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Tags > media
Watching the Retweeted Get Retweeted-er: Power User Secret Retweetist Love
November 22, 2009
When Twitter decided to slowly roll out a new, official retweeting feature, people waited in anticipation. When it actually became available, people almost universally disliked it. But my post is about why I love the new Twitter retweet feature, without ever having to think about it. The reason is that official retweeting represents the new-new arms race for authority among power users.
Success of a Broadcast Medium: The Muzak Transmission Process
November 18, 2009
Muzak grew from constant technological innovation and originally succeeded as a broadcast medium using spare spectrum, a business model rarely examined today.
What Does Innovative Social Engagement Look Like For Businesses and Governments?
November 18, 2009
I've been thinking about the topic of Government 2.0 a lot lately. Part of this topic deals with the multi-directional engagement between government and citizens. It seems to me that everyone can celebrate the fact that government entities merely have a YouTube channel here, a Twitter account there, or a Blogger profile some other place (the so-called "TGIF revolution"), or we can think a little harder about what the goals of citizen engagement really might be, and how to go about achieving them.
Posterous: The Copy-and-Post Revolution in (Micro) Blogging
November 5, 2009
A friend of mine, who has achieved repeated success in high-tech startup land, said that if you want to be successful, focus on segments where <10% of the crowd currently adopts the solution, and by virtue of dramatically simplifying the approach, you can toggle adoption rates to closer to 90%. Enter Posterous, a micro-blogging tool (it's free) that does a few things really well.
Following Lists - The Twitter Lists Feature is a Game Changer
By Brian AhierNovember 4, 2009
One of the interesting things about the new Lists feature is the expansion of the asymmetrical nature of relationships on Twitter. I use Twitter Lists to control the flow of the fire hose of my data streams into manageable list streams. But another important aspect is the ability to create lists composed of accounts I don't follow. This is radically changing relationships and the way we build communities on Twitter. As Mark Drapeau pointed out it will become more important which lists you are on than who is following you.
Featured Web 2.0 Summit Video: Marissa Mayer of Google - Announces Twitter Agreement, Demonstrates of Google's New Social Search
By O'Reilly MediaOctober 23, 2009
See all the videos from Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.
Microsoft Press Enters Strategic Alliance with O'Reilly
By Tim O'ReillySeptember 24, 2009
Today, Microsoft and O'Reilly Media announced an agreement to support and expand Microsoft Press. Under the terms of the strategic alliance, O'Reilly will be the exclusive distributor of Microsoft Press titles and co-publisher of all Microsoft Press titles, on Nov. 30, 2009. We'll be working with Microsoft to develop new books, as well as distributing both existing and new co-published books to bookstores, and, perhaps most importantly, to the emerging digital book channels that represent the future of book publishing.
The Library of the Commons: Rise of the Infodex
By Mark SigalAugust 31, 2009
Somewhere between the realm of Personal and Shared media lies the realm of the Universal. The realm of the universal is the Library of the Commons, a global repository of user-generated and crowd-sourced media and information. Services that logically nest in the Library include: Amazon Reviews, Yelp, YouTube, Craigslist, Wikipedia, Flickr, Tweets...READ ON.
Tamar Weinberg on Brand Building, Tweet By Tweet - How to leverage social media to market your business
August 19, 2009
"With money tight these days, businesses need to find new ways to market themselves without spending a lot. Online brand evangelism is one way to advertise your products, and it costs little or nothing," says Tamar Weinberg, author of The New Community Rules, in the most recent O'Reilly Insights column at Forbes.com. She continues: "If you are looking for a fun way to empower your customers and encourage positive discourse, brand evangelism programs are a great way to promote your brand. Give your customers a voice in the communities where they already have influence. There isn't much to lose and a whole lot to gain." A writer and Internet marketing consultant, Tamr specializes in blogger outreach, viral marketing, and social media. Read more.
