Our visit to Vail

Yesterday we took a road trip to Vail. It's just two hours away. I found a great sledding area in Vail courtesy of a website which lets you locate good sledding runs (free) in your neighbourhood. We entered the address in the GPS, and off we went!

The day cost us nothing apart from the car's petrol and wonderful pizza we ate for dinner. We've discovered the following:

a. I need snow pants. Now. Because when I have a frozen wet bum I get grumpy.

b. Charlie is a daredevil on the flexi-sled. He's worked out that he needs to keep his whole body off the ground and entirely on the sled for the best run and for speed. He flies and cares little about danger... or direction.

c. Harry seems to be a natural snowboarder. He doesn't even own a skateboard, but managed to stay upright for a long way on his new snowboard. His balance is amazing and he just loves it.

d. Vail is spectacular. We are definitely going back, and will probably make it at least an overnight trip. The whole place is like a gingerbread storybook land. You can see a little in my video![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbvpgLfHMuY]

Hiking with Harry

Harry loves to hike through the Rocky Mountains. There are more trails around here than you can poke a ... hiking staff at. (Sorry.)

Harry's decided to do a series of Hiking with Harry videos, which will show everyone a little bit of what new things he's experiencing in hiking in a completely different environment. This is his first one, where he is seeing his first ever frozen lake. The quality of the video and editing limits this talented young man because it's done by his mum! But I'll get better, I promise! :)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoXjCFYMt-I]

A visit to the A pool

Following my previous post about unhappily swimming in the B Pool, I'm pleased to have been able to scramble my way through to a bit of a splash in the A pool. You know, that place where the cool kids are?  

My final paper for Media Ethics,  Twittering a Funeral: Social media's challenge to professional journalism received a final A grade. I think my professor was just as relieved and pleased about it as I am.

I'll be working on the paper further to prepare it for possible conference/journal submission, under the intuitive guidance of Professor Mike McDevitt. Without his assistance in structuring my paper all the stuff in my head would still be struggling for a voice.

Anyway, I'll happily send it along to anyone who'd like the long, academic version. Just email me or DM me on Twitter. But for those of you with lives not academically focused, here are the key points:

Statement of Purpose
This paper examines the impact on the professionalism of journalism as it integrates the social networking tool Twitter in traditional news reporting. The paper considers the use of Twitter by the Rocky Mountain News in which a child's funeral was "live blogged," as well as the ensuing outcry and response from the editor, John Temple. It identifies the particular characteristics of Twitter as a communication tool, and proposes an ethical model which supports the use of Twitter in professional journalism.

The paper then outlines the case study of the Rocky Mountain News' reporting of a child's funeral using Twitter, and identifies why this use was not only unethical but a case of unprofessional journalism. This is journalism which doesn't address the recommendations of the Hutchins Commission, and puts the autonomy of American journalists, as well as their credibility, in the firing line. There is a desperate need for reporters to be trained in the functionality of Twitter and fully understand it as well as the community (not audience) which supports it.

I recommend a model which outlines three ways Twitter should not be used, as well as three ways in which it supports professional journalism.
NO:

1. When the use of Twitter (either through implementing the tool or the result) is perceived as a possible invasion of privacy. 

2. When another journalistic tool would better serve the reporting need or the ability of the journalist.

3. When a journalist or media entity is unfamiliar with social media in its complete form, not just as a broadcast medium.

YES:

1. As a resource for newsgathering purposes, in preparing information for stories, getting leads, etc.

2. As a public journalism tool - where the journalist can attend an event and act as the mediator between the community and the event. Eg: a red carpet event, where the community can ask the journalist questions and she can filter them and respond accordingly (of course, this takes a different sort of journalistic training.)

3. For Amber Alerts (abducted children), especially when the child is suspected to have been abducted overseas; and for issues of imminent need or notice such as natural disasters, etc. The input would come from reliable sources, and media would then be able to aid in important efforts to communicate with the respectability of their professional branding adding weight to the message going out through the Twitter stream. 

I hope the A pool welcomes me back a few more times. It's really nice.

How much is the Aussie brand worth?

This is just one instance of an American company trying to cash in on the good name Australia and its people have within the US. And it sucks.

As an Australian, I'm really disgusted by Procter & Gamble's obvious attempt to mislead consumers by producing and promoting a range of haircare products as Australian.

[caption id="attachment_156" align="alignright" width="112" caption="What do you call an Aussie brand that's not Australian?"][/caption]

The brand is 'Aussie' - and you know what? It's not. You can see the associated website here (of course, it's using simply www.aussie.com).

You should know the following:

a. This brand does not exist in Australia.

b. This brand has no money going to Australia.

c. This brand, featuring the kangaroo on its logo, and the hyperbole saying it's part of "the latest wave from down under" actually has NOTHING to do with Australia.

d. This is NOT an Australian product.

