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01 Oct 2011 16:16

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U.S.: Why the anti-Bank of America “Take Back Boston” protests worked so well

  • Much credit to these protesters: In some ways, these protests were arguably more effective in one quick burst than the Occupy Wall Street protests have been in one long, slow-moving one. With a specific target (Bank of America) and a specific reason (their overly harsh handling of foreclosures) the result is a protest that plays well for the cameras and effectively encapsulates the point of what’s going on. People got arrested, but they did peacefully. It took a while to draw some reaction from Occupy Wall Street; Bank of America was forced to dismiss the protests as a PR stunt right away. But the fact they had to say anything at all is a big deal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Nov 2009 21:00

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Tech: Check out blogger tool 2Leep, now with a fresh redesign by us!

2leep1106a

Here's the before: 2Leep.com is a blogger link exchange service used by such well-trafficked blogs as Oddee and The Inquisitr. Despite being around only a handful of months, it's gained a lot of momentum of late and is a great way to find neat, often bizarre articles. Despite its great idea, its design didn't really do the site justice. A total diamond in the rough.


2leep1106b
  • Here’s the after: We offered our services to 2Leep pro bono, because we thought we could help a lot of sites by giving this neat idea a design that matched its ambitions. We’re still working (beware of falling bugs, especially if your browser starts with the letters I and E), but the basic idea behind the layout was to give it a more web-appy feel as well as organize and emphasize the often-bizarre and cloying subjects the site covers. Check it out and please let us know if you see any issues. And keep an eye out for 2Leep links on ShortFormBlog!source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2009 10:45

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U.S.: The New York Times overanalyzes Obama in great detail

  • A year after Barack Obama was elected president, he is juggling many of the issues that defined his candidacy — and then some.
  • The lede to a New York Times piece on Obama’s status one year after the election • The piece, which visually is immaculately broken down, splits his presidency into ten different parts, from “Terrorism Suspects” to “Influence.” Plus, it’s interactive and allows for reader comments. Way to show off, NYT. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Sep 2009 09:57

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Biz, Tech: More innovative ways to get your news from big newspapers

  • From The Guardian The U.K.’s most consistently awesome newspaper has a pretty sweet, well-organized “river” of news.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Sep 2009 21:06

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Politics: ACORN’s suing those filmmakers for making their lives suck

  • And really, they should. Those guys were jerks. ACORN has been battered, beaten, and shamed in the press and politically. And it was all for some out-to-shame videotapes. Now, they’re fighting back. The organization has filed a lawsuit against filmmakers James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles along with Breitbart.com LLC, the Andrew Breitbart-led company that owns BigGovernment.com. ACORN says the duo never obtained consent from the now-fired employees they showed helping with their faux-prostitution scheme in Baltimore. It’ll be interesting to see where the suit goes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2009 11:01

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U.S.: ACORN’s top nut says she’s “outraged” by the pimp video

  • Any organization is not entirely perfect. I was outraged by it. Everyone should be, and I can understand how the Congress was also.
  • ACORN Chief organizer Bertha Lewis • On the video that completely decimated her organization’s reputation. She says that she’s looking into reforming the organization, and that anyone who’s “too stupid” to realize why stuff like this is a bad idea will be let go. In other news, Obama also favors an investigation into ACORN. Great job, wannabe pimps. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jun 2009 17:08

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Biz, Tech: Google and Facebook are in a bare-knuckles fight to own the Web

  • In one ultra-organized corner … Google Google’s been on top of the heap for nearly a decade, and it’s a firm hold. They’ve built themselves around the idea that the Web’s organization should be simple. Their ads are well-targeted, and their services – especially search, Gmail and News – are incredibly useful. They made $4.2 billion last year alone.
    However, they have one big problem: They can’t convince the brands of Madison Ave. to work with them.

    source
  • In one ultra-organized corner … Google Google’s been on top of the heap for nearly a decade, and it’s a firm hold. They’ve built themselves around the idea that the Web’s organization should be simple. Their ads are well-targeted, and their services – especially search, Gmail and News – are incredibly useful. They made $4.2 billion last year alone.
    However, they have one big problem: They can’t convince the brands of Madison Ave. to work with them.

