Legends of the fall

Two recent metaphors, both good, from the long, sad conversation about newspapers. From South By Southwest, author Stephen Berlin Johnson’s ecosystem metaphor (pick it up at the second chapter) with chart. Or full video. And the map from latest The New York Times story that tells it all. Dale PeskinDale is co-founder emeritus of We […]

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Me to everyone: Be wary of the virtual nothing

As I was walking down the stairs I met a man who wasn’t there He wasn’t there again today I wish, I wish he’d stay away I just joined me2everyone.com, a new social network from the UK that many voices on the Internet say will not only be bigger than Google, but will also provide […]

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The gov 2.0 conversation is stalled

I am in Austin for SXSW and listening to a conversation about the future of government in a connected society.  The natural topics have come up — how to use data, what transparency means, the role of media, what technology standards are used, and similar. It is an interesting conversation, full of smart and experienced […]

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Full circle

From The Economist: “A piece of the American experience has faded away. Fisher-Price, the toy company that used to market them, has just eliminated almost all the View-Master titles that have been a staple of young lives for almost 70 years.” I first discovered the world in 3-D on a paper disc and a plastic […]

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The Girl Effect

My daughter Amanda took the above photo in Nepal. The picture on the right is of my new granddaughter, Elizabeth Jane. I thought of them as I discovered The Girl Effect, a project from the Nike and UN Foundation that stunned global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The big idea: unlocking the […]

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How fart noises and silly faces exposed CNBC

Back in 2005, the host of a “phony news” show on Comedy Central was named the most trusted TV anchor. Comedian Jon Stewart responded by invoking the Groucho Marx line that he’d never belong to any club that would have him as a member. Stewart’s stature has rankled TV’s shouting heads, money honeys, and Ken-and-Barbies […]

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Everything’s amazing, nobody’s happy

Since our message of optimism and opportunity at the We Media conference, a number of like-minds have sent me this video of Louis CK’s appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. You Tube has disabled embedding at the request of NBC, but you can watch it here with a laugh and a sigh. Dale PeskinDale […]

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A URL can depend on your perspective

I like to play with word mashups that impart new meaning and metaphors, but sometimes you’ve got to be careful when you apply them to a URL. Like: www.newstools.org New stools? A furniture-maker’s site? Horticulturalist’s? Bishop’s? African chieftan’s? Informant’s? Or gastroenterologist’s? Creative capitalization helps: NewsTools. The site highlights the work of the Journalism That Matters […]

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Why The Daily Show is better than the news. Again.

Mad Money’s Jim Cramer makes nice with John Stewart tonight on The Daily Show. Here’s the video of the cat fight from Cramer’s colleagues at CNBC. In case you missed it, the original hurts-so-hysterically takedown is here. Viacom, which owns Comedy Central, took down the original takedown on You Tube. Dale PeskinDale is co-founder emeritus […]

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