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Posted in Pods and Presos
Shelly's Web of Wonder Posts
Healthy and Doing Fine
Posted in Access and Disability, and Random Personal Nonsense
Birth announcements almost always end the same way. Baby is healthy and doing fine. That’s what we all hope for, right? And mostly, it’s what parents in the United States can expect to get. But seeing those words once again on a birth announcement made me wonder. What’s the best ending line for the announcement of the birth of a disabled child? Should parents be less giddy and thankful when they learn their new son…
I’m acquainted with a lot of podcasters and writers. Some of my friends are both, and some have used the spoken medium to gain wider distribution for their written work. I love these people. I love that what they are selling is creative work. They are, in a very real sense, also selling themselves. Tools like podcasting, Twitter, Facebook, fan art and the like are the grassiest of grass roots, and the most personal of…
I’ve been following a local story about police shooting a couple of suspects when they surprised them in a car suspected of involvement in some robberies. Neighbors were angry at the cops, and broke out windows in several police cars. Big story, still under investigation. Too early to know exactly what happened. Many details yet to be made clear. I tracked the story on Twitter, where I follow a local TV station and two newspapers.…
Susan Boyle and the Idolatry of Perfection
Posted in Access and Disability, and Politics and Public Affairs
I avoided what’s being called the Susan Boyle Phenomenon as long as I could. I first learned about it from distant acquaintances on Twitter, then from some fellow book club members. More links followed, all pointing to a video of a woman appearing on an American Idol-like TV show called Britain’s Got Talent. Words like “amazing”, “inspiring” and “it gave me chills” accompanied each link, along with an admonition that I “must watch this!” The…
Take a First Look at Skype for iPhone
Posted in Announcements, and Pods and Presos
Time to give one of my own podcasts a plug. I’ve just recorded a quick overview of the new Skype for iPhone app on the App Store Pundit podcast. Download it or stream it, and let me know what you think of the show and of Skype for iPhone. I’m crowd-sourcing a full-fledged review for the next show.
How to Really Cover Events, Social Media Style
Posted in Cocktails and Spirits, New Media and Tech, and Podcasting
I’m a big ol’ critic of the current frenzy for social media. That is, I’m critical of the “social media can do EVERYTHING, replace ALL mainstream media, CURE CANCER, etc. school of thought. But I am not critical of the tools that make it possible to exchange information, or add deeper meaning to the content of media. Platforms like Twitter, podcasting, uStream, and Facebook, to name just a few, can unleash not only creativity of…
AccessCamp: From A Distance
Posted in Access and Disability, and New Media and Tech
A couple days ago, I saw a Twitter message advertising AccessCamp, an unconference focusing on digital accessibility. At first,my response was a bit sarcastic: camps seem to proliferate like weeds, I observed. But the more I thought about it, the more an AccessCamp seemed like a brilliant idea, and one I wish I had been aware of earlier. Having fought and defeated inaccessibility in various ways all my life, I have a few thoughts. The…
Austin Social Media 100
Posted in Announcements, New Media and Tech, Podcasting, and Random Personal Nonsense
I just learned that I’m listed in the Austin Social Media 100, in the tech category. I can’t say that I know much about this set of rankings, but I’m flattered to be included. I’m also mining the rest of the list for fun and interesting people to follow on Twitter or elsewhere.
Like any good progressive, I despise conservative talk radio. I don’t hate that it exists. I hate that most of it is so driven by anger, spite, and mean-spiritedness, and a fact-free appeal to the lesser natures of its audience. I don’t like talk radio, but I understand it. And the thing I understand most clearly is that it is a business, whose goal is to attract listeners who will buy the products of its…