Studying the intersection of journalism, interactive communications and public discourse
Teens ID’d As Online Gossips, Police Say By Associated Press WATKINSVILLE, Ga. — A list that appeared on MySpace.com with the names of about two dozen students and their alleged sexual exploits was posted by two 15-year-old girls, authorities said Wednesday. The girls could be charged with distributing sexually explicit materials to minors, authorities said. …
An August 21,2006 Washington Post article talked about how musicians are using Second Life to connect with fans and listeners via virtual performances. Avatars are built to look like the real artists while the audio is piped in live. Way cool. Read “Hear the Music, Avoid the Mosh Pit.”
From a Newsday article: An overwhelming majority of adults who take part in online dating sites or other types of social networking are unwittingly exposing themselves to hackers or identity thieves, according to a survey released today that is described as a first look at such networking. About 83 percent of adults engaging in social …
Hoping to escape the office while vacationing on a cruise? Not anymore, according to this story from the Chicago Tribune: “For better or worse, your boss can reach you on your cellphone or BlackBerry even when you are vacationing on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. There’s no need for a …
The Online News Association (ONA) is conducting a survey on digital media use by journalists. If you are a working journalist and you have have 5 minutes, this might be worth taking and passing along. Here’s the link: http://journalist.org/2006conference/archives/000575.php
When I was asked to speak to an assembly of Hartford Courant summer interns recently about online journalism, I started my presentation with a question: “Show of hands: How many of you subscribe to a daily newspaper?” Not one hand went up. A second or two passed before a young woman spoke up. “I read …
So I’m in Second Life, wandering around. Second Life is a 3-D digital world imagined and created by its users. My avatar (the character I inhabit while inside this online world – think ‘Matrix’) looks a bit like me, except the hair is a lot bigger and the body a lot fitter. I must’ve spent …
A story in the Hartford Courant’s Life section today highlights some people’s shortage of manners when using mobile communications technology. “It’s the business colleague who keeps her eyes on her BlackBerry during an executive meeting. It’s the twentysomething who spends more time in the glow of his cellphone texting than in the barside conversation with …
My younger brother, Matt, forwarded me this message today. Although I generally hate it when my Inbox gets filled with forwarded drivel, I thought the text of this email related nicely to our discussion last week about how people meet, make friends and “date” today, amid our brave new world of communications technology. “This is …
Mobile phones and caller ID. The technology has changed us. The following is an excerpt from a recent story by the Washington Post: “Back when phones were attached to the wall, there was a mystery to their rings. People could not be blocked nor deleted. Phones were simple. No games. You dialed the number. If somebody was there, …