I wonder how ...

Have you ever asked yourself, "I wonder how to be smarter at work" or "I wonder how to toilet train my cat."

Or even "I wonder how to make a tomato glow in the dark."

Well wonder no more.

A new video Web site, Wonderhowto.com, is a compilation of "How To" videos. A "Video guide for the curious world," as the Web site banner states.

So who ever thought to create Wonder How To?

Well according to this article in yesterday's New York Times, Stephen Chao, a former top employee of News Corporation, who was fired by Rupert Murdoch, had the idea.

Why was he fired? Well one time Chao hired a male stripper to strip at a company meeting. Another time he almost drowned Murdoch's dog.

Two bad decisions.

Regardless Chao is back on his feet after spending time in Santa Monica with his family, and is now trying to create an educational alternative to YouTube.

I decided to peruse the Web site and found several interesting videos including the ones mentioned above.

Here's how to make a tomato glow in the dark:


As expected, not all the videos are PG. In order to view a "How To" with adult content, you need to register and be over 18.

Once registered you can view several "sexual health" videos and post your own.

For now the Web site is clearly in it's early stages and I found it more entertaining than helpful, however I believe it has potential.

Chao said in a telephone interview to the New York Times that the "How To" market is huge.

He said:

What I started to notice is that there is a lot of how-to information out there that is fabulous but kind of hard to find. We set out to make it easy.

So there you have it.

From rated R to rated G you can now easily learn "How To" do a wacky collection of stuff.

'Target'ing the future

The New York Times posed the following question to its readers today:

Do you think bloggers should expect to be treated the same as traditional media outlets?

The question was inspired by the article, Target Tells a Blogger to Go Away.

According to the story, a post on the blog ShapingYouth.org, a blog about the effects of marketing on children, criticized this recent Target advertisement:

The blogger disapproved of the bull's-eye being in between the woman's legs. According to the Times article, when the blogger contacted Target with her opinon, the public relations person responded with:

Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets.

This is Target's current PR practice, however the store did tell the Times they sometimes make an exception to the rule and are in the process of reviewing the policy.

So what does the public think? Should bloggers be treated the same as traditional media?

In journalism class, we often debate this very question, and in my experience most of my peers are quite accepting of blogs. The argument in favor of bloggers is often made.

However, it seems many readers disagree.

Here are some thoughts from Times readers:

You're kidding, right? Just because someone has internet access doesn't make them a journalist.

And another:

Bloggers should not be held in the same category as traditional news outlets. A blogger does not have the resources of a journalist. The editing process of a blogger is far less sophistocated than that of a journalist, and the blogger presumably lacks training in communications law and reporting. A traditional media journalist benefits from these resources and deserves more respect than a blogger.

Some people believed blogs could only be considered equal to the traditional media if they followed their rules:

No, unless they are credentialed (i.e. NY Times reporter with a blog). Anyone can blog; not everyone is interested in honesty, integrity, accuracy, and the responsibilities persuant to reaching a mass audience. Those characteristics can even be in short supply amongst the mainstream media. Bloggers are people with electronic megaphones, no more, no less.

And:

Only if they identify themselves with their real name, location and if they abide by the written and unwritten rules journalism.

As we often discover in journalism class, there's no correct answer to this question.

But citizen-journalism is growing and changing media, regardless if the general population is ready or not.

The Political Twilight Zone

Presidential campaigns are plagued with conspiracy theories.

The latest one developed after Thursday night's MSNBC Republican debate in Florida and involves Mitt Romney.

Check out the audio that has caused a fury of speculation:




Did you catch that? A mystery voice whispering "raise taxes" right after Tim Russert completes his question and seconds before Romney answers the question.

The conspiracy theory that immediately began floating around blogs and news organizations was Romney has someone whispering in his ear. Some news channels were even comparing it to the 2004 Bush/Kerry debate in which Bush was believed to have wiring under his coat.

Co-moderator, Brian Williams, also heard the voice. Williams posted on his blog:

I remember looking around stage with a start - scanning the faces of the candidates, trying to figure out who had just said that.