  • And in a more social one … Facebook Facebook, on the other hand, is building influence and currency on the Web. They’ve got critical mass, and, smartly, didn’t even focus on competing with MySpace. They want to be the new Google, and have just the right arrogant CEO to pull it off. Their hyper-focused information means they can focus on advertising for brands.
    However, they have one big problem: They keep pissing off their customers by evolving too quickly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

19 Jun 2009 15:55

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Biz, Politics: Thoughts on the news industry in light of a recent crisis

  • What happened? A group that our site has personal ties with, the Society for News Design, lost its president in an ugly and public way. Other sites have covered it much better than we can and will, but suffice it to say, a professional newspaper organization with a long, storied history and thousands of members will struggle to regain its formidable swagger. And honestly, it sucks.
  • Why is this? Ultimately, SND’s problems are a microcosm for the rest of the news industry. They’ve lost members in the wake of massive news-industry layoffs, and many former members complain that the organization focuses too much on big picture surface details at the loss of its rank and file. News companies do the same thing; they’re laying off their future right now.
  • What happened? A group that our site has personal ties with, the Society for News Design, lost its president in an ugly and public way. Other sites have covered it much better than we can and will, but suffice it to say, a professional newspaper organization with a long, storied history and thousands of members will struggle to regain its formidable swagger. And honestly, it sucks.
  • Why is this? Ultimately, SND’s problems are a microcosm for the rest of the news industry. They’ve lost members in the wake of massive news-industry layoffs, and many former members complain that the organization focuses too much on big picture surface details at the loss of its rank and file. News companies do the same thing; they’re laying off their future right now.
  • What do we change? Ultimately, SND – and the news industry in general – has to function with the Internet instead of around it. Most newspapers are organized around themselves. The Internet doesn’t cluster to walled gardens – it clusters to smart little ideas here and there. Find ways to play inside the new rules. The old rules don’t work. The structure of news needs a redesign.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2009 21:28

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Tech: But wait, that’s not all Google has to offer! Meet Google Squared.

Google Squared pulls off the mean trick of giving context to your search information. If they were selling Ginsu knives, they’d make a killing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 May 2009 21:14

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Tech: It slices, it dices, it helps you find stuff! Google improves its search.

  • The new features Google seems to be gunning for the immediacy of Twitter search through its redesign, which much like every other Google redesign, is only obvious after a little digging. Javascript allows you to narrow your search criteria to something as recent as the last day, as opposed to having to dig through weeks of content to find what you want. It also sorts based on the type of content, like reviews. source
  • The new features Google seems to be gunning for the immediacy of Twitter search through its redesign, which much like every other Google redesign, is only obvious after a little digging. Javascript allows you to narrow your search criteria to something as recent as the last day, as opposed to having to dig through weeks of content to find what you want. It also sorts based on the type of content, like reviews.
  • Why the change? “So when you get your search results from Google,” says Google exec Marissa Mayer, “you need to be able to say ‘I really just want the most recent’ or ‘I really just want reviews’ – to slice and dice search results so that you can experience and visualize them in an entirely new and enriched way.” Mayer’s speaking like a supergenius right now. We wonder if she’s available (and if she’d say yes). *Fawn* source
  • The new features Google seems to be gunning for the immediacy of Twitter search through its redesign, which much like every other Google redesign, is only obvious after a little digging. Javascript allows you to narrow your search criteria to something as recent as the last day, as opposed to having to dig through weeks of content to find what you want. It also sorts based on the type of content, like reviews.
  • Why the change? “So when you get your search results from Google,” says Google exec Marissa Mayer, “you need to be able to say ‘I really just want the most recent’ or ‘I really just want reviews’ – to slice and dice search results so that you can experience and visualize them in an entirely new and enriched way.” Mayer’s speaking like a supergenius right now. We wonder if she’s available (and if she’d say yes). *Fawn*
  • Our take? We’ve loved Google a lot in the past for things they do, but it always did feel like the organization end was lacking a little. To narrow down searches, it required numerous clicks or knowing the right boolean to look for something recent. They’re reacting to a trend that has seen numerous attempts to topple the company, most famously (and unsuccessfully) Cuil. (Cuil sucks, BTW.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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