Featured Video: John Adams on Fixing Twitter - Improving the Performance and Scalability of the World's Most Popular Micro-blogging Site
By O'Reilly MediaAugust 7, 2009
Anderson: "It's All About Attention"
By Andrew SavikasJuly 29, 2009
Over on Spiegel Online, Chris Anderson does a great job responding to nearly all of the standard old-media responses to new media. Unsurprisingly (I'm sure Wired would have done the same) they pulled one line from a lengthy response to create the provocative title "Maybe Media Will Be a Hobby Rather than a Job." The full passage is much more useful and nuanced:
Old Media, New Media and Where the Rubber Meets the Road
July 29, 2009
My once-beloved San Francisco Chronicle has been "hollowed out," reduced to a thin pamphlet, thereby accelerating their subscriber attrition. Do you even know anyone who actually uses the Yellow Pages? Remember record stores? Whither Blockbuster? When analog media collides with digital media, "creative destruction" occurs with brutal efficiency -- unless you can truly differentiate your offering, a tall task, but not an insurmountable one.
Ten Commandments of Power Account Submitters - Marketing on the Social Web
July 14, 2009
Social media expert Tamar Weinberg cuts through the hype and jargon to give you intelligent advice and strategies for positioning your business on the social web in her new book from O'Reilly, The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web. In this excerpt adapted for the web, Weinberg discusses what power account holders should do to build credibility, establish identity, and make them memorable among the community. Weinberg offers 10 easy to follow rules. "Anyone, however, can follow these rules on social news sites to become a respected and valued participant of the service."
Content is a Service Business
By Andrew SavikasJuly 13, 2009
What you're selling as an artist (or an author, or a publisher for that matter) is not content. What you sell is providing something that the customer/reader/fan wants. That may be entertainment, it may be information, it may be a souvenir of an event or of who they were at a particular moment in their life (Kelly describes something similar as his eight "qualities that can't be copied": Immediacy, Personalization, Interpretation, Authenticity, Accessibility, Embodiment, Patronage, and Findability). Note that that list doesn't include "content." The thing that most publishers (and authors) spend most of their time fretting about (making it, selling it, distributing it, "protecting" it) isn't the thing that their customers are actually buying. Whether they realize it or not, media companies are in the service business, not the content business.
Freemium Services and the Economics of Social Networking
By George ReeseJuly 6, 2009
Social networking sites face a unique economic challenge when it comes to monetizing the value they create. Any attempt to capture a piece of the value they create inevitably damages that value.
In Defense of Social Media (At Least Some Of It)
By Joshua-Michéle RossJuly 2, 2009
Scott Berkun just posted a great rant titled, Calling Bullshit on Social Media. I suggest everyone read it. Berkun raises good points - and I agree the hype around social media warrants taking a critical look. Despite being in general agreement, there are a few areas I can't abide, starting with this statement: social media is a stupid term. Is there any anti-social media out there? Of course not. All media, by definition, is social in some way.
The Digital Panopticon
May 20, 2009
This post is part three of a series raising questions about the mass adoption of social technologies. These posts will be opened to live discussion in an upcoming webcast on May 27. In 1785 utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed architectural plans for the Panopticon, a prison Bentham described as "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example." Its method was a circular grid of surveillance; the jailors housed in a central tower being provided a 360-degree view of the imprisoned. Prisoners would not be able to tell when a jailor was actually watching or not. The premise ran that under the possibility of total surveillance (you could be being observed at any moment of the waking day) the prisoners would self-regulate their behavior to conform to prison norms.
Completing the circle on journalists and public participation
May 20, 2009
Capital News Connection has jumped into Web 2.0 full-tilt with Ask Your Lawmaker. The opportunity for a virtuous cycle of public input, professional processing, and listener loyalty--especially in a field whose death has been predicted by many -- puts Ask Your Lawmaker into an intriguing category of its own.
Captivity of the Commons
May 19, 2009
This post is part two of the series, “The Question Concerning Social Technology”. Part one is here. These posts will be opened to live discussion in an upcoming webcast on May 27. In January 2002 DARPA launched the Information Awareness Office. The mission was to, “ imagine, develop, apply, integrate, demonstrate and transition information technologies, components and prototype, closed-loop, information systems that will counter asymmetric threats by achieving total information awareness (emphasis added)” The notion of a government agency achieving total information awareness was too Orwellian to ignore. Under criticism that this “awareness” could quickly migrate to a mass surveillance system the program was defunded.