This is intentionally misleading by Procter & Gamble. The ad, which you can see on their website, uses an Australian woman's voice-over to reinforce the message they have something to do with Australia.

It's a total rip-off of the Australian image and brand.

Now, whether or not the product is any good is not my concern. I believe it is obviously unethical to present a product or brand as being something it's not. In this case, the Australian brand and people are being used to sell a product which has nothing to do with them.

So I approached Procter & Gamble with my concerns. Here's the (cut and pasted) email response:

Thank you for contacting Aussie. Aussie® was founded in 1979 by Tom Redmond who had over twenty years experience in the professional salon industry. Tom visited Australia and was inspired to develop Australian 3 Minute Miracle, an intensive conditioner that produced real results in only three minutes. 3 Minute Miracle is now a top selling conditioner with more than 45 million bottles sold. This was followed by Sprunch Spray, Instant Freeze Hair Spray, and a complete line of hair care and styling products.

While Aussie products are not made in Australia, many of the beneficial ingredients come from Australia.

We hope we've been helpful. If we can assist you in the future, please let us know.

The Consumer Relations Team

013958415A/EGS

Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.

If you have additional comments about this issue, please click here:

http://www.econsumeraffairs.com/cla/contactusfollowup.htm?F1=013958415A

 

This is a company that really needs to learn a few lessons in social media and customer service. Not only is the response comprised mainly of PR crap that NOBODY would have wanted to read, and that wasn't relevant, it was deliberately vague and even said "mail to this address cannot be answered."  P&G is such a big company, it doesn't want to actually converse with anyone. Pfft. Oh, they're into Social Media - they have a Facebook Fan Page for Aussie. You can access it here. I'm going to leave a little message for them on it... I invite you to do the same. :)

But back to their response...I was obviously particularly interested in the claim that "many of the beneficial ingredients come from Australia." I looked on the bottles of Aussie products in the supermarket. Nothing is listed as being from Australia. The product is completely made and produced in the USA, according to the bottles.

So I sent them another email, asking them what ingredients come from Australia and that I wanted to get it right because I was going to be blogging about this. Two weeks later, I'm still waiting for a response.

Now, I'm not expecting my American friends to be too upset over this. After all, it's not your brand that's being used to sell something. But I wonder how a company can get away with this shameless lying  unethical behaviour?

I'm contacting the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about P&G's sham and will let you know what eventuates. 

Day of the Dinosaurs

Colorado is not just about snow (the lack of which in 2008 is duly noted). Colorado has some absolutely incredible dinosaur excavations, including stuff that's still being dug up to this day. That's something I didn't know until we went on a day-long excursion/adventure this week.

First stop was one of the sites about half an hour from where we are living, at Dinosaur Ridge. The dino footprints have been preserved and you can walk up and see them! While the Ridge is on the side of a roadway, the road has now been blocked off (except for the little tour bus), so you can safely walk up.

[caption id="attachment_146" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Looking at Dino tracksThe tracks have been coloured black and go right up the side of the cliff"][/caption]

The rock is shale, and the history of this part of Colorado is that it used to be a sea. After the landforms changed the sea disappeared, and the dinosaurs were preserved and fossilized within the shale. It was great stopping at this site first because we looked first-hand, and touched the shale in the mountain. The layers of the rock were really cool.

From there we took a drive for another hour and a half to the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center (RMDMC) at Woodland Park. It features lots of exceptionally cool stuff for adults as well as kids on the Dinosaurs they've found, how they preserve them, and lots of those cool skeletons. You can even see the paleontologists at work preserving the fossils! It was great because they described the shale excavation and some of their discoveries came from exactly where we had just been.

  The RMDRC has interactive kid activities, free hourly tours of the centre, two movies running all the time, and full displays of how they create the casts, and preserve the remains. Everything is presented in such a great way, it kept every one of us enthralled. There was no whingeing at this one! This was a day trip well worth taking!

Flapdoodle's pumpkin diet

Halloween is officially over. The only candy left is the real crud that nobody will eat so I'm about to chuck it out. That's not bad for an entire month!

The other great thing was the jack-o-lanterns. We had heaps of fun carving them with our US friends and they decorated the outside of the house with their scariness for a while. And the kids even had a jack-o-lantern competition at school which was amusing. (Though why so many parents feel they have to do the jack-o-lantern for their kid like some work of art, and then put the kid's name on it when it was obviously done by the parent is beyond me. Some people need to get a life.)

Anyway, back to the real story here. The jack-o-lanterns, if carved, go 'off' in about a week, so the kids painted and googly eyed etc two pumpkins for school. When they brought them back home we put them on the front verandah... and Flapdoodle decided it was his buffet time.

We have been highly amused by Flapdoodle's obsession with our pumpkins. (Yes, we are that desperate for entertainment.) Finally he has eaten both of them. And they were quite large! Luckily for him, he left the googly eyes and pipe cleaners, and he's still running about so they didn't kill him.

