My local newspapers are full of great articles written by journalists about finance, how-to repair, and general sound advice on a slew of topics. However, would I pay for all this actionable insight? Let’s just say, I haven’t purchased a newspaper in a very long time – and I’m willing to wager neither have you (at least not as often as you used to). The newspaper model is collapsing. The audience at large sees information as a commodity (for the most part). Why pay for one writer’s point of view, when I can find another three writer’s points of view for free – even if it isn’t quite as good. Read more…

Critical eye, New Media, User-Experience Premium content

Here we go again. Back when I was in high school, one of the coolest things to do was to be into a band that no one heard of. We’d look down our noses at the very happy pop music lovers, thinking that they had no idea what good music was. And when we were asked what music we were into, we’d proudly fire off a half dozen names and praise their awesomeness. We’d even lend our friends tapes, and records in hopes that they, too, could see what they were missing. But, inexplicably, the moment that one of our favorite bands got popular, we considered them “sell-outs” and swore that all the new “fans” were into them just to be cool. These so-called “fans” didn’t “get it”, they were posers.

As immature as doing this was, I guess it was our way to express how we felt, how we lost a bit of our coolness, and we resented it. Well, I’m sorry to say, this high school pettiness is happening all over again. But this time, we’re not talking about R.E.M. or NIN, we’re talking about Twitter, you poser. Read more…

Humour, New Media, Rant Oprah, Twitter

I have a love/hate affair with Twitter. I use it to keep up-to-date with new media, engage in interesting conversations, and meet new people in my industry. I’ve always been amazed at the quality of the articles shared, and the speed at which breaking news spreads on Twitter. The fact that its influence was strong enough to have brought down ad campaigns, and win a Presidential election convinces me that it has made its mark in history and is a force to be reckoned with. But despite all it’s strengths and accomplishments, lets face it:

Twitter is a time-suck.

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Critical eye, New Media Break, Twitter