January 2009
27 posts
You're Going To Be Talking About This: Citigroup Uses Bailout Money To Buy $45m Jet. →
nypost.com
(Image via Bill Barfield / Flickr)
Judging by this New York Post article, Citigroup has trained its employees very well on how to not talk to reporters about its new, $45b, taxpayer-funded corporate jet. Bravo to Citi’s crisis comms folks.
And now, writing as a taxpayer: Die. Inna. Fire.
(Via)
Was (Allegedly): $10.50. Is (Currently): $300. →
spiers.tumblr.com
“An acrylic and oil painting of Gawker Media entrepeneur Nick Denton with pancakes on his head.” The e-bay auction ends in nine days. I’m betting it goes for two grand.
The Importance Of Obama's Inclusion Of 'Nonbelievers'.
The Kimberly Hotel in mid-town treated about 100 supporters last night to a recast of President Obama’s inauguration last, some watching more attentively than others. Having missed it during the day, I was of the latter crowd. (Note: Thanks to Alyson Campbell of Amp 3 PR for organizing.)
My thoughts, for whatever they’re worth: Obama didn’t have a sound-bite-worthy moment yesterday. No: “I have a dream …”; No: “Ask not what your country can do for you …”. But he did make one very memorable, historic remark:
“We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers.”
Never before, to my knowledge, has a political leader referenced religious skeptics—which is the group I think he meant when he said “nonbelievers”—in such a major public address. This group includes philosophies like agnosticism and atheism as well as theists, who believe in a higher power but reject organized religion.
This is important to point out because it underscores Obama’s willingness to listen to all Americans, not just the most-convenient or most-accessible audiences. I’ve heard plenty of Conservative wailings about the accolades he received before having done anything as president. Now, given the first opportunity, he did something no previous president had, and until that open-mindedness stops, I’m optimistic.
USA Today has a great analysis on the speech’s religious notes. (Via WoodlandCreature).
In Which I Correct Young Manhattanite:
youngmanhattanite wrote:
If you are on a social network, Matthew W. Caldecutt will hunt you down and friend you.
Unless you are on Tumblr. Then, notsomuch.
One Person's Reasons Why She Doesn’t Like Tumblr. →
sarah-morgan.com
Chris Faile wrote:
First, I must say that Sarah Morgan is a dear friend whom I adore and is a wonderful writer who I enjoy reading— but who I disagree with quite a bit on this singular post. Half of her complaints are things that can be modified by each user (ie. comments and open RSS feeds— things I don’t have); the other is something that appears on my browser.
One point she definitely misses, though, is that Tumblr is a conversation, and community, unto itself— unlike some of the other blog networks.
But Sarah, Obama uses Tumblr!!!1!
But seriously, Sarah’s right about one thing: Tumblr posts, specifically re-blogs like this, look like crap in most RSS readers I know of, regardless of what its settings are. When readers consistently bring this up, it gets annoying.
I don’t buy, though, the contention that Tumblr is “a conversation” any more than the rest of the internet is. It can be an echo chamber, and a morning routine that involves going through your entire dash is a headache-inducing exercise in simulacres et simulation, but everything’s still there, online, just the same as if you were using Wordpress, Blogger, or another alternative. (For the uninitiated: this blog is hosted on Tumblr.)
I like the way Tumblr treats multimedia content. The importance of this will become clear in a year or so, when high-quality or digital video makes its way onto cell phones and handhelds. The platform is also completely open to the HTML and CSS; some others aren’t.
In summation: Ladies, your [Ed: Eee gad typo! Horrible!] both pretty. Especially you, Chris. [/ducks]
New Administration Putting New Media To Work.
The Obama administration’s first blog post is worth reading in its entirety. Who’da thunk that social networks would be included heavily in contemporary politics? Oh, wait, ….
inothernews wrote:
Last line of para seven - interesting.
Welcome to the new WhiteHouse.gov. I’m Macon Phillips, the Director of New Media for the White House and one of the people who will be contributing to the blog.
A short time ago, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and his new administration officially came to life. One of the first changes is the White House’s new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.