[caption id="attachment_142" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Flapdoodle, king of pumpkin one"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_143" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Attacking pumpkin two"][/caption]

Vilification is not okay, even if it's accepted vernacular

During my final 12 months in Australia, a disturbing language fad happened in the youth I was teaching at college. It was also demonstrated across all youth, because I saw it in my own children.

The use of the word gay to describe something negative. Anything negative. Was gay. "That's so gay." "He's so gay." "That game's gay."

The real meaning was that gay was a reject. It was bad. It was unacceptable.

That's vilification. It's a representation of bigotry.

And even though most people saying it weren't intending to be supporting of any of those horrible, closed minded sentiments, they were still saying it. And as such, they were keeping the flame alive.

So I decided that even though it was a rampant part of the youth vernacular, I didn't have to accept it. So I outlawed this use of it in my classroom. And it had very real effect.

I told them all. Every class. If you use that term in that way, you're out of my classroom. And then I explained why.

It caused a little stir, but it worked. They found other ways to express themselves, and it brought to light the fact that we all have responsibility for the language we use, and even if we don't intend to offend... we can and often do. And that's problematic for all of us in a society.

So now I'm in the US and I'm finding the same situation exists with the word "retard". Just throw it in wherever gay was thrown in and you get the picture.

So I'm taking the same stance. I won't accept this. Not in my friends, my kids... even my Twitter friends. And I'm calling on you to join with me in this. Let's stamp this vilification out. Just as it's unacceptable to say the "N word" in the USA to refer to people, I'd love it to be the case to see it as unacceptable to use the "R word" to refer to anyone or anything at all.

Some of our community are intellectually disabled. That doesn't make them "R word" in the sense it's being used by the broader community - it just gives them extra challenges. If you decide to segment these people into a less important stereotype, then you will completely miss out on the fact that people with those challenges are admirable and often inspirational in the way they take on the world. Their stories will often bring you to earth with a crash.

So will you join me? Will you consciously stamp the "r word" out of your vocabulary? Will you commit to telling those around you not to use it in your presence? Let's join forces. No word is bigger than the people behind the vocabulary.

The massive difference between A and B

I am swimming in the B pool and I'm not happy. (Don't try telling me getting a B is okay. It's not.)

I have some kick-ass papers to write. I have a great brain and a wealth of experience. But I'm not getting the grades I want.

Graduate school is difficult. This week I had what I'd describe as a 'crash and burn 24 hours'. There were lots of reasons to just go back to work. Lots. But in talking with my husband and friends I realised these 'reasons' were things that could be changed if I wanted to find a way to make that happen.

So I've made a plan to fix things. A better approach. I will be far more efficient at note-taking, writing (so that includes drafting, revising and final drafts... not just one draft), and research. I will talk to people I respect, and tie myself to my professors. I am not going to study myself to death. I am not going to be so fearful of writing the wrong thing that I leave it and end up writing it without checking. I'm going to write it anyway, and then check it up and rewrite it instead.

All this seems obvious. And it is. Unless you're living it.

So that's basically it. Oh, and the capstone is the kids and I have a deal. When I do pull myself out of the B pool, we are having a family party - complete with glow sticks from Dollar Tree, disco music and junk food.

It's time to kill Lynette, the post-feminist failure.

I was wondering which of the Desperate Housewives I am. I don't have a gardener, we're not rich, my kids are not dysfunctional, I'm not blonde in real estate and I'm not pretty and stupid. I guess some would say Lynette is the closest to me, because she has billions of children and was a great worker outside the home. But that couldn't be further from the truth.

I adore that I'm a mum of four children. Each of my kids is incredible and I've learned so much about myself and life's purpose with having each othem around. I've been a parent for 17 and a half years now. That's a really long time - nearly half my life. when I had my first child, I was about 10 years younger than any of the other mums in the parenting groups, and I was pretty much a fish out of water. But even though it was incredibly challenging, I did it, and did it really well.

I also worked outside the house. Because I wanted to. And that fantastic juggling act was about the most impressive thing I've ever done. It's not about being a 'superwoman', it's about being an individual. Someone who wants to try to do as much as possible and doesn't want to make "choices" that the women's movement and society says you should.

I gave birth to both my second child and my first magazine for ACP in the same year, without a nanny or cleaner or whatever. How did that work? I pitched a plan to my publisher, Nick Chan, that I would telecommute (the first ever at ACP) and guaranteed him that he would get the best editor for the job if he appointed me. Even though someone else wanted the job (who was also female, but not pregnant at the time), he gave it to me. Some would congratulate Nick for that - what a forward thinking guy he is. I find that pretty condescending and basically offensive to both Nick and me. I know Nick is an incredible professional and he appointed the person who was going to do the best job, all things considered. It was a business decision, not a 'socially courageous' one. He appointed me because I freaking well rock.

