Adding tiger blood to new media mix

We talk a lot about how new media is reshaping the entire media landscape, offering users a host of new venues. One of them is offering direct access to celebrities where fans can find their own news.

It also offers celebrities the opportunity to shape their messages, and more and more of them have moved into the direct news route with their sites spreading views, news and, often, direct sales of products. For example, sports celeb Mark Cuban (a dot.com millionaire who owns the Dallas Mavericks) has long offered his views on all sorts of things directly, via Twitter and his website.

It was almost inevitable that Charlie Sheen -- currently the hottest name in the blogosphere -- would open his own site, and with the announcement that "charliesheen.com is finally in the hands of its Warlock owner," that opportunity became a reality. It promises to be fun to watch, although I'm not sure how much solid information will be added to the global intelligence cache.

Gawker makes a good move

I've been busy lately, and haven't posted much, but Gawker.com's latest move is so intelligent that it must draw mention. It's gone back to the future.

Gawker (and it's related websites such as the must-read Deadspin.com) changed its style a few weeks ago to one that I -- and obviously a lot of others -- found much less user-friendly. Now Gawker shows that it's managers actually are using their brains. It's offering not only the new design, but now the option of going back to its older version.

I've wondered for quite a while that so many website designers seem to ignore the flexibility offered by the Internet. Why just have one design? Why not offer a variety? All it costs is a little more designing effort.

In the option chosen by Gawker, you automatically get the new version. But there's a nice little tab to click and, voile, you've got the original version.

Is iPad marketing too rich?

Is Apple making a big mistake in its demands for media using the iPad? The Pittsburgh Posts' tech columnist Ced Kurtz thinks so. He explains why in a good column today. Basically, he says Apple's demand for a third of the price can't hold up, but will inevitably drop as competing tablets are perfected. So, Kurtz believes, Apple is losing the PR battle and offending its customer base and, more importantly, driving some print media -- the vital content for any iPad profits -- out of business.

Internet changes the way we relate to news

Arianna Huffington says that the Internet has changed the very fabric of news, and how we consume it.

Key point: We relate to news differently these days, especially because they've become active news consumers. "People don't just passively consume news. They share news," she said.

A new media look at the new Daily

We're finally getting to look at Rupert Murdoch's new Daily, designed for the iPad, and I think it's appropriate to let the first review come from a new media. Guardian technology correspondent Jemima Kiss reviews the Daily via video. Her take? Visuals are good, navigation is clunky, but the big question is content. We still don't know what it will be, what it will be like, or whether it will be strong enough to make us pay for it given the completion is free content. She also quoted several Twitter comments. Let the new media rule.

Gawker redesigns three sites; more to come?

Gawker redesigns three of its sites, stripping out Twitter and Stumble Upon leaving only Facebook. The new designs for io9, Gawker TV, and Jalopnik go"beyond the blog," as Gawker says. On io9, Annalee Newitz says: "If you've stopped by io9 before, you'll notice that the front page looks quite a bit different today. We've got one big story that takes up most of the page, and a list of today's headlines in a column down the right side of the page. The page is a lot simpler and lighter, which means it will load quickly. And at last we have a way to display big, gorgeous images and videos on the front page of our site. That's the point."
More experimentation from one of the Net's more adventurous companies.

Could e-tablets save long-form journalism?

Interesting look at digital venture aimed at promoting long-form journalism on the Web. It's a way of getting around smaller and fewer magazines for articles 10,000+ words but not long enough for a book at publisher's prices. It's another way journalism is evolving.

Students to cover Brewers' spring training

Students from Arizona State University will produce coverage of the Milwaukee Brewers' spring training this year. As part of a class, the seven students will spend two to three days weekly producing multimedia news packages to appear on jsonline.com.

Egypt, the Internet and crowds

This world keeps getting more and more interesting -- and counter-intuitive. I just heard on Al-Jazeera English a discussion of the disruptions in Egypt. A guest was asked what he thought about the Egyptian government's blocking the Internet and cell phones. He laughed, and replied "They're crazy. Instead of being on the computer, everybody's on the street."

The world has changed; see Egypt for an example

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how the media world is undergoing massive changes. In large part, that's because I'm teaching a class in alternative media, which focuses one's thinking. One of the key points is the question of what is alternative media? As one of the students said, to her and her generation, newspapers and magazines are alternatives.

But it really hit home today when reading of Egypt's shutting down the Internet. With new media and the communications possibilities of the Internet, alternatives abound, and the old world, like Humpty Dumpty, can't be put together again.

Was Olbermann fired just because his bosses could fire him?

Salon writer Steve Kornacki reasons that MSNBC doesn't need Keith Olbermann because he was successful in setting a new identity for the network.

Kornacki's thesis is that Olbermann brought a strong liberal voice to the network when it needed an identity. MSNBC responded by bringing abroad liberal hosts like Rachael Maddow (an Olbermann find) and creating a strong fan base.

On the other hand, the coincidence of the firing coming right before a right-leaning corporation takes over MSNBC's parent is almost too much to believe, and if Kornacki's right, then that makes it even more likely that Olbermann's firing is political in nature.

Bonnie Brennen gets civility right

Marquette Journalism Professor Bonnie Brennen gets it right in a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that looks at the state of discourse today.

The newspaper asked "six Wisconsin professors whose specialties are history, political science or communication" about the state of discourse. The other five -- including a couple of personal friends of mine -- correctly said that political discourse has been very unpleasant throughout our history, including duels and attacks on the Capitol floor. But Brennen brought the discussion to communication (which is really what we're all talking about)." There is seemingly no interest in having a rational conversation," she was quoted as saying.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater communications professor Richard Haven also looked at the question beyond merely discourse between political figures to discuss our public conversation, citing "instant communication" and extreme political positions as reasons for a sharp decline in politically civility.