Monthly Archive for February, 2009

The Human Side of Newspapers

Published by Jarred on February 28, 2009 in News. View Comments

For all I’ve written about the changing landscape for text-based news, I have touched only briefly on the very real human component that is afflicted by this evolution. There will be genuine sadness and hardship that accompanies the inevitable shift from news printed on dead trees to news distributed online, and it will come in the form of layoffs. But even beyond that, the loss of a newspaper is not the just the failing of a company. It is the instant disappearance of an institution, the vanishing of a familiar and relied-upon piece of everyday life. While I fall on the side of those who believe that newspapers need to adapt their business and operational models for the digital landscape, it would be hard-hearted of me not to acknowledge the suffering that this change will bring to many well-meaning people.

This touching, emotional video by Matthew Roberts highlights that suffering. On Friday, the Rocky Mountain News — the former competitor to The Denver Post — published its final edition. The RMN was put on sale for a month, but no buyers came forward. This video features interviews with everyone from the paper’s editor to reporters, from the mayor of Denver to random people on the street. It is really well done and absolutely worth twenty minutes of your time. But don’t believe everything you hear.

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The Overlooked Ground Zero for Sea Level Rise

Published by Taylor on February 24, 2009 in Environment. View Comments

If I asked you to name the three areas of the US most vulnerable to sea level rise, what would you say?

The first two are fairly obvious. The Mississippi Delta? Correct. Southern Florida? Also spot on. But the third? You might guess the Chesapeake Bay or the Gulf Coast of Texas (close, it comes in at 4th). The answer is actually a region that receives relatively paltry national attention in the discussion of sea level rise: the Albemarle-Pamlico region of North Carolina.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time last weekend in beautiful (and distant) Duck, NC for a meeting of the Foundation’s Advisory Panel. We heard from a number of experts–from the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, Audobon North Carolina, and local municipalities–on the challenges facing this changing landscape.

: Image Courtesy of NOAA

Many folks have heard of the NC Outer Banks–that thin strip of island land between mainland North Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean. Hatteras Island, the 42 mile long, northernmost island in the outer banks chain, stands between the open ocean and the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds. Beyond those sounds, moving inland, are estuaries that form a backbone of vital ecosystems. The Outer Banks are a highly developed tourist destination, with beachfront rental homes and condos rising out of the fragile dunes. Inland, the Northeastern counties closest to these sounds and estuaries are some of the poorest in the state.

And it’s all extremely vulnerable to sea level rise.

In my next post, I’ll discuss what a few organizations, municipalities, and homeowners are doing (or could be doing) to prepare for and adapt to sea level rise. But first I want to make two quick points about sea level rise:

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Growing Up With Technology

Published by Jarred on February 19, 2009 in Culture, Education, Lifestyle and Questioning Things. View Comments

A post over on CrunchGear notes that a recent study in the UK concluded that the average age at which children receive their first cell phone these days is eight years old. I believe I was in 10th grade (2000 or 2001) when I received my first cell phone, right when I got my driver’s license — so, around age 16.

At what age will you start introducing your children to technology? How old will they be when you give them their first cell phone? Their first personal computer? Their first online profile? How will you regulate their use?

For me, I am of the opinion that starting children on technology early and responsibly is the key. Technology will be a major part of their lives from an early age whether we like it or not, because it will be tightly integrated into all levels of education from pre-K onwards. I want to be part of that learning experience with my children. This is partially because I want to impart my love of technology and innovation to my kids, just like others want to impart their love of football or music or dancing. But it is also because I want to make sure that it is me that is showing my kids how to use technology responsibly, and to teach them good habits.

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Newspaper Is Not The “One Medium To Rule Them All”

Published by Jarred on February 11, 2009 in Business, Culture, News and Web 2.0. View Comments

Reminder: I speak for myself and not for my employer.

Late last month, the New York Times ran an op-ed by David Swensen and Michael Schmidt called “News You Can Endow.” It begins with this quote from Thomas Jefferson:

“The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right. [...] And were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.”

And then, ominously, the authors declare:

“Today, we are dangerously close to having a government without newspapers. [...] If Jefferson was right that a well-informed citizenry is the foundation of our democracy, then newspapers must be saved.”

I’ve done enough LSAT logical reasoning questions to recognize a broken argument when I see it. I could hash it out, but I much prefer passive aggressive analogies. Let’s say that Jefferson also wrote that the basis of commerce is the efficient movement of goods. Today, however, we are dangerously close to having an economy without carriages. Oh noes! If Jefferson was right that excellent transportation is the foundation of our economy, then carriages must be saved! Dunno about you, but I’m pretty sure the CEO of FedEx would disagree.

Swensen and Schmidt go on to argue that turning newspapers into non-profit organizations funded by endowments “would enhance newspapers’ autonomy while shielding them from the economic forces that are now tearing them down.” In other words, they believe that because newspapers are not surviving the market economy with their current business model, they should — instead of adapting to consumer demand and concentrating on moving their operations online — forgo a business model altogether and become self-sufficient institutions that are immune to the desires of their audience. I’ll give you a few seconds to apply and enjoy the carriage analogy here.

Of course, as Michael Masnick at Techdirt points out, Jefferson wasn’t really talking about newspapers as a medium, but newspapers as an implementation of journalism (just as — if my invented quote were true — he would probably have been talking about transportation, and not just carriages). Doesn’t Jefferson’s quote really imply that, if anything, a citizenry who could be informed frequently, and even in real time, would be better off than one who only received news in a single, diurnal, static form? To put it simply: wouldn’t Jefferson have been in favor of ditching newspapers for online news?

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Kiva.org Matures Into The First True Social Giving Platform

Published by Jarred on February 4, 2009 in Computing, Microfinance and Web 2.0. View Comments

Yesterday, Kiva.org (which we profiled here) announced that it was creating a developer community and releasing a set of APIs. With this bold stroke, Kiva transforms itself from microfinacing product to microfinancing platform. This is very exiting, and I’m going to do my best to tell you why without losing you over too many technical details.

You may have heard Taylor or me mention the term “API” in the past, but I don’t think we’ve done a very good job of explaining what it means. An API (which stands for Application Programming Interface) is essentially a set of computer commands and protocols that allows one piece of software to request information from another. In short, the API is the language of software: the requesting software calls for information, and the source software delivers it. Each program has its own “dialect” that the requesting software must employ in order to get the information it needs; when a company “releases” an API, then, it is essentially publishing the dictionary and grammar guide for that program’s language.

For example, if you are using a Windows PC, every program running on your computer right now — from AIM to Chrome to iTunes to MSWord — is making use of the Windows API to access resources from Windows XP or Vista. Web applications often release APIs as well: Google and Facebook have APIs that allow developers to call for information from their services — whether it be search results, map tiles, or your social graph — and employ it in their own web applications (see my post on mashups). By releasing numerous and robust APIs, companies essentially turn what were once simple products into foundations that can be built upon by those willing to learn and use the language. The product evolves into what is called a “platform.”

Transitioning from web product to web platform is a sign of not only a product’s success and confidence, but also its maturity. The release of an API shows that the service itself is structured and strong enough to handle not only its own traffic, but also an unknowable number of outside requests. It carries a guarantee of a certain level of reliability of the service, as well — that it will suffer minimal downtime and will return clean data for every request. But perhaps most importantly, the movement from product to platform signals an realization by the company that its mission can not be achieved in its own walled garden. Whether your goal is to connect the world together like Facebook, or to organize the world’s information like Google: if your ambitions are lofty, then you have to open up yours doors so that others can leverage your resources for unique and innovative applications.

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