How did he know that?

I had put together an 8-page sample of what the magazine would look like, gathered a small team of potential staff, and done a budget. I made commitments to him about how the magazine would run and undertook my own market research with that team of potential staff. I approached it professionally.

And I followed through.

Far from the 'easy' road, it's had its challenges. My kids have grown up in a variety of different caregiving arrangements over the years, but never fulltime 8-6pm every day because that's never been what I wanted to have happen with them. I've paid more than I should have had to for childcare because I wanted a particular type, place, time. I have even taken time out from full-time employment a few times because I've wanted to take a bit of a break. But I've always ended up back in the workforce, in jobs I've loved.

I am the sort of person who looks for reasons how to make things work, not reasons why they can't. I don't care about social norms, about what's 'acceptable'. I'm not post-feminist. I'm not Lynette from Desperate Housewives. I'm not full of aching resentment and confusion about what my role is. I'm loving my life. I mix it up.

I'm sick of people wanting to do one of two things: first, make me some poster girl for women everywhere. While I appreciate you may admire my ability on some levels and I admire women too, I think it's about taking responsibility for yourself and making things happen for you. Don't point to me as an 'example'. You should do whatever you want, and feel empowered to do it. If you don't feel empowered, then get to the point where you do. It's YOUR responsibility to find your motivation. I don't look elsewhere for empowerment, but I do for affirmation. I find affirmation in women who are doing those little tough things that don't get recognised. I will never forget dropping my kids at daycare at 8am, meeting up with another mum doing the same; however she was actually a shift worker who had started work at 4am, and was on a break from work. She had picked her child up from one carer to take him to the other one at 8am. She was a woman who needed to do something, adored her family and did what it took to make it work.

In both our cases it wasn't going to last forever. It probably wasn't going to last even 12 months. Kids grow up, jobs change. But for a period of time you sit up and say this is how it needs to be, and I'm going to make it happen. Don't look to the spouse, the grandparents, whomever to 'help out'. If you want it to go a certain way, then you find a way to make it happen.

Secondly, I don't like people who look at what I do and then find either excuses as to why it is easier for me (oh you must have lots of help at home), or even evidence about why I'm not succeeding as well as I should be (oh you must be a bad mother, or you're cutting corners). None of that is true - my kids are not only fantastic, well adjusted people, they have the benefit of seeing their mum achieve some pretty amazing stuff while they're there to share it with me. The boys recognise that women can do anything, at any stage of their lives. And my daughter, at 17, is recognising that she can make choices that suit her in life, not some social norm.

Unlike the women's movement of the 80s, I don't tell my daughter she can have choices. I want to be a mum who lives her choices - just as any individual can, male or female. I want her to see that working inside the home is just as important as outside, and women can and should be empowered to feel fulfilled doing whatever it is they choose to do, in whatever mix. And that there is a balance that can be achieved, and that balance is different for everyone. And she has to be personally empowered to make a balance for herself. She doesn't have to thank anyone other than herself for taking it on and making it happen.

Take control. Make your own way. Stop finding excuses for whatever is on the backburner. Find reasons to cook it all up now. Empower yourself and be your own inspiration. Get rid of Lynette.

Kids reaction to our first snow in Boulder

Being true blue surf, sand and sea Aussies who have lived on the Eastern coast of Australia forever, our kids have never seen snow.

Australia definitely has it though. But it's about a 5 hour drive to the ski fields from where we lived, and the price to stay, ski or whatever was incredibly prohibitive, especially given we're a large family. And the snowy mountains only has snow for about 8 weeks of the year anyway.

So we never did it.

And now we've moved to Boulder, where it snows from October through to about April(?) This video captures Harry and Charlie's first reactions. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOcHWPUpEA]

Disclosures

Here I disclose absolutely everything that I consider could be deemed (by a reasonable person) to influence what I talk about or how I talk about it. I'm not seeking to monetize this site, but I recognise that my social equity is building and my branding has some value. I see the future of media is not in the vast number of clicks, but in the quality and resonance of the audience that interacts with me. I'm not looking to build my audience using any means possible - I really don't care that much for people visiting as an accident because they clicked through someone else first. I'd much rather have people actively seek *me* out for conversation, or to see what I've got. Advertisers are not caught up on that yet. So far, I've been offered a few free 'link to us and we'll link to you' deals that I'm not taking up. I will, of course, keep you posted. :)

Research, Papers and Presentations

My first ever public presentation was at PubCamp 2008. I undertook an unconference session in Sydney looking at the quality of media reporting of stories online as opposed to its traditional format. A few days later I delivered a more wide-ranging presentation at PubCamp in Melbourne, which was filmed and put here (if you watch it, please allow time for buffering so the slides begin with the speech). Of course, I think there are some great points in this presentation, but I believe I could do it so much better now. :)

I am currently undertaking my Masters in Mass Communication Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I'm working on research papers covering the following areas:

1. The mediation and mediatization of breastfeeding and its relationship to societal norms. On February 18, 2009 I presented a segment of my research at Ignite Boulder. Ignite is an awesome fun opportunity where presenters have 5 minutes and 20 slides that are on auto advance, with 15 seconds for each slide. You can watch the fun here.

