Curation war is getting intense

One of the things which seem to interest web-savvy journalists and students is curation: selecting, contextualizing social media and web streams. I use Storify to report and curate events such as the Arab uprisings and the disasters in Japan, and now I’m experimenting with Scoop.it! creating a page about curation…. Continue reading

Start your own publishing house or university…

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to meet journalism students interested in social media (at a Journalism Night in Brussels, Belgium, organized by publishers, journalism departments & organizations). I presented some tools I use on a daily basis, a workflow for articles and bigger news projects. That same workflow could be… Continue reading

Using Tumblr for fast and furious blogging

How can one combine longer posts with short posts, often just mentioning something interesting on other blogs without being inclined to add something substantial? I’ve been embedding Twitter in the right column of this blog, as I do at my Bear&Bull blog (Dutch language). However, often I’d like to include… Continue reading

How the internet changes the practice of macro-economics

A number of blogs did very well in describing the problems in the subprime market – even before most professional economists realized the problems. This fascinates me, like for instance the fact that in order to get cutting edge information about technology one rather consults blogs than major mainstream media…. Continue reading

Did the 21st century really start now?

Another hectic week, and the last few days were an emotional roller-coaster as I covered the events in Egypt – from a distance, immersing myself in social media. So, is this a Twitter or a Facebook-revolution? I don’t think it makes much sense to put it that way. This revolution… Continue reading

Reading: network theory, vernacular video, Kindle publishing and web of flow

This is an overview of interesting stuff I found online. I’ll publish this on a regular basis (but not on a daily basis, I think). Even though some people think tools such as RSS feeds Google Reader are no longer relevant in this era of Twitter-based information streams, I still… Continue reading

Hacks/Hackers talking about WikiLeaks and the future of journalism

Journalists sometimes call themselves “hacks,” a tongue-in-cheek term for someone who can churn out words in any situation. Hackers use the digital equivalent of duct tape to whip out code. Hacks/Hackers tries to bridge those two worlds. This movement started in the US but journalists and bloggers worldwide are joining… Continue reading

Can we do evil while curating and practicing social media optimization?

Not everyone is an avid explorer of new media. Not only that a majority of internet users won’t give Second Life a try, they even won’t use Twitter. The fast moving streams of information or the immersive experiences in virtual environments are new experiences and it’s not always easy to… Continue reading

Kinect and virtual reality hacks, taken to an extreme (for now)

Okay, still trying to figure out how to use this in a newsroom context, but KinectHacks says this is The Most Extreme Kinect Hack they’ve seen so far, so here it comes (waiting for Draxtor Despres to incorporate some Kinect magic in one of his news machinimas): Adding another one… Continue reading

Kansas to Cairo: vanishing cultural differences, or rather avoiding stereotypes?

If there is one thing which seems to be perfectly suited for collaboration and research in a world such as Second Life, it seems to be architecture. If such a project also involves geographically dispersed teams, education, and different cultures, it really becomes a fascinating challenge. Students from Cairo and… Continue reading