STUDY: More people than ever use apps!
STUDY: Smartphone users rely on GPS and map functions so they won’t get lost.
STUDY: Small but growing number of people use their tablets as coasters for cold drinks.
STUDY: Men consume a whole lot of porn.
STUDY: More people than ever use emoticons in text messages.
STUDY: Consumers compare prices online while shopping at big box retail stores.
STUDY: Majority of Americans can’t find Mali on a map.
STUDY: Tech blogs and newspapers always happy to publish results of inane studies.
Adam Penenberg offers alternatives to a recent and unnecessary study which finds that people like to play on their phones while watching TV. (via futurejournalismproject)
(But sometimes “common knowledge” is not supported by hard research, and when it becomes true then there are usually some surprises to the news. Also, I may be guilty of writing a few like these…)
When a newspaper gets bought by a blog, it probably goes a little like this… (via hulu):
This Portlandia sketch is the realest video about the internet you will watch today. Plus it has George Wendt.
Back to the Future’s Terrible Newspaper
New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait explores the inconsistencies in the pseudo-reportage featured in the Back to the Future movies. It seems that even fictional journalism is subject to the same foibles of its real world counterparts. And, obviously, a time machine adds to the problem of revisionist history.
Why it’s hard to take the Wall Street Journal more seriously as a paper of record, not just a news source for some business people…
Journalists who professed to be political experts were shown to be well connected, well-informed perhaps, but — on the thing that ultimately decided the result: how people were planning to vote — not well educated. They were left reporting opinions, while Nate Silver and others reported research.
Ironic that I didn’t read anything about this in the news today…
New York Times Staffers Stage Walkout Over Contract Negotiations
Huffington Post with the story.
For background, see Jim Romenesko here and here.
One of the oddities is that the Times, after working to combine its print and digital operations, is proposing separate contracts for print and digital reporters.
In a memo to colleagues, the Newspaper Guild at the New York Times writes, “Any proposal to dismantle the decade of work that has been done to unify the newsroom, securing its place as the world’s premier news organization, could be laughed off as far-fetched legal gimmickry. After all, that would be an act of self-immolation. But even if it’s not worth serious consideration, it has landed just we are heading at full speed toward a crisis over genuine issues like our pay and benefits.”
Ever Wonder What Real Journalists Think Of People Like Bill O'Reilly?
Old school journalism: 1, whatever it is that Fox News does: 0
Verifying information has always been central to the work of journalists. These days the task has taken on a new level of complexity due to the volume of videos, photos, and tweets that journalists face. It’s not only the volume that presents challenges but the sophisticated tools that make it easier than ever to manipulate information.
A #BreakingNews ticker for every TV channel
via breakingblog:
We’re all familiar with TV news tickers, scrolling along the bottom of news channels. But what if a ticker only appeared for a few moments when a story breaks? And what if it worked across all live TV channels? Here at BreakingNews, we’ve created a connected TV app that does just that.
Doonesbury continues exploring information silos with its “myFacts” series
And I want to be able to argue on my show that Obama’s stimulus created zero jobs.