2. The integration of Web 2.0 strategies with professional journalism and associated ethical issues.

3. My thesis is moving towards studying the strength of online communities formed using social media. My current semester's research is on the use of speech acts (hashtags, @ and retweets) and discourse/turn taking on Twitter.

I am going to endeavour to be as transparent as possible here on my blog, and post my outlines for relevant things I know associates who read my blog may be interested in. I would really appreciate feedback, contributions, questions, opportunities to present my work, and free coffees (not necessarily in that order).

Why you shouldn't read print

Since moving to Boulder I've actually started picking up the local free newspaper each day, but I'm over it. Why? I read it online and believe it's the cheapest, easiest way of helping the environment - even easier than all that other recycling we do.

In Australia to get a paper you need to visit a newsagent, or the train station - basically have a human interaction. But here in the US, there are a plethora of newsboxes (I dunno what they're actually called) all around the place - everywhere - carrying an assortment of daily newspapers, catalogues, classifieds. Almost anything! Many of them are free, and those that aren't are cheap to buy. The Daily Camera is only 50c (the Sunday edition is $1). You put the money in the slot and it lets you pull the handle open to grab your paper. While in Sydney we have about 4 generally available mass media newspapers, here there are at least twice that.



This seems great - it's so convenient, there's never a line for the paper, and it's so cheap it's easy to pick it up to read on the bus or whatever. And on a Sunday morning, you don't have to make conversation.

That's the big difference. The quality of news in these papers is shocking. The Colorado Daily is really crap. The writing is complete drivel. The topics are ridiculous. There is no real news. The best part is the comics. And even then, whomever is editing it sometimes runs the same comic two days or more straight. The Boulder Weekly, another free paper, is a bit better, but really - it's a good thing they're free. Nobody in their right mind would pay for this crap. The writing is grammatically incorrect, badly edited - it looks like a 4th grade paper. It's simply not professional in any sense of the word, let alone 'journalism'. Sort of like a cut down, free version of Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

But that gets me on to 'good quality' print - you know, the stuff you expect to pay for. The real journalism.

The Daily Camera and The Rocky Mountain News, which are like Sydney's Daily Telegraph in the 'real' sense, have been running subscription campaigns. Get it cheaper and you'll save! Big frigging deal. I can read both of them online... for free!

And there's nothing left of it when I'm done. No papers laying around to put in the recycling.

That's the biggest deal of all - the environmental cost. The New York Times, one of the most respected newspapers in the world, is also available online. Consider this: 314 acres of trees are cut down for every single edition of the Sunday New York Times.

314 acres. Gone. Because people like something tangible to hold with their coffee on Sundays; and then they chuck it out come Monday morning.

For a world of people who are becoming more aware of global warming and all the associated issues of environmental catastrophes, surely we owe ourselves and our kids those 314 acres.

Join me. Demand great journalism from your traditional mastheads, but demand it online. Leave the paper on the trees where it belongs.

It's the little things

Living in the USA is really similar to living in Australia. You know, there are schools, public transport, etc. But some things, little things, can make it seem really freaky. And that's really fun.

For example, the mail. In Australia you have a home letterbox where mail is delivered to monday to friday. If you want to send snail mail, you go to the post office. Rarely do you get stamps anywhere else. There are postboxes in the streets, etc, and when you've stamped your letter (it's 50 cents to anywhere in Australia for standard mail) then it's good to go. It takes about a day or two to get wherever you send it to. Unless you've put money in it, then it might never arrive.

In Boulder you can buy stamps at the supermarket, and heaps of other places. There are nowhere near the plethora of post offices, but there are quite a number of shipping places that specialise in packages.



The really great part is that when you have a standard letter to post, you simply put it in your own letterbox and the mail carrier (the US version of the mail man) picks it up when they drop off your mail. All you need to do is raise the little red flag next to your letterbox.

Super cool. I'm pretty convinced this is why NetFlix, the movie rental service that works by sending the movies out to you via mail, has taken off in a big way here. It's all so simple.

MSM journalism and Twitter

Moving online has caused Mainstream Media (MSM) quite a few headaches. I explored this a little during my Pubcamp presentation earlier this year.

Unlike many, I believe there is still life in MSM yet - they just have to learn to adapt to the new environment and, staying true to their code of ethics, make the most of new media in a way which better serves the audience.

