Atlanta Media Bloggers

Net Neutrality on PBS

For people who spend a lot of time online, "network neutrality" is one of the most important issues pending in Washington. But the question of whether to create a "premium lane" on the information superhighway also has a lot of bearing on TV, too. This Wednesday, Rick Karr will examine the future of the Internet for PBS’ Moyers on America.

Check out http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/net/index.html

NOTE: This will air tonight on Channel 30 at 10pm too.

Converge South

Converge South, the South's biggest (only?) blogging and new media conference, begins Oct. 13th in Greensboro, NC. I see a few of us AMB are already signed-up. Since we're planning the first-ever Atlanta Social Media conference, this will be an excellent, hands-on way to get some good conference tips and tricks. Please join us in Greensboro if you can. Southern-fried networkin' at its best!

http://www.convergesouth.com/index.html

Is There a Place For Bloggers in Local TV?

Maybe I should add to that title... "And would you even want to be there?" Trust me, local news stations are insane asylums! But sometimes it's the inmates who are having all the fun. This article is fascinating, and I'm going to try to contact WKRN (Nashville) about what they're doing.

By placing the tools of the personal media revolution in the hands of professionals, the station is opening the door to uses of the material that go far beyond what's seen on-the-air. Many of the VJs also have blogs, and those will evolve to include their video. The idea is to turn each beat into an on-line franchise, and the options after that are pretty significant, especially as the audience/readers get involved.

Nashville has a remarkably cohesive and growing blogosphere, and Sechrist has announced plans to work towards a citizens-media-generated daily news program through them, and again, the flexibility offered by the VJ concept — and the eye-opening revelation that local amateur journalists can be very good and knowledgeable storytellers — make this a real possibility moving forward. What will this do for the people who don't watch local news anymore? Stay tuned.

Full article here.

MSM Meets Virtual World

CBS News recently did a feature about the virtual community, Second Life. The replay of the package that aired is on this list, scroll down to the one called Living In The Virtual World.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/26/search/main886284.shtml?searchString=virtual+world&source=cbsvideos&sort=1&type=any&num=10&offset=0

One of my oldest, dearest friends is featured in this package, Catherine Smith. She's head of marketing now for Second Life/Linden Lab, and originally from Atlanta. Dig that pirate ship across the bay! Gotta go get me one of those, fer sure. Or maybe that rock star wedding... Hell, I could even get a date in Second Life.

Josh Darn It All

Wouldn't ya know... miss one meeting and the heavies come out. We were out and about, the other day at least, with the TrueGritz cameras talking to the BBC about the future of media. The Swingin' Special Report should be of interest to you media bloggers:

http://www.truegritz.com/

It's The Content, Stupid

Finally! Somebody noticed content... whew. About time. Here's an excerpt from a recent CNN Money/Forbes.com piece about the saga at Rocketboom that points out a few things no one else bothered with. ORIGINAL content, not just cleavage, drove people to the Rocketboom site over and over and over again:

"Little noted in all the coverage however is how innovative Rocketboom has been. It's some of the best video you'll see anywhere - as much video art as news. The audio is fantastic, the writing consistently sharp, and the subject matter surprisingly diverse and entertaining.

"Eccentric, yes, but if you're interested in how crippled wheelchair-bound Kenyans support themselves by selling wireless phone calls, or if you want to see a flock of starlings repeatedly return to a tree in such numbers that they bend it over - this is the site for you. Did you know that online cartoons are becoming a huge phenomenon? Rocketboom will tell you about Diesel Sweeties and Explodingdog.

"Some shows are silly and others are completely serious, like one from June where Congdon interviewed investor and political activist George Soros. The site also articulately and humorously examines issues in contemporary technology. On her last official show, Congdon did a very funny and at the same time explanatory riff on network neutrality.

"In one episode in April, Congdon simply sat silently and looked at the camera for five minutes with a grave facial expression, occasionally moving a piece of paper on the desk. Such is the freedom that pioneers feel in this new medium."

What else could have driven so many eyeballs to the site? They said themselves that they spent not one dime on marketing or promotions and stuff like that. Story in full here:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/14/magazines/fortune/rocketboom.fortune/

"Make Friends With Your Audience"

Here is a rather revealing MSM interview with Amanda Congdon. From MSNBC: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13832899/

And yet another semi-cluessless piece. This time from The Guardian: http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1818617,00.html

As Amanda says, when asked by the "talent" on what exactly is that elusive formula for success MSM could learn from New Media, "Make friends with your audience."

Mainstream Media Cluelessness, Arrogance, etc.

Here's a study in corporate cluelessness and arrogance from the mighty television network suits, who seem to think THEY invented the Internet. You bloggers will love some of the absurdities found in this Morning Edition story from last week titled: NBC Takes Web Programming a Step Further.

This piece is a wonderful peek into the window of the current MSM/corporate media mindset - straight from the horses' mouths! Enjoy.

Grayson D. at www.truegritz.com