Millions of Americans have powered President Obama’s journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the internet to play a role in shaping our country’s future. WhiteHouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration’s efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.
Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration’s online programs will put citizens first. Our initial new media efforts will center around three priorities:
Communication — Americans are eager for information about the state of the economy, national security and a host of other issues. This site will feature timely and in-depth content meant to keep everyone up-to-date and educated. Check out the briefing room, keep tabs on the blog (RSS feed) and take a moment to sign up for e-mail updates from the President and his administration so you can be sure to know about major announcements and decisions.
Transparency — President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history, and WhiteHouse.gov will play a major role in delivering on that promise. The President’s executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review, and that’s just the beginning of our efforts to provide a window for all Americans into the business of the government. You can also learn about some of the senior leadership in the new administration and about the President’s policy priorities.
Participation — President Obama started his career as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he saw firsthand what people can do when they come together for a common cause. Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.
We’d also like to hear from you — what sort of things would you find valuable from WhiteHouse.gov? If you have an idea, use this form to let us know. Like the transition website and the campaign’s before that, this online community will continue to be a work in progress as we develop new features and content for you. So thanks in advance for your patience and for your feedback.
Later today, we’ll put up the video and the full text of President Obama’s Inaugural Address. There will also be slideshows of the Inaugural events, the Obamas’ move into the White House, and President Obama’s first days in office.
“Filmmakers sometimes use dark skies to convey impending doom. But right now, what’s going on in densely populated Asian cities is no movie: According to a recent United Nations report, natural light has become 10 to 25 percent dimmer in cities such as Bejing, Karachi, Shanghai, and New Delhi as 2-mile-thick clouds of pollution spread rapidly.”
—Our new issue is out. I wrote the cover story and some of the case studies for a client of mine, its publisher.
“The economist Dean Baker is a strong advocate of a financial transactions tax. This would impose a small fee — ranging up to, say, 0.25 percent — on the sale or transfer of stocks, bonds and other financial assets, including the seemingly endless variety of exotic financial instruments that have been in the news so much lately. According to Mr. Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, the fees would raise a ton of money, perhaps $100 billion or more annually — money that the government sorely needs.”
—The New York Times op-ed columnist, re: a financial transaction tax. I’m a proponent. (Via)
Monday Mourning.
- Me: They’re making a big deal again about these pirates having a spokesperson.
- Colleague: Hmm. Is it Ronn Torossian?
Polls Results: Newspaper Bailout In 2009?
Some caveats from my question earlier today:
/ This is nowhere near a scientific analysis.
// I don’t predict newspapers will receive a bailout in 2009; what I predict is some papers will ask for one.
/// I do realize that this already happening in the media sector, with General Electric, which owns media company NBC Universal, seeking TARP funds.
//// A strange request in Connecticut involves a lawmaker calling for government intervention before a regional papers folds. But, to my knowledge, the paper itself has not made the pleas.
With that, here are the results; poll still open here.
One-Question Survey: Newspaper Bailout In 2009?
Using Twtpoll, an application that’s built on top of Twitter’s API, to either support the prediction that some newspapers will look to the Fed for loans/a “bailout” in 2009 or expose myself as a complete fool. Respond if you’re into such things and I’ll stream the running results later on.
(For the Tumblr dashboard: static link to survey here)
“Here’s a new holiday cocktail for you: Combine one part bailout seasoning with another part perennial journalistic self-pity, pour it out over the Christmas/New Year’s publishing interregnum and presto!—it’s time for patriotic men and women to get behind a government rescue of what was until very recently one of the most profitable sectors in the United States: The newspaper industry.”
—Reason’s Matt Welch on bailing out the newspaper industry. I’m on the record in several different places about how this could actually happen.
“We’ve been conditioned through movies and the media that love stories, our careers and assorted other aspects of life have clear beginnings and endings. But that is not the case. … [T]ake a deep breath and remember that life is not a 30-minute episode of The Hills.”
—Tiffany Berryman, doing her best Tyler Durden.