Too many MSM consider they are making use of new media by simply having an online space. Quality of MSM journalism has taken a nose-dive as the stress of creating content (repurposed or not) on a continuing cycle for the online entities has reduced the time available for researching and fact checking. The seemingly limitless amounts of space online, and the audience demand for updated news combines with the advertisers' demand for minute-by-minute hit ratios.

Any ethical news organisation would reasonably buckle under that pressure. And many have.

It's time for MSM to look beyond coming up with new 'stories that aren't' and flimsy angles on old agendas in order to maintain their readership. It's time to revisit your mission, reconsider who you serve, and then integrate new media to that end.

The whole reader comment thing is really iffy for MSM. I believe in brands. Whether online or in print, MSM is professional and has a branding that reflects their years of commitment. A stamp of professionalism if you like. When you run a slurry of reader comments online under news stories you invite commentary that is neither professional nor reflects your branding. We are seeing stories that are 300 words long but which have 2000 words of reader comments, most of which is simply diatribe - or worse, just plain offensive bigotry.

Who does that serve?

Additionally, you have your reporters running their own blogs which are nothing more than a bit of fluff that nobody, not even your MSM journo's themselves, take seriously. Honestly, you're getting it wrong. If it's not fit to print then why do you believe it's fit for the web?

No wonder your sales continue to slide.

The Rocky Mountain News (RMN) and a few other organisations are to be congratulated for looking further into new media. The RMN is trying to use Twitter. But so far MSM hasn't got its head around the possibilities of social networking tools, and it's falling a bit short.

So if you're listening, here's what you need to do.

Train your journalists in social media and focus on the social aspect. Twitter can be used as a broadcast tool, sure, but that's not its limitation. In fact, why not tell your audience that you'll be at a certain event, and ask them to get online and use the journalist as their eyes and ears at that event? Yes, Twitter goes two ways!

I can see a really great potential here for MSM to make a mark using social media, and for the professionalism and integrity of journalism to get a real kick back on track. MSM can offer its very wide audience the opportunity to be part of the democratic, authentic, balanced journalism the public seeks. Sure you can use Twitter as an advertisement link to other news stories, but that's simply advertising. Why not integrate the tool in your reporting and at the same time bond with your audience?

Now that's something I'd love to see. That's something that will get people believing in you again.

Breastfed is best fed. The End.

Yes, I breastfed all four of my children.

Yes, I did for at least three years for every one of them.

And no, I make no apologies for it.

If you're uncomfortable with my headline, then as the Queen of Spain says, #suckit. (Yes, I do finally get that.)

I've spouted for a long time that breast fed is best fed. I think it's a great line and it describes my feelings well. All four of my kids deserved the best, and still do. I have sacrificed a lot for my kids.

After walking the talk for 18 years on natural birthing and breastfeeding, I am very familiar with the reasons why people don't do one or both of the above.

Some are valid reasons - and I recognise that. But the World Health Organisation's statistics are not possibly wrong. How can Western Nations suddenly need vast numbers of c-sections and women worldwide continue to *choose* to formula feed over breastfeeding for reasons that are non-medical?

Doesn't your child deserve the best?

Learning how citizen journalism works

What is the difference between citizen journalism and traditional media?

That’s the question BlogWorld & New Media Expo, being held in Las Vegas from Sept 19 to 21, 2008, seems to not know the answer to.

Billed as the world’s largest blogging and new media conference, BlogWorld is holding a one-day workshop for citizen journalists.

Great!

While I don’t want to offend anyone with my own opinions on this, I felt pretty offended by what followed. Looking through the program overview, it appears that to be taken seriously as a citizen journalist, you need to be trained by traditional journalists. After all, as the site says, “Traditional media has tried to learn from the blogs... Now it’s time for the bloggers and other new media journalists to mine the history, tradition and most importantly, the knowledge base of traditional journalists.”

Simply part with $350 and you too will be able to be trained by four out of five people who don’t actually practice citizen journalism... or that even have blogs. In fact, upon looking through their bio’s which are linked in the speaker profiles, only one of them (the same one) actually has any relationship with Web 2.0 at all.

And at the end, you’ll get a certificate which you can have on paper, or for those ‘new media’ types, in a web badge format! What a bargain!

I’m sure that Norg and allvoices will be searching out for cit j’s with accreditation offered by BlogWorld. Nope. Maybe it will make me feel more ‘professional’ or make me more ‘influential’ or add to my branding?

I really don’t think so.

Getting trained by old media journalists and academics who work in a model which is failing to profit doesn’t reflect the demands of journalism of the 21^st century. If I had $350 to spend, it wouldn’t be here. But I’m sure many will.

Monetizing citizen journalism... at last someone’s worked out how to do it. Thanks BlogWorld!

MSM forgets what sets it apart

The Rocky Mountain News has taken a lot of my attention this week. Primarily because it is one of the first MSM outlets which I've come across attempting to incorporate a greater range of Web 2.0 usage as part of its general reporting effort.

