-
The easy way to write Arabic! (via Amira)
1 Comment
WeMedia Miami 2008
The 10-member Global Voices team managed to make it out of the GV House this morning in time to arrive at the Storer Auditorium shortly before 830am. Sitting in the fifth row with Amira, Renata, Jillian, Chris, Cristina and Eddie, while WeMedia head honchos Dale Peskin and Andrew Nachison make introductory remarks. Solana has been designated a “WeJay”, so gets to sit in the front row.
Best place to find me this morning is Twitter.
Technorati Tags: wemedia08
Global Voices bloggers not cause of power outage in South Florida
Tuesday February 26th 2008, 4:12 pm
Filed under: Conferences & meetings, Global Voices, Humour, Travel
Posted by: Georgia
Filed under: Conferences & meetings, Global Voices, Humour, Travel
Posted by: Georgia
The Global Voices team’s Miami headquarters in Coconut Grove
The first sign was the failing wifi signal, accessible, after a while, only to people with the last name “Avila“. Then the power went completely. We eventually located the fuse box, and toggled every switch we could find. No go.
For relaxation, members of the Global Voices team helped Outreach Director David “Oso” Sasaki with his laundry
We’ve recently established, however, that the power outage was in fact south Florida-wide, and wasn’t the fault of the eight Global Voices editors and authors present in the city for WeMedia Miami 2008 and the eight laptops, the washing machine in the process of laundering 98% of Oso’s wardrobe, the coffee maker and the two ceiling fans going full tilt at the team’s Miami headquarters in Coconut Grove.
Phew.
Renata, one of the Avilas who had internet access till the bitter end
links for 2008-02-22
-
“In an elementary school in the city of Wuhan in central China, three eight-year-old students campaign for the coveted position of class monitor. This is the first election for a class leader to be held in China.” (via Isaac Mao on Twitter)
Digital Journalism course for Caribbean Reporters and Editors
Knight Center Develops Online Introductory Course in Digital Journalism for Caribbean Reporters and Editors
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, as part of its new focus as a digital media training center, has developed an introductory course to digital journalism that it will offer for the first time from March 3 to April 4, 2008, to journalists living and working in Caribbean countries.
The course, Journalism 2.0, was developed by U.S. journalist Mark Briggs, author of the book Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive, a digital literacy guide for the information age. It will be offered in English in partnership with the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM).
Spaces in the course are limited, and Caribbean journalists may apply online until Feb. 25, 2008. The Knight Center will repeat the course later in 2008 for journalists from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We expect strong demand for this course, and we will try to accommodate that demand as best as we can,” said Rosental Calmon Alves, director of the Knight Center.
“Whenever we introduce a new course, we like to start with a small group of students. While Caribbean journalists will have the first chance to take this class, the Knight Center will explore ways to repeat the course as soon as possible, and to offer it to larger groups throughout Latin America.”
The Knight Center is also developing similar courses in Spanish and Portuguese, Alves added.
Course Themes
The course will be conducted entirely on line and will cover five main areas:
*Introduction to Journalism 2.0. Understand the opportunities and challenges of practicing journalism in the digital age.
*Web 2.0 and an Eye on the Future. Learn how Web 2.0 sites expand the realm and responsibilities of today’s journalists.
*Blogs, Breaking News, and Headlines (Writing for the Web). Explore and critique the world of blogs, and learn to write strong web headlines.
*Multimedia Basics. Explore basic practices in photography and video production, and experiment with the technology.
*Multimedia Planning. Learn what makes a good multimedia story and how to get these pieces produced.
Course Specifics
Students will have several weekly assignments, all of which will be performed on line. They include viewing video lectures and PowerPoint presentations, reading lecture materials, and participating in discussion forums with the instructor and classmates. Students will also conduct weekly skills assignments, and one exam, which they will submit online for comment and grading by the instructor.
Many of the readings will come from Briggs’ book Journalism 2.0. The English, Spanish, and Portuguese editions can be downloaded for free from the Knight Center ’s website: http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/journalism20.php
Students will be expected to meet weekly deadlines but can choose their own hours to access the course and can work at their own pace and schedule. All participants who complete the course will receive a certificate from the Knight Center.
