DigiDave | Communication is Key

The Truth According to Wikipedia

If you have a spare 48 minutes - watch this YouTube video.
Note: I think it's skewed a bit more on the side of Andrew Keen and Larry Sanger.

Harder, Better, Faster Stronger... When I Return

The next week or two will be very intense. I'm helping to organize two events, I will be visiting my folks and going to a conference at the Berkman center in Los Angeles - all on top of my regular duties.

The two events deserve a quick plug: I believe they will be beneficial to the larger journalism conversation in their own ways.

• NewsTools 2008: If you are a journalist or a programmer and interested in where these two professions meet, this is the place for you. When: April 30th-May 3rd

• The first CopyCamp: I really really want this to rock. I earnestly believe that news organizations need to adopt the unconference meme. It is the quickest way for them to become relevant again in their communities. When: April 19th. This CopyCamp will be at the San Jose Mercury News - if you live in the bay area and you want to help improve how the newspaper covers the community (with an emphasis on race and demographics), this is the place for you.

I hope to write more about the above in more detail - as well as my travels and travails the next two or three weeks. Just in case I don't, I wanted to leave you with something mind-blowing that will keep your mesmerized and pumped time and again.

This will be my theme song for the next two weeks. It makes me feel like, although my work is never over - I'm aiming at something.

When I return I will be...Harder Better Faster Stronger

How The News Shapes The World

An awesome video that I wish I could embed. Alas. go check it out.

The Daily Show Takes on Boss Rosen and Citizen Journalism

Last night I remembered that Jay Rosen was a guest on the Daily Show.
I searched far and wide for the original video and finally found a link that actually worked.

It's not "new" (aired last year) but it still is funny to watch: "Thank you for wearing pants."

Networked Journalism Summit - Video

In case you were curious what the Networked Journalism Summit was all about. We now have a video!

Dad - you get a shout out in the begining from Jeff Jarvis!!!

I didn't really like watching myself, albiet brief. I was a bit nervous at the begining of the day and did more "umm"ing than I normally do in public speaking. Still, watching the video I remember the day and how much of an overall success it really was.

Networked Journalism Summit from CUNY Graduate School of Journali on Vimeo.

Calling All New York Video CJ's

My friends over at Current TV are pulling off a cool little stunt this week.
If you are in New York -- read more about it at NewAssignment.Net.

Traveling the World on Hope and Web 2.0

I'm happy to say that I spent the day working with my friend Noel Hidalgo. Also known as No Neck Noel.

This is cause for celebration because the last time I saw Noel he was leaving the country on a seven month tour of the world to visit the seven continents, sail the seven seas, see the seven wonders of the sea and..... well, you get it.

His project "The Luck of Seven" has brought him back to San Francisco, where I now live.

Noel hasn't just been trancing about. He's been doing interviews. I found this interview with Dries Buytaert to be fantastic. Noel put it up on his site as I was at the height of my research for my masters thesis on Drupal.

Noel has a 112 day beard going on. Which, if you know me, you know I am a fan of beards.

Noel was also critical in my thinking of CopyCamp.org -- which is in the second stage of of the Knight News Challenge. So it's good timing to have him come and look over my proposal.

From SF Noel will go up to Vancouver, back down to LA and over to Ohio. If you can lend him a hand in any way -- I'm sure this traveling vagabond of open source wonders would gladly appreciate it.

Noel Hidalgo: You have achieved the status of "Homie and Scholar"

Transformers: Cliche Racial Alert

Yesterday I saw Transformers. It was a fantastic movie. It had a sense of humor -- and there were a few moments where I laughed out loud.

It had great action and it made me feel like I was eight-years-old again. Optimus Prime's dialog was pretty cheesy, but in my mind it was just staying true to the cartoon. So despite what I'm going to write below, I give the movie a thumbs-up. (Also see the image at the end of this post -- how cool is that!)

It wasn't until after the movie got out that I realized Transformers fell victim to a totally unnecessary movie stereotype.

As the movie progresses we are introduced to Optimus Prime and his crew of autobots. There is Bumble Bee, the lovable character who was closest with the kids (staying true to the cartoon) and three others -- including a medic and a weapon specialists. The third and final autobot was named "Jazz."

The first time you see Jazz he is doing what can only be called break-dancing. As Optimus introduces his autobot colleagues they each get a line or two. The autobots learned English through the Internet -- and I'm not sure what sites Jazz was crawling on -- because he spoke slang. I can't remember exactly what he said -- but it was probably something like "Yo, how's it hanging in the hood."

It was unmistakable -- Jazz is the token black Transformer.

(Warning: small plot spoiler)

Once Megatron is awakened the autobots meet him in battle. The last 20 minutes of the movie are fantastic. Chases, explosions, etc etc.

At one point Jazz is forced to engage Megatron all alone. He is killed.

That's right, the only autobot to die is Jazz, the black autobot.  Cliche -- yes.

Prometeus: He Found Fire, We Found Information Exchange

This video reminds me of Epic 2014

Both touch on an issue that I come back to again and again. They each say it in their own way -- not specifically, but they graze it. Life is about the exchange of information. What we are witnessing now is the rapid evolution in that exchange.

This video calls it "knowledge flow" -- "experience is the new reality." Well, experience has always been reality. But in this sci-fi quickie, experience, the most intimate forms of information, has become subject to exchange.

In my humble opinion, I'm still a bigger fan of Epic 2014. First for it's originality, but second for its focus on the more practical -- the real consequences for the traditional media makers (the gatekeepers of information exchange) once that gate has broken and the flow of information has become uncontrollable.

Animutation

Copy, paste and animate.

Now anyone can make fun of their favorite politician/pop star -- see picture to right.

In magazines: Time Out NY has a great article entitled "New Dork City." -- sadly I knew about or have attended almost all of the featured cultures/clubs/activities.

In other news:

Schneier on Security: Hackers Clone RFID Passports

The title pretty much says it all: hackers have demonstrated that they can clone the information on RFID tags used in passports. This challenges the security of International Civil Aviation Organization-mandated.

In Personal News: Had a good job interview today. Hope I get it. Moving sucks.

Also, looking into MITs Knight Science Journalism Fellowship and daydreaming. Not anywhere close to worthy yet.....yet.