Virtually all MSM now features online sites with reader polls and reader comments. Those have their own incredible issues which are related, but I won't delve into here.

However, the RMN decided to incorporate a Twitter-feed as part of its news service, on the front page of its online issue wednesday this week. And the story they covered? The funeral of a 3-year old boy who was killed by accident while at an ice-cream store.

The result of running this piece was that the RMN was brought to task by The Poynter Institute, its own readers and other media over two things.

Firstly, the appropriateness of using the 'tool' of Twitter at a funeral. A child's funeral. Well, you know what? They didn't really use Twitter. They might as well have video taped it (oh, actually they did that too) because while Twitter is a social networking tool, the RMN (like all other MSM) only use it for broadcast purposes - there was no conversation going on. The RMN, like all other MSM, simply doesn't 'get' Twitter. If you'd like a metaphor, it's the same as if the telephone was invented and the RMN called you and said stuff, then hung up. No interaction. The RMN still sees the potential of Web 2.0 as tired old Web 1.0. MSM uses Web 2.0 with an 'it doesn't really count, it's just a bit of fluff' attitude. And that's why the brains of MSM, with all its years of journalistic experience, is failing in the 21st century.

But the more important issue is the content.

The editor of the RMN responded to the outrage caused by his decision to run the Twitter feed. His excuse was basically "Well, we're struggling with this new technology stuff, and we had permission."

FAIL

'Struggle' away. However, I have listened to many MSM journalists describe the difference between them and bloggers. This usually comes down to 'We are professionals'. Tack onto that other qualifiers like "We've been doing this for xx years" and "All bloggers do is write about us anyway, so if we disappeared then what would be left?"

Well apologies if this seems harsh, but guess what the bloggers are writing about? What a crap job you 'professional' journalists are doing. How unbalanced, biased, ignorant you have become.

And if you are 'professional', then how about reading through your Code of Ethics a few times? Hell, why not stick it up on the wall to remind yourselves what you're trying to do? What it is that sets you apart from bloggers?

I sincerely believe that the Code of Ethics is the one thing - the touchstone - that journalists have to rely on.

In Australia we have a Code of Ethics which compels the professional journalist to "resist the compulsion to intrude." (Let's leave aside the fact that the Code isn't found on the first page of the MEAA's website... if fact, it involves lots of clicking to get to it.) Even though the RMN had permission to report the funeral, it wasn't the right thing to do using the words, images and portrayal you did. It was incredibly biased and the resulting feeling in the audience was one where you grew a moral panic about the 'illegal immigrant' who caused the accident. (Demonstrated by the reader comments.)

The USA's code as stated by the Society of Professional Journalists, is even more clear. It states, flat out "Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiousity." The RMN didn't do that. In the words of one reader's response; 'Just because you can, doesn't mean you should'.

If you are to be professional journalists, behind every struggle, whether it is over the use of technology or the content you create on that technology, you should stand true to your professional Code of Ethics.

If not, a blog awaits.

No, not that 'change of life'

Living here couldn't be more different than what we've been used to. And it's pretty much all good. It's a 1 minute walk to the bus stop, and the bus comes every 10 minutes. And this is the view I have while I wait:

We have at least one squirrel in the tree which overhangs our condo's back patio. Of course there are squirrels everywhere here. But this one is in our tree.

He's cute. Fast. Brown. And yet...

I'm sure he's a ninja. As are all squirrels here in Boulder. (You heard it here first.) Why? Nothing that moves that fast is all good.

In any case, this little guy is very cool. I see him every day. Mostly in the morning or evening, when I'm actually sitting still long enough for him to whip past. I took a pic of him this morning and the flash made him stop and look at me as if to say "paparazzi."

Additionally, we have a gorgeous family of deer who also hang out in the backyard. (We call it the backyard. It's actually open space and a park). The mum has a radio collar on her neck, the dad has only been seen a couple of times (he must work a lot), and the kids bounce around like the Disney Bambi. They like the grass and don't mind it when people bike past or walk down the path. Sorry I don't have a pic of them at the moment, but will add it when I do.[gallery]

All these guys could do with names. Suggestions most welcome.

Click your heels together three times. We're not in Mulletville any more, Toto!

Moving to Colorado in 5 Easy Steps

We jumped. We are now in Colorado. The suitcases are in the cupboard under the stairs. The kids are at school and I am at the SJMC (School of Journalism and Mass Communication) at the Uni of Colorado at Boulder. I thought I'd take you through what was an extremely tiring and exciting 8 weeks to share the joy, and thank those who helped us get here.

Step One - Getting Ready to Jump

Packing up our life. Four simple words that took an incredible amount of time. It's pretty straightforward to book the shipping and storage people, and organise the garage sale.

