Susan Mernit's Blog tag:www.susanmernit.com,2008-04-03:/blog//2 2012-05-14T04:37:19Z Social media, local news & community, social media for social change, product development, starting an Oakland news & community hub, feminism, product development, permaculture. Contact me at smernit dot gmail dot com if you want to connect. Movable Type Personal 4.1 May 17: Speaking at Carlos K. McClatchy Symposium at the Journalism School at Stanford tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9579 2012-05-14T04:30:47Z 2012-05-14T04:37:19Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com stanford.jpg

I'm honored to say that I've been invited to be part of an annual Stanford John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships program this coming week.  The topic of the event is "#Hashtagged: How Social Media are Revolutionizing the News" and the other speakers are from NPR, Google and Yahoo; we're going to be talking about the impact of social media on news, a subhect dear to my heart.

The symposium is being help on Thursday, May 17th, on the Stanford Campus; deets here: http://comm.stanford.edu/mcclatchy/

Besides me, the other speakers are:
Krishna Bharat, distinguished scientist and founder of Google News, an automated news service aggregating more than 50,000 sources, with more than 72 editions in more than 30 languages. He is on the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships Board of Visitors.

Andy Carvin, senior strategist, NPR Social Media Desk. During the Arab Spring, Carvin developed a large following on Twitter who came to rely on his messages and retweets of news and information developing in the uprisings.

Sheigh Crabtree, lead editor and strategist for social, Yahoo! News and Yahoo! Finance. Crabtree has extensive expertise as an interactive strategist, editor and producer.  Before joining Yahoo! she was executive editor of UberMedia and has journalism experience with the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Reporter.

James Bettinger, director of the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford, will moderate the symposium, which is  open to the public and The symposium, part of a series that began in 1964, is sponsored by the Department of Communication. It will be in the Vidalakis Room of the Schwab Residential Center.

The symposium is open to the public and will be followed by a reception. http://comm.stanford.edu/mcclatchy/

I'd like to think that I was invited to speak because of the great job the Oakland Local team has done in using social media both to source the news and community voices and because of our use of social media to cover local issues with national interest, including Occupy Oakland, the trial of Johannes Mehserle and the killing of Oscar Grant, and the recent shooting death of Alan Blueford, a young man shot and killed last week by an Oakland police officer.  The format of the symposium is informal, but I'll be preparing some comments/thoughts to post here to complement the talk.

Thank you so much, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford, I am honored.


]]> Love, love, love, love my Oakland community tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9578 2012-05-06T02:13:07Z 2012-05-06T02:27:53Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com 10 am: Digging in the garden with my most fabulous housemates, pouring out chicken manure and planting pole beans while discussing House of Local, Oakland Local and why the East Bay Express and Oaklandish somehow happened to name their new t-shirt line Lokal (like, should we complain or just say no biggie, huh? Maybe we'll just started the Oakland Express line--oh, I forgot, we called something Oakland Express a while ago  and the Express protested.)

Anyway, we got the garden all set up, at least for now.

Then 12:30 I was in North Oakland, at PLACE on 64th, for a wedding of two friends. Both the leaders of social justice organizations, they had a potluck wedding at a communal space and invited their community to attend.  What can I say about such an amazing gathering? It was so lovely to be with so many people working for change in Oakland, come together through shared purpose and transformed into friends and community. The energy and the love was magnetic, so special, and it was easy to spend several hours there, eating the good food, chatting with friends and dancing to the best 80's funk around.

By 4 PM, I was at my friend Susie's new house in North Oakland, sitting outside in her yard with a bowl of strawberries and a bevvy of her friends contemplating coconut water vs. procsecco ( I had both, eventually). One of Susie's friends is a handyman with 3 sons, one of whom plays/played bass, and we had a terrific talk. Another is helping to raise money to transform the 17th street train station, another is an editor...and so on.

Sitting there in the yard, talking and feeling the sun, Oakland felt like such a good place to be.

And then, by 6:30, I was home, and back outside my my own yard, now alot cleaner and more organized than it was this am, playing catch the ball with my dog.

Throw Catch  Throw Catch Throw Catch Throw Catch Throw Catch  The dog doesn't tire of this, probably because he thinks he's doing it to please me.

Thinking about checking out Heart and Soul, a Religious Science congregation many of the folks at the wedding go to, tomorrow am, but also resolved to catch up on all the work I didn't  do today (and go out with a friend tomorrow night).

Ah, Oakland. Today you really feel like my place.
]]> Covering Occupy Oakland/May Day General Strike @ Oakland Local tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9577 2012-05-02T05:14:48Z 2012-05-02T05:42:47Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Oakland Local's team to cover the Occupy Oakland General strike. With three people in the field, and 3 volunteers in the office, OL managed to pump out more than 300 photos, 60 tweets from the scene, and 3-5 articles, depending on how you count the updates to the stories. We'll be filing more stories tomorrow, including some reflection/opinion pieces from the reporters, who are welcoming a chance to share some impressions now that May Day is (almost) over.