However, MSNBC reported Friday that this mystery voice was an audience member and the microphone on stage picked up chatter. None of the candidates heard the whisper.

So it appears another conspiracy theory has been solved.

Or has it.

The blog, Dirt Rhodes Scholar, has an interesting post saying this wasn't the only time a whisper occurred during the debate. During another Mitt Romney response, there apparently is a voice saying "support."

Check out the video:




Is Mitt Romney conspiring against the other Republican candidates by having his people whisper in his ear while he is live on stage.?

Or maybe its the Democrats conspiring against Mitt Romney, making all these whispers up in hopes of destroying Romney's chances.

Perhaps its all just one big conspiracy in the Political Twilight Zone.

Tech-savvy pets: Part deux

This is an extension of an earlier post about pets marking their territory on social-networking sites. It seems as though I underestimated the tech-savviness of some cats and dogs -- and the bizarreness of their owners.

As I have come to discover, apparently for some of our four-legged friends having an online profile -- featuring interests and favorite treats -- is not enough.

These uber-cool cats -- and dogs -- need more room to meow and bark so they have taken the next step.

They have started their own blogs.

Prince Muddy Paws, for example, is a male cat living in Alabama who enjoys playing tag and running up and down the hall. His recent posts on his blog, Bloggingcat.com , include pictures of himself and friends. Also, in one of his posts Muddy Paws mocks humans for showering.

Muddy Paws wrote:

I keep showing them how to lick themselves clean, but they only lick their fingers after eating messy food. Oh well, I shall never give up trying to train them.

For dogs, there's an actual template for their blogs on My-Dog-Blog.com. This sample blog provides the details.

Nena the Scottie has a My-Dog-Blog account. Her page features recent pictures of herself, some poems, and a list of famous people who owned or own Scottish Terriers.

(For the record -- Pause, my cat, does not have a blog. He just uses the computer to nap).

When I stumbled upon these pet blogs, it made me feel a tad better about myself.

This may be my second post about my cat but at least I'm not posting as my cat.

Democracy at its best

I very much enjoy Yahoo! News: Odd Stories and this story from today is absolutely fantastic.

It's about a candidate for county treasurer in San Antonio, Texas, Ed Hamilton, who said if elected he will refuse to do the job -- and that's a promise.

Hamilton believes the treasurer position in his county is unnecessary and wastes money. He thinks its tasks should be assigned to another county office. Therefore, if he wins the election he said he will delegate the work to someone else, won't accept a paycheck and will petition to have the treasurer position formally eliminated.

Personally, I think Hamilton is the man.

Instead of complaining about his local politics, the 77-year-old man is doing something -- although a bit absurd -- to change them.

And in the end, isn't that what democracy should be about?

Non-presidential debates

Monday night's democratic debate created a frenzy on the internet.

CNN streamed the event live on its website while bloggers around the country posted minute-by-minute updates. Viewers got in on the action as well, posting their opinions and predictions on blogs and websites. Transcripts, audience reaction and political analysis were available almost immediately after the debate.

Today, it's hard to imagine a presidential election season without debates. However, this was not the case a mere 100 years ago.

For the greater part of the 19th and the earlier part of the 20th century, there was almost no demand -- or desire -- for debates, and citizens read newspapers if they wanted to get a candidate's views. This CNN article provides an interesting look at presidential debate history.

So what caused a surge of interest in debates?

Technology, of course and even more specifically TV.

In 1960, Nixon and Kennedy battled it out in the first televised presidential debate and new era of politics was born. People no longer had to turn to newspapers. They could now see candidates discussing issues and answering questions in an unprecedented way.

Today, almost 50 years later, we're in the midst of another change in the media's coverage of politics. People have almost an unlimited access to presidential debates. Now if you aren't near a TV you can watch a debate on the web or read the play-by-play on the blog of your choice.

What if you missed the debate completely? Watch it on YouTube.

Here you go, part one:




What makes all this even more ground-breaking is the level of interaction the public has with these debates.