[caption id="attachment_82" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Kid1 helps out at the garage sale"][/caption]

We have a whole heap of stuff kept in storage in Sydney, and we've brought with us the essentials. We're also shipping 1 cubic metre of crap I've decided I can't live without. Tips for garage sales? Only have it on a Saturday because Sunday is pointless, and make sure you tag everything. We had the sale about three weeks before leaving, and had my friends come over to help at various points to distract me from potential emotional overload (yay Kathy and Jacqui). We gave leftover stuff to charity or freecycle. However, what we found most successful and amusing - put all of it on the front lawn with a big free sign on it. It went in a flash! We had quite a few laughs.

[caption id="attachment_81" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Ship or store?"][/caption]

My pal Kathy also helped a lot when I had a crisis of "what do I do?" She turned up and spent literally days putting her own life on hold while she helped the kids pack their stuff, aided my crisis over helping my two eldest kids move out of the house into their dad's, and told me lots of funny stories about her own moves. There is a special sort of woman in the world. She's the mum of more than three kids. I'm lucky to count some of my best pals in the world in that category. Kathy will forever have a special place in my heart for her help with this stage. And her skim mocha is the best I've ever had. Ever.

Tip: Get the kids involved and video bits of the process. Between Jacqui, Kathy and I we have 13 kids, who were all very keen to whack the dead furniture into pieces to put in the mini skip. We got some great, funny videos of kids with hammers. And miraculously avoided injuries!

[caption id="attachment_83" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="All our tech ready to go"][/caption]

Also, great tip was to have the lawnmower, whipper snipper and lounge suite we are keeping all professionally cleaned out, ready for storage. Of course, these were each done differently, but the cost was worth it knowing we'd be opening the storage crates in a few years to things that were pristine when they went in. We stored the fridge, washing machine and dryer quite easily, with small preparation. We have an incredible amount of Ikea furniture too, and we got a great guy out who dismantled everything back to IKEA flat pack with his helper dude, and saved us heaps of space in storage. They were nice guys too.

Step 2 - Organise and separate.

I really could have done this better. I separated the stuff I really needed in Colorado, but didn't put it in a suitcase to be sure it didn't get shipped - or worse still, stored. Things like the latest bills that you can't afford to pay yet, your PIN number stuff, personal documentation, etc. To cut this long story a bit shorter, I am pretty sure they're in shipping. Maybe I'll see them sometime before Christmas. If not, the electricity gets cut off in the old house and I'm not there so I really don't care that much. So ner.

Step 3 - Book good quality people, and use your friends.

Thank goodness we booked Allied Pickfords to handle all our storage. They were great (well so far, they still have all our stuff of course). When you're talking about all your worldly posessions, going with the quote based solely on price is dumb. Instead I went on gut. We're happy I did. These guys were efficient, hard-working and best of all, happy blokes to be around. They really deserved the crates of beer we got them at the end.

[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The bloody big truck"][/caption]

And my friends were key to success. I love my friends. I'm so lucky to have them. They made me feel like I'm a pathetic loser of a friend, given all they were willing, ready and able to do to ensure we got this move done. We are so grateful to all our friends for the ongoing help, love, assistance, moral support, advice that they continue to provide. Whether we've known you for a long time or short time, you are so important to us. We can't wait to have you all stay with us here in Boulder. (Please stagger your visits. The condo is small.)

The old school friend, Cherie, who I hadn't seen in ages, my fabulous work friends (yes, TAFE sucks), our Twitter pals who braved the horrid weather to say bye, and all the kids school friends. Visit us soon!

Step 4 - Triple check how much you can take on your flight.

We had three different estimates of how much we could take on board our flight to the USA. Syd-LA with Qantas said 32kg each bag was fine. What most of the Qantas people didn't tell us was that for our connecting domestic flight from LA to Denver, the limit is just 23kg. It sucked to find that out two days before leaving. We ended up taking 13 bags, all weighing at least 20kg, with Jed's three bags (super duper flyer allowance) topping the 32kg. It was a heap of luggage, but well worth taking it rather than shipping or paying air freight for it, which would have been far more. (On our stopover in LA we saw Ringo Starr in the Admiral's lounge. That was cool.)

[caption id="attachment_85" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="This is just for the weekend? Um ... no."][/caption]

Step 5 - Take mum.

Big bonus. Taking my mum meant that we had three adults trying to maneuvre all that luggage. She has also been here in Colorado helping me settle in. She goes back to Sydney next week. I am ready to hire her to others. She's great. She's my mum. We've had a lot of fun working out what the US equivalence is to many products in the supermarket, driving around Boulder, hitting the stores, looking at ninja squirrels etc.

So here we are. That's the basics of getting here. I'll be getting the video camera up and running soon. I'm getting used to classes here and the amount of reading I'm having to do as a grad student is staggering. I'm sure the squirrels are out to kill when I'm not looking. That's scary. More posts soon, including video, asap.

Love and hugs to all.