The Question Concerning Social Technology
May 19, 2009
I am an evangelist of social media and an active participant: on Linked In (business), MySpace (music) and Facebook (increasingly my online identity), I blog on several sites and I am a daily user of Twitter. I also make my living speaking to companies about the value and operating principles of these more open, participatory technologies. I have read the proponents that abound (Why I Love Twitter, Groundswell, Here Comes Everybody etc.) and found much to agree with. I have read the detractors (“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” …, Facebook Addiction is Real etc.…) and found little to agree with.
Scribd Store a Welcome Addition to Ebook Market (and 650 O'Reilly Titles Included)
May 18, 2009
The document-sharing site Scribd has launched a new "Scribd Store" selling view and download access to documents and books. As part of the launch, there are now more than 650 O'Reilly ebooks now available for preview and sale in the Scribd store, and all include DRM-free PDF downloads with purchase. (Scribd will soon be adding EPUB as a format, and we'll make that available as soon as possible.)
2 Years Later, the Facebook App Platform is Still Thriving
May 14, 2009
In a few weeks, the Facebook application platform will mark its second anniversary. While it garnered lots of press coverage in the months after it launched, the arrival of the iTunes app store shifted attention away from Facebook's vibrant ecosystem. The media glow is understandable: among other things, the younger iTunes platform is adding apps at a much faster rate than Facebook or Myspace.
Sarah Milstein and The Twitter Book featured on The Agenda - Canada's Top Current Affairs Show Talks about Twitter and Its Impact on Journalism
May 5, 2009
Hosted by award-winning journalist Steve Paiken, The Agenda explored Twitter and it's impact on how we get and share the news in last night's show. Twitter expert and coauthor of The Twitter Book, Sarah Milstein, joined the Toronto based show from a studio in San Francisco. Jay Rosen, professor with the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, Amber MacArthur, new media journalist and web strategist, Mathew Ingram, the communities editor at The Globe and Mail, and David Cohn is the founder of Spot.us--a nonprofit project to pioneer community funded reporting--also joined the discussion. Take a look.
Responding to Morozov on Twitter's "Power to Misinform"
By Timothy M. O'BrienApril 26, 2009
In Foreign Policy, Evgeny Morozov writes about Twitters power to misinform in the context of the emerging Swine Flu crisis. In his article he brings up concerns about the use of Twitter to spread misinformation and makes some broad generalizations about the motivations of the average Twitter. In this article, I response to some of the things Morozov has to say about the validity of analyzing Twitter trends.
Hack in the Box (Dubai) 2009 / Psychotronic(a) / Hacking the Psyche
By Nitesh DhanjaniMarch 31, 2009
I will be presenting Psychotronica: Exposure, Control, and Deceit at the Hack in the Box Conference in Dubai (20th - 23rd April 2009).
From Open Source Software to Open Culture: Three Misunderstandings
By Andy OramMarch 23, 2009
The original practice and promise of open source software is unique. The software experience cannot be ported whole-hog into other areas such as sharing songs or organizing public forums. It's worth looking at what goes into creating open source software, and what unique traits of software make the open source process work well there.
Clay Shirky's "Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable"
By Tim O'ReillyMarch 16, 2009
Sometimes Clay Shirky astounds us by articulating something we've never thought of, and sometimes he astounds us by telling us something many have thought, but never so clearly and so compellingly. But always, he astounds. Into the first category falls the claim that he made in his keynote at the last Web 2.0 Expo that "the critical technology of the 20th century...was the sitcom." Who would have thought that so penetrating an analysis could hinge on such a preposterous assertion! (If you haven't already done so, read the transcript or watch the video.)