How did we manage to create content that was picked up and carried across the country with a team that's part-time, could definitely be better paid, and was 50% volunteer?

Or--to put it another way--how come we keep doing this work when the calls for support for funding our Occupy Oakland coverage-which probably more than 6,000 people read today, if previous stats mean anything--didn't even net us contributions to cover the way too small sum we spent on our hard-working reporters?

Part of what keeps me working at making Oakland Local work is the pride I have in the talented team.  We have a number of people--our managing editor and several reporters among them--who've worked with Oakland Local for more than 2 years (we're 2.6 years old).
These people tell me they stay with OL because they believe in what we're doing and think it can work--and they thing our reporting and trainings are making a difference in Oakland.

To me, that sense of dedication was evident in the reporters we had out there today. Our team started at 10 am, covered more than 3 actions and marches all over the city, came into our workspace and filed and dumped photos so volunteers could process their work, then went back out and kept working late into the night. Unlike the folks at the mainstream media outlet when went off shift and were done for the night,our team chose to keep going right till the last policeman moved people out of Frank Ogawa Plaza.

As the editor/publisher of this enterprise, this is a great moment to reflect not only on the good work we did, but on how Oakland Local motivates people.  With the late-night,woozy haze of a glass of wine and post half-watching a movie, some reflections:

People on the team choose to work here.  OL doesn't pay well enough that people who are unhappy, feel misunderstood or unappreciated have incentives to stay. In a way, it's a zero sum game--if it works for you, you enjoy it. If it doesn't, you split.

People on the team know their work has impact and makes a difference. In such a flat organization, people are appreciated for what they can do--and they can make substantial contributions fairly quickly.  One of our newer reporters, who has a flair for social media, has incredibly enhanced our work by live-tweeting from the field, for example.

We try to have a play to your strengths environment. You do video, you like to live tweet? You're all about data visualization?  Because OL is about shared and mutual incentives, we try to support and use the skills and passions people have, as well as help them learn new things.

We haz food.  Yep, food. I'm positive that our reporting team did such a good job, in part, today because when they came back for lunch, as we'd arranged, they found trays of Vietnamese sandwiches (including a vegan one for the vegan), fruit, salad, home made smoked trout salad, crackers, cold cuts, a fruit smoothie, soft drinks, beer, chips and energy bars.  This food a) gave them some more energy  b) showed them people cared and valued what they were doing.

We're all invested in what we do.  Yes, we're all proud of Oakland Local. We're proud of what we do even as we wish it paid more, swear it needs to pay us more, and wonder when it will. The money's not so great, but the human capital and the pride are valuable--as is the resume credential for many of our writers.


]]> A place of my own 2012 tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9576 2012-04-18T17:46:56Z 2012-04-18T17:49:04Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com I've just set up a workspace and table in our living room for myself, facing the front window. Through the thin blinds, I can see people walking up and down my street.

When we moved in here, I set up the back office as my work space, with the idea A had an office and a job to go to.  Later, after he started working from home, he asked if I would agree to reconfigure my space to allow him to share it and I reluctantly agreed. 

We changed to larger desk, added more bookshelves and moved cabinets around; after we'd finished, we had a space that fit us both but felt too small for us to use at the same time. (A's a big guy, 6"4, 230 lbs, who likes to spread out).

Fast forward 18 months and A's computer and stuff is spread over the dining room table, taking over a shared space, and I'm in the back. office. Dining room table is always messy, making it seem not public, not shared. 

Then, when the idea of the biofeedback machine as an life management tool for A came back to life--along with the purchase of a series of programs and some training sessions to use it-he needed space to spread out the monitors, computers and music speakers he wanted for his biofeedback program.

Ergo, time for a new workspace. For me.

My new spot is my old white wooden gate-leg table from Ohio, which I have worked on for more than 25 years, with the same white painted wooden chair I bought off a farmer moving to the city.

I've written poems on this desk, consulting documents, site plans, pitches, essays...pretty much everything.  And now it's nose up in a corner of our living room, facing the front windows, wireless humming just as nicely as can be.