Applications from Caribbean journalists will be accepted until 0900 (Austin time) on Monday, Feb. 25 here: http://www.engr.utexas.edu/sos/survey/56847937/index.cfm.
Priority will be given to journalists with at least three years experience who work full time for print, electronic or online media; possess a basic command of computers and internet technology; have access to a digital camera that takes both still photos and video; and have limited opportunities to attend training courses.
About the Partners
Briggs is the Assistant Managing Editor for Interactive News at The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. He has contributed to textbooks, seminars, and conferences on new media and journalism, and some of the projects he has led have won national and regional awards. He will be assisted in the course by Amy Schmitz Weiss and Carlos Perez de Alejo, staff members of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.
The ACM, founded in 2001, is an organization of journalist and media worker associations from throughout the Caribbean Basin. The organization will charge a US$30 fee to journalists selected to participate.
“The ACM is delighted that the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas has chosen the Caribbean as the place to launch this course,” said Wesley Gibbings, president of the ACM.
“The role of new technologies in Caribbean development is being viewed as singularly important. Journalists have the opportunity to be in the leadership of such a revolution. Through our participation in this course, we signal that we accept the challenge.”
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was created by Alves at the University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism in August 2002 thanks to a generous donation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
In 2007, the Knight Center received a new five-year grant from the Knight Foundation to refocus its work as a digital media training center for Latin American and Caribbean journalism, and to expand its efforts to serve as an incubator for new journalism organizations.
links for 2008-02-21
-
Diplomatic responses from Caribbean leaders to the Castro retirement announcement.
-
Films about social issues available for rental or purchase.
-
Amy Gahran’s session outline for “Connecting with Communities of Difference”: “….in this session I’ll focus on some ideas for connecting with typically underserved communities via online, print, broadcast, and real-world means. The point is people, no
-
Online journalism training site, funded by the good old Knight Foundation.
Lunar eclipse - February 20, 2008
Seen from my home in Diego Martin, Trinidad.
Technorati Tags: “lunar eclipse” eclipse moon astronomy sky trinidad caribbean
links for 2008-02-18
-
Poet and activist Stacey Ann Chin recounts the bad old days growing up in Jamaica.
-
“Are you a locally- or internationally-based NGO looking at the potential to use mobile phone text messages to reach specific groups of individuals within a target community? Or to run an awareness raising campaign? Or to run a competition, or carry out a
-
“The strange journey of Apple’s popular iPhone, to nearly every corner of the world, shows what happens when the world’s hottest consumer product defies a company’s attempt to slowly introduce it in new markets.”
links for 2008-02-16
-
“The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, as part of its new focus as a digital media training center, has developed an introductory course to digital journalism that it will offer for the first time from March 3 to April 4, 2008, to journalists
-
Brief review of Ned Sublette’s new book, which explores the influence of Cuba and Hispaniola on New Orleans (via Nicholas Laughlin)
links for 2008-02-15
-
Thoughtful piece on the role of the internet in the Kenyan post-elections crisis, featuring a few of my Global Voices colleagues.
-
Trinidadian calypso great The Mighty Sparrow backs up his endorsement of Obama with a song.
Save the Boissiere House!
A historic building in Trinidad is in danger of demolition. Please visit the web site and sign the petition.
Technorati Tags: trinidad and tobago, architecture, victorian, conservation, history, port of spain, boissiere house
Why we Twitter
The first thing I thought to do as I felt my desk and chair start shaking, albeit gently, about 40 minutes ago, was to post to Twitter: “Earthquake here in Trinidad!” Within two minutes I had a response from the intrepid iange, asking: “what’s the value of the quake, don’t see any seismic senors which have picked on it yet.”
I told iange I’d check the UWI Seimsic Research Centre’s web site but then got sidetracked by e-mail. Within another few minutes, however, iange was back with the info: “appears to be a quake measuring 5.4 Magnitude according to GEOFON’s sensors” and “GEOFON has revised reading to 5.2 Magnitude , off the coast of Venezuela“, plus links to the sites shown in the images above and below.
This is one of the many reasons we use Twitter.
