Monthly Archives: October 2011

Unthink

Whoa. If you can’t join ’em beat ’em. At least that’s what it seems Unthink is up to. Rather than emulating Facebook (or G+ or Orkut or MySpace or Twitter . . . wait, sorry, no one uses MySpace anymore right?) an upstart social media platform is promising to be the anti-Facebook – users keep their content, privacy, rights, and online dignity. Okay, I’m stretching it a bit. But you might want to take a gander here and read-up on this invite only beta site before it goes mainstream.

And don’t be shy to pop back over here and drop a comment – I’m interested to know how you feel about your privacy, ultra-ridiculously-custom tailored advertising, and other such gripes about Facebook.

This is how long your post should be . . .

I’m a busy chicken, so I err on the side of brief to super brief with my blog posts (here and on my other two blogs . . . yes two). But apparently there’s a bit more to this than the whims of the blogger. Someone crunched some numbers and found that Twitter users like blog posts that are about 1100 words long, that personal development blog posts tend to be way, way, way longer than posts about politics or gadgets. That said, in the midst of trends there still seems to be no rules about blogging – long, short, well written, looked like your cat walked across the keyboard, it’s all a bit of a crapshoot.

Read 841 more words right over here about blog length!

10 Must-Do’s to Assure Internet Access, Good Media, Good News

Shout-out to Jean who handed me a juicy email full of blog fodder. Whew! This little gem was included. Who doesn’t love a good top 10 list? It’s a handy, snappy how-to guide for those of us who are interesting in drawing attention to media justice issues. So go check it out and see if there’s anything there you can implement in your work.

And if you have any blog ideas at all, don’t be shy to let us know in a comment on any old post! Always dig hearing from readers.

I guess rabbit ears are only for Halloween now . . . and rabbits.

For the first time in 20 years – yup, a whole generation – TV ownership in the States declined. It’s dropped about 2% to about 96%. Pourquoi, you may ask? Poverty – new digital sets are expensive, so when analog bit the dust so did a lot of TV sets. And the internet – kids these days watch everything online. Read more at NYTimes.

This blogger falls into the latter category. I watch my few favourite shows online (legally, the next day they’re all hosted on major network sites) and don’t miss TV one iota. What about you?

High Speed for Low Incomes

Remember the ever-cool OC, Inc from yesterday? Well here’s a snazzy cause they’ve taken on – encouraging the FCC to subsidize high speed internet for low income individuals and families. This is great. It’s nice to see such foresight, acknowledging that we are living in an increasingly digitized world, where dial-up can’t bring about equity in the way that broadband can. I’m sitting here with seven tabs open on ye old Chrome – music, downloads, Gmail, blogging, Facebook, Skype – all purring away without much complaint from my wallet or ISP. Think about the possibilities that get shut down when one has a crappy internet connection – no media, movies, film, music, instructional videos, downloads, PDFs take forever to open, Google books, and on and on.

Read the whole deal here. Anyone else out there working on a similar advocacy issue?

OC, Inc.

Well, call me ignorant! Up until this week OC just evoked in my mind that awful, moody teen drama show with those awful, moody teens on it. But now, I have something better imprinted on my dumb little 90s kid brain – OC, Inc, which is the ‘media justice arm of the United Church of Christ.’  What a cool organization, and what a cool history. This is from their website:

“Founded in 1959, only two years after the formation of the UCC, the Rev. Dr. Everett C. Parker was prompted by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to set out to reform television stations in the south, which were doing a poor job of covering the Civil Rights Movement.

After undertaking a dangerous strategy to challenge the institutions of racism in the era, and many years of litigation before the Federal Communications Commission and in the federal courts, OC Inc. achieved seminal success. It not only forced the FCC to take away the broadcast license of WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss., but it also established the legal right of all citizens to participate in FCC proceedings. The case continues today to protect citizen rights in the field of media advocacy.

Building upon its successes in the early 1960s, OC Inc. continues to be a leader in media reform by pushing for a more just, accessible, diverse and accountable media. It works to promote public interests in the media, especially for people of color, women and children.”

 

Be absolutely sure to take one moment to watch a video on the history of this organization! Hallelujah.

There’s an app for that!

Here’s a neat one from friend, blog follower, and WACC NA exec member Jean. She forwarded me a link to Odyssey Networks’ Call on Faith app that “brings inspirational, religious and spiritual videos to your Smartphone.”  Check it out! And if you’re a user, drop a comment with a quick review. We always love to get real feedback . . .

Waging Peace –

Here’s a hot lead on a documentary for you – it’s called “Waging Peace” and the ever-groovy Burton Buller of Three Way Media/Buller Films  and WACC North America fame is part of the team behind it. From their Facebook page I grabbed the following description:

“A one-hour documentary, Waging Peace: Muslim and Christian Alternatives, scheduled for airing Oct. 23 – Dec. 18 on ABC-TV, (local station discretion, click here for an awesome help in finding when the documentary is on in your area) examines courageous threads of peace quietly being sown around the world. While Christianity and Islam both have warrior-like histories and examples of those who take up the sword in the name of faith, another reality exists. In this time of mistrust and war, some Muslims and Christians are dedicating their lives to the pursuit of peace. In this documentary we examine the streams of peace that flow through both the Christian and Muslim worlds by telling dramatic, challenging stories of Muslims and Christians finding peaceful solutions to conflicts. Efforts to live together peacefully in the future may hinge on efforts such as these.”