Kirk Lapointe has some interesting results from a Cornell Study

As for the notion that the blogosphere originates stories that mainstream then adopts, the study found that only 3.5 per cent of stories started in social media.

I’ll buy that. I think what the blogosphere, and especially Twitter, does best is disperse the information. And really, I think that sums up the financial issues the MSM is experiencing right now…

The dollars are in the delivery of the information, not in the information itself.

The only difference between the web and print is that the preferred medium of delivery used to be owned by the same people gathering the facts and writing the stories.Similar Posts:

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WordPress 2.8 is rolling out today, and there are several features and enhancements I’m pretty excited about. They keep making my favorite content management tool better and better!

Theme Management Drastically Improved

We now have functionality similar to that of  plugin management. Now there’s no need to find a theme, download it to your home computer, unzip it, and FTP it to your site. Just search through your WordPress panel, pick the theme you want, and install it. They’ve also drastically improved the interface for previewing a new theme.

Improved widget management and use

Very cool. You can now use a widget in more than on place on your WordPress site. This allows you to change the settings each time you use it. Widget management is also much improved for sites with multiple sidebars. Now you can see all of your sidebars at once instead of having to switch back and forth.

Tag management

Tags always seemed sort of freeform and open to me, and you can still use them that way. But now you have the ability to add descriptions and change the slugs on your tags right in the admin panel. Great for those times when you want to have a slug that differs from the tag terminology  or to keep your tags and categories from stepping on each other’s toes.

There are some other cool features in the new release that make things like editing comments, auto-saving, and logging in (case insensitive) a little more handy to use. You can read about all the new features of WordPress 2.8 on the official site.

You should see the option to upgrade to 2.8 on your admin panel soon–remember, it’s automatic now. We’ll be on the lookout for bugs and irritations that may arise, and will patiently await the next release that addresses them!Similar Posts:

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From TechCrunch, commenting on a study from The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism:

Online journalists are cautiously optimistic that their publications have viable business models compared to traditional forms of media. Over 60 percent of respondents reported that their online news units were making a profit. But only four out of every ten online journalists are “very confident” that online news can find a profitable business model for journalism, and are worried about the money-making prospects of internet advertising.

Here’s the thing…

We all know the demand for news and journalism is there. But I sometimes wonder if the answer is for those who are demanding it to lose it before they truly understand its value. Maybe it’s one of those “don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone” situations?

On one hand, I hope not. It would be a shame to lose what’s been built. On the other hand, a truly fresh approach isn’t always a bad thing either.Similar Posts:

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Great post today at DBT on using your blog as a job search tool.

I think it’s appropriate for journalists to consider one other thing here…

Just having a blog proves you are familiar and have experience with technology and new media, which is where it would appear journalism is moving.

Rapidly.Similar Posts:

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From marketing guru Seth Godin:

The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you’re on Candid Camera, because you are.

Something to remember for social networking sites, blogs, and comments.

Being a jerk is one thing, but looking like one could potentially cost you money.Similar Posts:

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Busy Mom is categorized as a Mommy Blogger, which is big business these days, but she is so much more than that. She is a revolutionary voice in the blogosphere and can turn a phrase better than anyone. She is also a voice of reason. She spotlights the changes in the blogging community over the years and puts a wonderful spin on the old adage of blogging for yourself and not what others expect of you.

She writes:

People may be fake or dishonest, but really? It can be that way with the people you can see, too, not just other bloggers.

People will criticize other people’s decisions in order to justify their own. It happens.

These debates aren’t going away, the whole mommybloggers and marketing or “aggressive mommyblogging” (I prefer “performance blogging”) topics will be replaced with something else.

It’s just the way large groups work.

Having goals (even goals that involve an income) for your blog isn’t inherently evil.

Not having goals doesn’t make your blog lesser somehow.

Whatever your purpose and whatever the other guy’s purpose is, I propose we stop analyzing it all the time and just write and interact, already.

Busy Mom says it better than anyone, and I don’t know any blogger that hasn’t been told by others that they need to “do this” or “do that” which can be frustrating.

The key is, as she says, do what you want to do and don’t let anyone else define you.

Pretty good advice for anyone blogging. I will add, the blogosphere changes constantly. The best thing to remember is just roll with the changes. It’s the journey you are taking, not necessarily the destination, that will set the tone of your online presence.Similar Posts:

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The New York Times Expected To Launch Local Blog Network On Monday.

…the local blog network will be filled with content from the paper’s editors (one for each site) but also rely partially on citizen journalism i.e. unpaid contributions from locals readers who will be able to post everything from short video clips to wedding announcements.

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Here’s a great Chris Brogan post with 57 Internet Possibilities. The first 10 apply specifically to information (ideas and sources for journalists) and the others listed there are great ast well.  I’m going back an reading this one in detail later for sure!Similar Posts:

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Klaus Holzapfel gives a comprehensive list about communication vs. journalism. This is a list of all lists.

Blogs and micro-blogs have greatly enhanced my communication: I can reach out, I can share, comment, learn etc.

Here is what they can’t do:

They will not replace papers and magazines as my #1 resource of information.

NewsTechZilla has asked it before and we will ask it again which is the same question Klaus asks.

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Trace brought up something pretty interesting tonight on The DontGo Show…she’s started what she calls “junk” blogs at WordPress.com and Blogger.com, just to try some things out. What a great idea! Although WordPress.com makes doesn’t give you the chance to play with your theme very much, you can edit all you want on Blogger.  

It’s a great place to play around with stylesheets (think fonts, sizes, colors, etc.) and themes(think layout).  And if you really “break” something, it’s ok–it’s not your “real” blog, and you can just click on another theme and completely reset it!

If you are just starting out, it’s a great way to get familiar with everything risk free. Plus you’d be surprised how much you can learn by breaking stuff!Similar Posts:

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