As the Internet Rewires Our Brains
By Kurt CagleMarch 1, 2009
The Internet, ironically, has been abuzz this week with dire news about how the Social Media and the Internet itself is stunting our mental growth, is turning us into idiot savants, Aspergers and reverting our brains to a more primitive state. The first such statement came from Lady Greenfield, an Oxford University neurologist, baroness, and director of the Royal Institution in England, who warned that sites such as Facebook and Twitter were contributing to the decline of critical skills in children who used them heavily, claiming that repeated exposure could effectively rewire the brain.
State of the Computer Book Market 2008, Part 3: The Publishers
February 24, 2009
In this third installment, (see part one and part two; part four to come later this week), we will look at how Publishers fared in 2007 when compared to 2006. The chart below shows our dashboard view of the Large publishers’ results for 2007. The most notable factor is that Wiley continues to hold the leading spot as the largest publisher, with 30% market share of units sold, while Pearson lost 2% market share and O'Reilly gains 1%. (We’ll look at revenue share later in the analysis.)
Radar Interview with Clay Shirky
By Joshua-Michéle RossFebruary 19, 2009
Clay Shirky is one of the most incisive thinkers on technology and its effects on business and society. I had the pleasure to sit down with him after his keynote at the FASTForward '09 conference last week in Las Vegas. In this interview Clay talks about the effects of low cost coordination and group action, where to find the next layer of value when many professions are being disrupted by the Internet, and the necessary role of low cost experimentation in finding new business models.
A Climate of Polarization
By Gavin StarksJanuary 29, 2009
We are entering an new era of seismic change in policy, business, society, technology, finance and our environment, on a scale and speed substantially greater than previous revolutions. More than ever, we need to create space for learning, communication and understanding.
Hot Off the Press: Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One
January 15, 2009
With 12 self-paced tutorials and three hours of all-new video instruction, Photoshop CS4 Channels & Masks One-on-One allows you to learn at your own pace, while engaging you in real-world projects that have you try out actual techniques and learn concepts in a hands-on way. Keep reading for more information about the book as well as a way to win a copy for yourself.
Alan Lastufka's Revealing Interview with YouTube Rock Star Michael Buckley
January 13, 2009
Michael Buckley's WhatTheBuck is the most popular entertainment show on YouTube, with more than 240,000 subscribers and 70 million views. Here Alan Lastufka, author of YouTube: An Insider's Guide to Climbing the Charts, talks to this YouTube rock star and learns more about how Michael does things.
Creative Commons needs your donations
December 15, 2008
Creative Commons is more dependent than ever before on the funds of individuals. More and more people these days are grabbing pictures, text, and other random goods they find online and using them in their own presentations or creative efforts; some of us even build businesses on open contributions. All of us should be promoting the Creative Commons, which has provided licenses to support such sharing in 50 countries and is working with people in many more.
Knight Foundation Scholarship: Bringing Developers to the Newsroom
December 7, 2008
Rich Gordon, Associate Professor at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, discusses the Knight Foundation Scholarship for working developers to attend a one-year Master's program in Journalism. Gordon discusses the current trends in news and technology, and how developers will play an important role in the continued evolution of "news".
Taking Charge of Your New Canon Digital Rebel--Tips, Warnings, and Reminders
November 15, 2008
Two new books from O'Reilly's Companion Series offer a complete photography class, tailored specifically for folks using Canon's new Digital Rebel cameras. Both--The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion and The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS/1000D Companion--are by producer and videographer Ben Long. In each of his handy pocket guides, Ben not only provides a detailed one-stop camera manual but he also walks you through all the basic photography theories that apply to any camera. And here Ben provides tips, warnings, and reminders from the books for using the XS cameras (which are applicable to most DSLRs). Read on to learn more.
Elections and mainstream broadcast media
November 6, 2008
Yesterday's blog "Don't say the Internet has changed elections" was all about how elections still rely overwhelmingly on mainstream broadcast media. But an interesting inverse is that the mainstream broadcast media also rely on elections.