Update (6:07 PM): The UWI Seismic Research Centre has posted a report.
Technorati Tags: earthquake, twitter, social media
links for 2008-02-13
-
Dolphins - caught as a by-catch or opportunistically - have appeared on the T&T market, apparently to fulfil the Lenten requirement for fish.
-
Says one commentator: ““It’s almost impossible to sell self-digitization to the iPod generation” because “it’s so much more labor-intensive than ripping a CD.”
links for 2008-02-12
-
Harvard faculty to vote on a measure that would allow Harvard to post their scholarship online. (Via Nikipedia)
-
“On May 10, 2008 – Pangea Day – sites in Cairo, Dharamsala, Kigali, London, New York City, Ramallah, Rio de Janeiro, and Tel Aviv will be videoconferenced live to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.”
-
Trinidad and Tobago is #3 on the list of unsanctioned countries using iPhones.
links for 2008-02-11
-
Video presentation by Larry Lessig weaving the factual, philosophical and emotional arguments for voting for Obama into a pretty solid whole.
-
Blog tracking Google maps mashups.
-
Interesting site specialising in Digital Laptop Reggae, also known as Dub. (Via Oso).
links for 2008-02-10
-
Photographer Mark Lyndersay’s gallery of images taken in various mas’ camps (costume-making workshops) in Trinidad.
TSTT: it’s not over yet
Apologies for boring you again with the TSTT saga, but I feel it is important to document these things in public.
Someone hinted to a relative of mine recently that I had failed to express sufficient gratitude on this blog to TSTT, my internet service providers. I believe (or hope) the comment was tongue-in-cheek, as I think I have offered gratitude where gratitude was due. In an earlier post, for instance, I mentioned Dustin, the tech support person who handled my ADSL installation. I also wrote that Broadband Marketing manager Francisca Jordan responded promptly and clearly to my email. I commended Dustin because he offered excellent service, i.e. he was highly responsive throughout the process and delivered on his promises.
I feel absolutely no need, on the other hand, to feel “grateful” for the actual fast-tracking of my ADSL installation, as I first applied for the service way back in October 2007, then was told at various points by various TSTT personnel that:
- - the service was not yet available in my area (understandable)
- - the service would be installed in within six weeks from early November
- - the service wouldn’t be available until the end of December
- - they couldn’t say when the service would be available
- - ADSL service had been activated on my line since early October, though nobody could tell me why it wasn’t actually working
- - it was sunny in Bangalore (okay, that one’s a joke)
The installation finally took place on January 23, 2008, apparently in response to the letter I sent to TSTT and also posted on this blog. (I have since learned that my original ADSL application had been screwed up on the TSTT end of things. Since the installation, I have also received three phone calls from other tech support personnel responding to outdated service requests I’d made in early January.)
But the crux of my argument with TSTT, as you may recall, was not ADSL: it was the fact that they’ve continued billing me (and other TSTT Wireless Broadband users) at the original rate for Wireless Broadband Service that has deteriorated in some cases to speeds lower than dial-up.
Ms. Jordan told me that she had passed my letter on to her Executive Vice President. To date, however, nobody has responded further to the matter. I should also say here that I do not consider the fast-tracking of my ADSL installation an appropriate response.
If or when I receive a response, however, you’ll be the first to know. And at least I’m no longer the only blogger TSTT has to worry about.
Technorati Tags: tstt, consumer rights, customer service, trinidad, caribbean, telecommunications
links for 2008-02-09
-
Bad planning screws up Kolkata’s book fair, paving the way for Delhi’s rival event to take the lead.
-
Jules Rincóon shows us how they do in the other Carnival nations.
-
“A new report by Washington watchdog group Freedom House says a clampdown on political rights made 43 countries ‘not free’ in 2007″
-
Photos from this year’s Ash Wednesday costume parade in Cayenne, French Guiana. (Via Nikipedia)
-
The Economist critiques the methods and some of the findings of Washington think tank Freedom House.
-
“Unlike most meat-eating Britons, Arthur never goes into a butcher shop. He gets his meat, by scooping up the carcasses of animals crushed under the wheels of passing traffic….”