ESPN Twitter policy

Back in September the Houston Texans starting running back, Arian Foster, tweeted a photo of his injured hamstring. This was not a violaiton of the NFL's twitter policy and therefore no League action was taken. However, the ability of athletes to break their own news poses serious conseuences for the future of journalism. Some fear that one day players, leagues, teams, or colleges will no longer need a middleman to cover them. Will athletes' ability to release their own information seriously cripple journalists' ability to make a living? Does Foster's twitpic of his hamstring portend a bleak future for journalism?

An example of breaking news on an online-only news magazine

News is breaking today about a gunman who killed two people at Virginia Tech's campus.

As an example of how a modern news website combines breaking news, here's Huffington Post's page of coverage on the event.

It has a text story that's been edited throughout the day, links to multiple videos, a live blog, a link to another news source's live news feed, and a Twitter feed.

In such a short time, all this has been added to the story in a practice which is now considered to be standard. Journalism has never been so multimedia-focused.

This afternoon, Dec. 8

This just landed in my inbox:

I wanted to let you know that this afternoon, December 8, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings will be webcasting a forum exploring how mobile technology can ease the everyday lives of Americans. I will moderate a discussion with Chris Dede of Harvard University and my Brookings colleague Allan Friedman. Peggy Johnson, executive vice president and president of Global Market Development at Qualcomm, will provide opening remarks.

You can view the webcast LIVE at:

http://www.brookings.edu/events/2011/1208_mobile_technology.aspx

The webcast will run from 2:00 - 3:30pm EST today.

You can follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #CTIMobile.

I also have published a new paper, "Ten Facts about Mobile Broadband," showing how the mobile economy, which generates $1.3 trillion in annual revenues, is reshaping the global landscape. There are major opportunities to create jobs, and create social and economic connections in both developed and emerging markets.

Thanks again for your support and I hope you enjoy the webcast. The archived video and related material will be available at this link in the days and weeks ahead.

Darrell West
Vice President and Director, Governance Studies

Most Kids Want an IPAD for Christmas

I saw this story on WUSA-TV this morning and thought about you, Chris! According to Nielson.com, the iPad tops Santa's wish list, followed by the iPod Touch.
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/us-kids-looking-forward-to-iholiday-2011/

What the Frack Is Going On?

How would you explain a complicated environmental issue like fracking?

Check out how students at NYU did it, with this video, selected by Time Magazine as one of the most creative of the year.

Maybe USA Today isn't the Evil Empire!

OK, I admit it. I had a bias going in on this trip. Having done work in the 90's for Channel 9, also owned by Gannett, I had heard lots of bad stuff about the newspaper side of the company. How it sucked up money from everything else. When I saw the new building I could believe it. But I came away from this visit really impressed.

It seems to me that USA Today in terms of the digital space is doing a ton of things right. Frankly, they are doing stuff I wish we at NPR were doing. The fact they now have the print and digital folks together is not unique. Everyone is trying the same thing, but it appears they have done a better job of making it work. I also like the fact they appear to have a true employee mentoring and development program. Believe me not everyone does these days!

So, anyway..I liked what I saw. I also like that upper level folks are giving journalists and others the chance to play with the new technology. Here are a few shots from our trip, since you probably noticed I was taking lots of iPhone pictures.

Google Maps

I ran across this interesting article about new innovations in Google Maps. Basically, Google is making this new feature just for Android phones right now, but people will be able to use Google Maps to get directions for inside locations like shopping malls and airports. They just introduced this news this week, so it could be adapted for the future.

I think this is interesting in that it just shows how vital features like using Google Maps to get directions are in this day and age. By making it only available on Android, it also promotes how important smart phones are as tools for things not just for entertainment and communication.

You don't usually think to get directions to inside locations, but a map of a place like a airport could be really useful if you're in an unfamiliar city.