Boo! dekePod's Scary Halloween Episode
October 22, 2008
A week ago Adobe began shipping Photoshop CS4 and already Deke McClelland's highly anticipated Adobe Photoshop CS4 One-on-One is climbing bestselling charts. Even better, dekePod's special Halloween episode sheds light on CS4's scariest feature, the Masks palette. "It's kind of cute, but it's got a big old knife," notes Deke. Watch dekePod now to find out how to transform the Masks palette from, in Deke's own words, "a devil doll to a responsible citizen."
10 Tips & Tricks from the Tasmanian Adventure
October 22, 2008
As some of you may know, one of our authors, Mikkel Aaland, recently returned from a trip to Tasmania with a group of photographers and a team from Adobe. Below are tips & tricks regarding Photoshop Lightroom 2, as well as Mikkel's reflection on the trip.
Three Degrees of Conflagration: Dr. Andrew Weaver on Modeling Global Warming
By James TurnerOctober 22, 2008
Dr. Andrew Weaver may be one of the most famous people you've never heard of. Weaver, a professor at the University of Victoria's School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, is one of the world's leading experts on climate modeling. He was served as lead author for last year's ground-breaking report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and when the Discovery Channel needed someone to analyze the potential impact of their "Project Earth" geo-engineering schemes, they turned to Dr. Weaver for help. On the heels of the recent World Wildlife Federation report on vanishing sea ice, we thought it might be a good idea to chat with Dr. Weaver about the current state of the art in climate modeling, the political realities of effecting carbon reduction, and why certain proposed geoengineering ideas terrify him.
What will the night reveal to your digital camera?
October 14, 2008
You may be surprised! The advent of digital photography has revolutionized the practice of night photography because a digital sensor can record the spectacular colors of the night. These colors are created by light waves in spectrums that are invisible to the naked human eye. For the first time we can truly "see" the world of the night around us. In a live webcast on Friday, Oct. 17, Harold Davis, author of Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers, will show why night photography has become increasingly popular among digital photographers...
Did you read the book from that movie?
By Brett McLaughlinOctober 10, 2008
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that media is changing the way books are viewed. In fact, video - and YouTube in particular - has already changed how books are sold. Most big fiction releases are heralded by short "book trailers" that give an almost movie-like feel to the contents of the book. But in a recent article published by the Christian Science Monitor, I was surprised to see that there's an even more notable link between movies and the sale of books.
Numbers for Digital's Rise
By Nat TorkingtonOctober 6, 2008
I talk a lot to people who don't quite understand the scale of the media shift from bits to atoms, so I always have my eyes open for numbers and anecdotes that illustrate the point. The latest I found are from an article on Apple's threat to shut the iTunes store if it has to pay more to songwriters: Digital...
Brian Jepson Answers Five Questions
August 21, 2008
Maker Media editor Brian Jepson sat down with the Providence Business News recently to talk about his work along with his views on education and tech industry trends. "I think that the capacity to learn goes very deep with all people," observes Jepson. "Learning is not just memorization, but an attitude, mindset, set of skills. If people learn how to learn at a young age, they'll have the tools they need to educate themselves, with curiosity as their guide, throughout their entire life."
Nancy Duarte on "slide:ology"
By Mary RotmanAugust 14, 2008
Our Digital Media division here at O'Reilly just released a book that's a bit different from our typical style. Subtitled "The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations," slide:ology focuses on practical approaches that combine conceptual thinking and inspirational design, with insightful case studies from the world's leading brands. This highly anticipated resource was written by Nancy Duarte, President and CEO of Duarte Design in Mountain View, CA, the firm that created the presentation for "An Inconvenient Truth," Al Gore's Oscar-winning film. In a recent Q&A with Nancy, I was able to shed a bit of light on this new book.
The behavior gap: three persistent problems for Internet technologies
By Andy OramJuly 16, 2008
Behind the competing technologies for Internet application development--which impinge directly on the plans of Internet providers and dot-com businesses--lie some basic problems with Internet standards and protocols. Each technical problem is also a metaphor for difficulties in the way people interact, both online and off-line: we don't know how to handle many-to-many connections, we don't know what will happen next in time, and it's hard to split tasks between systems.
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