In earlier debates this season, like the CNN/YouTube sponsored Democratic and Republican debates, viewers could submit questions for the candidates via video on YouTube. In addition, the Facebook/ABC/WMUR Republican and Democratic debate featured polls from Facebook as well as comments and questions during the broadcast.

On the above video from Monday, people commented on the YouTube page about what they thought of the debate.

Some comments contain endorsements like this one:

Socialization is a bastardization of the way this country was founded and intended. Republican policies are the much more intelligent decision, especially given our country's already weakened economic situation ... Vote RON PAUL for conservative fiscal policies that will help to revive the economy, not just hand out assistance through a rampant depression.

while others are rebuttals:

You fucking ididot! It happened on the Cons' watch.just like every other recession and depression. They all start when Cons are in the White House. It's always the Dems that have to come in and clean up after your morons.

Furthermore, live blogs, like this one The New York Times held Monday, also encourage discussion -- if in a slightly more professional forum.

As the candidates debate, the country debates among themselves. One can only hope this leads to a more informed country.

L.A. Times shakeup

The Los Angeles Times has fired its top editor, James O'Shea, because he refused to make newsroom budget cuts.

According to this New York Times article on the topic, this is the fourth time in three years that a top editor or publisher has been dismissed for ignoring budget cut requests.

Here is the L.A. Times coverage of the story.

Did O'Shea and the others make the correct financial decision by ignoring budget cuts? I don't know.

What I do know is that I respect these four men for standing up for the paper. They did not approve of the cuts and the way the Tribune Company ran the paper -- and they made it known.
If these are the kind of people running our country's newsrooms then perhaps newspapers are better off than we think.

Or perhaps they are in greater danger than ever.

An ode to Economy

Dear Economy,

You are not well and it appears you are getting worse everyday.

I know we've never been that close -- I never bothered to get to know you outside of high school -- but I am worried about you Economy.

Those in your inner circle say there's nothing that can be done for you. According to this Associated Press article on MSNBC:

There is no piece of economic data, no corporate earnings report, no move by the Federal Reserve and no government tax plan that will be able to soothe the market’s anxiety in the next couple weeks over the weakening economy.

Market analysts say you just need time. I can respect that Economy. Take this time to get strong and healthy. But I beg you, please don't take more than a year because then I need a job so I can start paying off that 9 percent interest rate on my student loans (Oh yeah, thanks for that by the way).

Look I know it's hard but you just can't keep going in this downward direction. I don't want you to fall into another recession.

Economy it's time for you to stand up, brush yourself off and start climbing out of this hole. I realize it won't happen overnight but I have faith you eventually will be on top again.

I'll be keeping a close eye on you for the next couple of months. If you need anything, let me know.

Good luck Economy!

Your friend (kind of),
Bianca

Tech-savvy pets

Technology is changing the world -- and not just for humans.

My cat Pause is a proud member of the social-networking giant Facebook. He has 19 friends, 17 tagged photos and gets "stroked" more often than I get "poked." (Profile picture right).

I realize it's pretty ridiculous that I have created a profile -- complete with interests -- for my cat. But I am not alone. Far from it actually.

Catbook (the actual name of the application developed for Facebook) has 14,742 active daily users. Its counterpart, Dogbook, has 37,160 active daily users.

Here is a story ABC News did back in August 2007 about the subject:



It doesn't end there as Facebook is not the only site that allows people to create profiles for their four-legged loved ones.

Dogster, featured in this New York Times article in December 2007, is a website that takes dog profiles one step further. Owners can post questions and answers in forums as their dog. For example, in the Puppy Place forum the dog, Leo, "barked" the following response to how he got his name:

"My astrological sign is Leo, just like my mommy - and I reminded her of a bear...or even a lion. So it fit. There was a scary moment where I was almost named Snowflake - but my aunt saved me from that. :)"

Of course Dogster led to Catster, and I'm sure one day it will lead to Fishster and Snakester. (FYI - Facebook already has a Horsebook).

Will these applications and websites do anything to advance society? Probably not.

But at least cats and dogs can finally be "friends."