Mumbai Terror, Citizen Journalism and New Media

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Online Social-Interactive Media affect all aspects of life now--and death. Famously, journalism was called "the first draft of history" by Washington Post publisher Philip L. Graham. But now, with cell phones and pocket still and video digital cameras, OSIM and internet access, the initial reports from news scenes (especially breaking news) tend to be from citizens on-the-spot, not reporters.* We first witnessed this phenomenon's power in video from the South Asia Tsunami and stills from the London Bombings. In politics, recall the stumble of the George Allen Senate Campaign over the "Macaca moment," and then in the 2008 primary Barack Obama's "bitter" comments. Politicians know (or should know): everyone in room is a potential journalist (or at least recorder and uploader of information) and nothing can truly be off-the-record. As a consequence, pols are more guarded than ever--this was true in the New Hampshire primary, typically a time for folksy engagement. In such a light, some media tech notes from the Mumbai Terrorist attacks: TERRORISTS USED GOOGLE...
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Saving Face on Facebook

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
A recent article for which I was interviewed, "Saving Face on Facebook,"written by Sarah Skelnik, appeared in Career College Central. One of the most interesting facts detailed in the article is that "one in 10 admissions officers visits social networking sites to check students' backgrounds." I am surprised that the number is so low, and I wonder whether a number of those surveyed may have been reluctant to admit that they are checking student applicants' backgrounds that way. In any case, background-checking websites--blogs, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube--or any other Web content associated with you will only become more important and influential over time. Actually, the issue itself is fairly old. Mark Twain and President Harry Truman both asserted that you should never say or do anything that you wouldn't feel comfortable reading about on the front page of the newspaper. But in their time newspapers were strictly defined in a professional sense and reporters were hired professionals. Nowadays, citizen journalism has become a widespread phenomenon and everyone, it seems,...
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Twitter Rules

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was interviewed for separate articles on the Twitter phenomenon that appeared on the McClatchy News Service and in the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper. I talked about the origins of Twitter, how much it has caught on, and its effects. I further noted how Barack Obama's Twittering will have a downballot effect on other politicians running for office who want to emulate him. Some quotes: "There's definitely tech envy," said Perlmutter, author ofBLOGWARS, a book about how political blogging changed elections. When politicians hear about their peers successfully using other media, he said, "you're going to want to try it yourself." "When I first heard about Twitter, I couldn't possibly come up with a use for it," said David Perlmutter, professor of journalism at Kansas University and author of the book "Blog Wars." "I thought, 'Why would I want to alert everybody that I'm having a tuna sandwich?' It seemed like something you didn't need technology to do." But Perlmutter is amazed at how Twitter has become...
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Texting Ourselves to Death?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
 [Image: Scott Frederick Starrett]   I hosted a conference and co-wrote the report for a summit of experts on the TOP TRANSPORTATION & ENERGY ISSUES FACING THE NATION* sponsored by The University of Kansas Transportation Research Institute (KU TRI), presented by The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics and theUniversity of Kansas School of Engineering, and funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovation Technology Administration & Federal Highway Administration. Our main point was that America has tried many times to create a national transportation policy over the last century, with the latest and most comprehensive attempt in 2000-2001. None of these ventures was conceived or executed at the presidential level save possibly President Eisenhower's "National Defense Highway System." Now humankind confronts interrelated crises of energy and transportation in a rapidly changing world where we must deal with spiking petroleum prices, decaying bridges, growing congestion in all modes, an aging and inattentive driver population, a shortage of adequately trained transportation engineers, and the diverse ramifications of global climate change....
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Perlmutter at Texas Tech on Campaign 2008

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was part of an invited panel and spoke several times at meetings and classes at the College of Communications of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Our host was Professor Tom Johnson. The subject was media and campaign 2008--of course! The other panelists included Michael Xenos, Louisiana State University; Elizabeth A. Skewes, University of Colorado; and Richard Johnson, University of Pennsylvania. Some of my points: Barack Obama's victory was the result of the old and the new. Very effective traditional campaigning, ranging from getting out the vote to event organization to polling, were mixed with innovative use of new media, especially online social-interactive (OSIM) venues such as blogs, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, and so on. Barack Obama probably did not have a coattail influence on others running for office. The general Democratic Party brand was, in November, simply more popular than the Republican Party brand. But the massive publicity about Obama's OSIM efforts and successes affected and will continue to affect other campaigns for office. Simply put, every sheriff,...
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Perlmutter at Jeremy Taylor Show

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was a guest on the Jeremy Taylor Show on 1320 am radio in Lawrence. Our planned topic was "What will happen next in politics and media and our personal lives after the very prominent rise of online social-interactive media in campaign 2008?" Among my points: It will be interesting to see how the Obama administration uses OSIM in governing and gaining support for policies, programs, and projects in a different or similar way than they did for winning votes and raising money for the presidential election. I suggested that it would be a mistake to overdo OSIM--that is, if all those who had given their text message address to the Obama campaign received a note from him daily, there would be a significant turn-off of interest and enthusiasm. Like all weapons in politics or war, OSIM outreach must be used prudently. Second, referring to my previous post on a "slow blogging movement," I wonder whether we will reach a saturation effect, with instantaneousness, interactivity,...
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The End of Geoprivacy

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Ever have the feeling that someone is spying on you? Today, it's more likely that you are broadcasting enough information thatanyone can spy on you. In the most recent issue of Wired magazine, freelance writer Mathew Honan recounts his "I am here"adventures of a "3-week experiment of living la vida local." Using all the new technology (software and hardware) especially iPhone apps, he demonstrates how easy it is to be constantly monitoring your environment electronically as well as for everybody to know where you are. For example, with the program WhoseHere, you can send your latitude and longitude location and instantly get responses from other people in the area. The responses, needless to say, range from "I'm looking for sex" to "Really great coffee shop." Other interesting revelations: "Because iPhones embed geodata into photos that users upload to Flickr or Picasa, iPhone shots can be automatically placed on a map." In other words, people will know exactly where you were when you took the picture. Interestingly,...
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Darryl (From “The Office”): Everyone is a Paparazzo?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
On this site and in my classes, we have talked a lot about the changes inpolitics and other parts of life and labor that easy Internet access, online social-interactive media, and the cell phone (with its picture, sound and video capture and upload capabilities) have occasioned. In politics, we know that the personal appearance is different because a politician never knows who in the audience might get them on video or record them in some other way and YouTube a quote or a rant or just a funny picture. Celebrities of other kinds--like athletes and entertainers--have always faced the dilemma of being "outed" while in private by paparazzi. Now in the same way that everyone is a potential journalist, everyone is also a potential paparazzo. What are the privacy rights of individuals anywhere--OUR GEOPRIVACY? Should ordinary fans or witnesses know or care? At a minimum, it is pretty clear that if a celebrity like, say, a star of a TV show, appears in...
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