirmed officially, guys. We’ve been hit very, very hard. But wait, there’s more!

“As the news industry shapes a new future and companies battle the financial storm, it’s important to remember that it’s about people too,” said Makwakwa.

Oh my goodness, good point, brah! What about the families?

But before you get too worried about the people battling the raging financial storms, just know that in the end, I finally read down to the last paragraph of this UNITY story. I learned that the report was compiled using SEC filings and self-reported data from media outlets.

But I still kinda wonder how many lost journos there are out there, unrecorded…

And in case you’d like to read a copy of the report, by all means, knock yourself out.

Just because I have fun-poking rights.

What can I say?

When you’ve had to stay late to edit out video footage of some reporter’s poorly played faux paux, or worse, cut out the live shots that include factual errors and misreportings, you really do learn to relish bloopers like this one.

And since it comes from FOX I just can’t help myself.

A feast for the eyes

Both via an old friend from the Valley.

Fwd: FW: OMG!!!

That was the subject of an e-mail sent to me by my Papa 12 hours ago.

I found humor in it. My initial gut reaction was: “OMGSPAM”

So I still haven’t opened it.

If you had a Manic Monday like I did

This video will probably cheer you up. And it reflects my real life in so many ways! Which I think is really neat.

Eric Prydz is the man.

8,000 gallons of purple drank daily

Blog revival!

Send your SMRs to the masses, the journalists just don’t care.

I’m glad to see some discussion on a topic that could make or break my ability to bring home the bread and butter for the next few years: SMRs (Social Media Releases). Over at his Don’t Fear the Firehose blog, Paul Armstrong, introduced to me via @themediaisdying, has opened up the following question: Are SMRs worth the paper they’re printed on?

I work in an industry that sends out SMRs (we can also call them MNRs, Multimedia News Releases) in a similar manner as a traditional press release, only these are rich in multimedia and optimized for social media. In my opinion optimized actually isn’t quite the right word to describe these releases, they give you an option to optimize their product through del.icio.us or technorati, but really all the bells and whistles don’t do much to inspire a journalist to write about it. Here’s what some of Paul’s members of the Firehose Brigade had to say:

“If the story’s rubbish, no. If the story’s good, yes. JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE IN PR. Social media is not a magical way in which to polish fecal matter.”
- Matt Muir / Hill & Knowlton

————————————————————————————————–

“Save the paper, shoot the bird. Tweet. Save the rest of us from reading your business jargon with no more than 140 characters.”

- Stephanie Yang / BetaWave

————————————————————————————————–

“SMRs seem to currently be dominated by wire services which get everyone awfully excited but offer poor value for money. Compared to building a personal relationship with a blogger or journalist, these wire services soon look expensive – who wants to pay a hundred pound for a hundred page views?!”

- Jonathan Welsh / Biss Lancaster

I couldn’t agree more with all three remarks. But let’s combine: come up with a twitter update that will leave your audience with no choice but to click on your link, and link to a page with such spellbinding content that your readers will simply die with laughter, get chills from inspiration or just think it’s a great tidbit of information to share. The content moves virally; the PR professionals get their word out successfully. Let’s be honest with ourselves here, word of mouth through twitter can have a much more powerful impact than a handful of journalists picking up your content and writing a piece in their paper.

It’s still always valuable to include multimedia content. I believe there are a few journalists out there who might be able to make use of it. But for God’s sake, it simply must be embedded in a page beside the text. What’s the point of including a video that’s only represented by text? The same goes for images. They can’t be linked. They’ve gotta be embedded.

What’s so bad about being a pink lady?

So it’s recently come to my attention that an old ex-colleague of mine has offended a huge fan-base of this month’s featured blogger on 20something Bloggers, Liz from It’s Unbeweavable!. I guess my pal sort of attacked her (by some bloggers’ perspectives) in an open forum, and suddenly he was running for hills after Liz’s entourage went after him. It was all a very dramatic experience and I’m sorry that one thoughtless thread post could cause a nightmare of day — by the end of it he was no longer a member of 20something Bloggers. In fact, I just checked, and his blog post detailing the event is gone, too, but basically he shot down Liz’s ability because her blog was pink and girly and she wrote about fashion.

But it’s not easy being pink.

Yeah, we’re 20something Bloggers and we’re women now, but we’re still not men, god damn it. And if it’s necessary to write in all black type and keep things conventional and masculine-looking in order to be a worthy blogger with important things to say and content that will keep you coming back, then I guess you can count me out. Pink is not a color to be taken lightly.

Pink says I am a girl. Pink says I enjoy being a girl. Pink says ballerinas are beautiful and I love me some stiletto heels. Pink says I’m not one to mask my passion for lip gloss.

I felt bad that my friend ruined his reputation and chances within the 20something Blogger community. In one regard it is a bit disappointing that the forum can’t be controlled a little bit more, a network like 20SB should try to hold onto its users as much as it can. But it really did get ugly.

Anyway while working on my new site redesign I kept that whole situation and Liz’s deserved respect in mind. I went through dozens of color palettes to find the perfect hue of pink. And I vow to publish things that represent the pink well. And hope all those smelly boys dare try to taunt me from their big boring black blogs.

Sarah Palin is going back to her roots! TV for dumbasses!

It seems inappropriate to preface this post with anything but the following video.

I know, it’s quite difficult to watch. And she is eerily reminiscent of Britney Spears. In the baddest way possible.

What is there to say on a day like today when I was so freaking swamped at work and totally tied up all evening that I missed the most vomit-inducing news I’ve experienced in this lifetime? It’s baffling. The Washington Post tried to help me 12 hours ago. And I was too god damn busy to read my e-mail today? Really? I had access to the internet and my phone ALL DAY LONG and I missed this? I am baffled. Floored.

That there’s some photographic proof to you that I need more iPhone and twitter breaks. Boohoo cry weep.

There’s not a substitute for you.

So as many know (especially my twitter followers) one of my favorite musicians passed away early this morning. Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., also known as Jay Reatard, was one of the most talented garage rockers of all time. And I can’t even describe to you how much his 2006 album, Blood Vision, influenced my life. Some of those songs got me through some really hard times. As cliché as that sounds, it’s true. Jay Reatard was a mastermind musician and although his life was cut so short, I am sure his music will live on for ages.

One regret I must share: I never did see one of Reatard’s live shows. Back in the summer of 2008 (college! woo!!) I went down to Red 7 to meet my boyfriend for a Jay Reatard show. I had just finished my late night copy editing shift at the Texan (again! college!!) and rushed downtown for the show. I was pumped, but I had been feeling under the weather all day and could only feel myself getting sicker and feeling worse about being out. I toughed it out for, oh, maybe 20 minutes and went home before Reatard came on.

“I’ll always have the chance to see him again,” I told myself. “He comes to Austin all the time and I’ll have thousands more opportunities to see him.” Yeah, no. I never did get to see him.

I hope we can all learn from my idiotic decision and trust me, never pass up a great show! It may be your last chance.

If you haven’t heard Jay Reatard’s music you really should give it a listen — Blood Visions is seriously an iconic album. You won’t be sorry you did. You’ll just be sorry you never got to see him live when you had the chance.

I will always cherish the music Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. did produce over the years, I’m just so sad there’s no more to come. This really is so tragic for the music world. Goodbye, Mr. Reatard!