Right now my new desk has a funky old linen tablecloth cover, tea cloth sized, and soon it will have a functioning desk light and a desk cover. I've been working here for an hour or two and in feels, in a way, like a coming home. A place of my own. ]]> driven by rage gets results tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9575 2012-03-01T22:21:09Z 2012-03-01T22:28:10Z Sometimes I am amazing how powerful a tool anger is for getting me to address things. This week, I got a packet from my insurance company that told me that, in 3 months, my policy would increase by 27.8%. That means my health insurance would pretty much start to cost like a home rental. NOT GOOD.SO I immediately got online and researched options with my current provider, then called their health line and talked to someone. That person recommended a high deductible policy with MUCH lower payments: I have about a month to decide.I then went online, check out the local HMO and applied for coverage there--that's almost half the price of these other quotes and won't have the honking huge deductible.I'd like to be angry enough to apply this to my auto insurance premium (could be lower), cleaning the house more often, and reducing other insurance costs. Man, it feels good to get in front of a problem for a change. Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com SO I immediately got online and researched options with my current provider, then called their health line and talked to someone. That person recommended a high deductible policy with MUCH lower payments: I have about a month to decide.
I then went online, check out the local HMO and applied for coverage there--that's almost half the price of these other quotes and won't have the honking huge deductible.

I'd like to be angry enough to apply this to my auto insurance premium (could be lower), cleaning the house more often, and reducing other insurance costs. Man, it feels good to get in front of a problem for a change.
]]> tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9574 2012-02-25T17:56:04Z 2012-02-25T17:57:51Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com I just got back from the Knight Foundation Media Learning Seminar 2012 and wanted to share some of the materials I provided for the attendees.Here's a list of useful llinks and white papers focused on civic engagement and future of news projects:

The Knight Foundation Community Information Tool Kit, http://www.infotoolkit.org

Released in April 2011, this tool kit helps leaders  harness the power of information to advance their goals for a better community. It offers a simple, easy-to-use set of tools to help take stock of your community's news and information resources, and take action to improve them.

(See a related video discussion with Mayur Patel: http://vimeo.com/19721589 )

Getting Local: How Nonprofit News Ventures Seek Sustainability

http://www.knightfoundation.org/publications/getting-local-how-nonprofit-news-ventures-seek-sus

How are successful non-profit newsrooms engaging audiences and diversifying revenue? The Knight Foundation's Mayur Patel, with Michele McLellan, studied eight well-funded organizations and reports on the results in this fascinating survey.

From Idea to Implementation, Taking your project to the next level, http://slidesha.re/vbDUjQ

This presentation by KCIC Circuit Riders Susan Mernit, Michele McLellan and Lisa Williams offers essential tips and resources for kicking off a successful project that are useful to everyone who has to execute on an idea.

Thinking about site sustainabiity, talk by Ben Wirz, The Knight Foundation

http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/site/resource/3373/?/seminars/video3-3/knight_community_information_challenge_bootcamp_2011/

What are important indicators for sustainability to think about in the early days of your project? What lessons can Silicon Valley Startups teach us about building for success? Wirz' talk is loaded with useful ideas.

Web Development 101: Getting Your Site Right From the Beginning, Lisa Williams

Preso: http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/seminars/agenda/boot_camp_for_knight_community_information_challenge_projects1/

Video: http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/seminars/video4-2/boot_camp_for_knight_community_information_challenge_projects1/

What do you need to know about web developers BEFORE you start a new project? What do you need to know about what you want? Circuit Rider Lisa William takes you through key questions to ask.

Social Media for News Sites, Susan Mernit, Kwan Booth & Amy Gahran

 http://bit.ly/vtISpi

This on-line module focusing on social media, civic engagement and tools for news provides an easy-to-read window in some of the fine points of using social media tools and is part of the Knight Citizen News Network from J-Lab at American University.


]]> The Top Ten List: Tips and tools for managing a civic engagement project tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9573 2012-02-25T17:53:24Z 2012-02-25T17:54:11Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com I just got back from the Knight Foundation Media Learning Seminar 2012 and wanted to share some of the materials I provided for the attendees.Here's a very useful list of cloud-based tools:

The Top Ten List: Tips and tools for managing a civic engagement project

There are so many different tools and resources available to help plan projects, manage virtual teams, and tap into open source civic engagement projects that figuring out what's useful for you and your projects can be an overwhelming job.

To streamline the process, the Knight Community Information Challenge Circuit Rider team spoke with a number of grantees about online and virtual tools and resources that were useful to them as they thought about projects, planned projects and got started actually building projects that focused on civic engagement as a key component.

What follows is a list of some of the most useful tools out there--a Top Ten Tools list to check out and share. Each of these tools is easy to use, free or low-cost, and considered best in class by Knight KCIC grantees, Circuit Riders and staff.

·      Basecamp, Easy to use project management software, http:// basecamphq.com

·      Doodle, Help your group find a meeting time online, https://www.doodle.com/

·      Dropbox, Send big files easily, http://www.dropbox.com/

·      Freeconference.com, Phone conferencing tools, http:// freeconference.com

·      Github, Software code sharing repository, https://github.com/

·      Google Apps for nonprofits, free tools for site operators and project teams, http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/nonprofit/index.html

o   Google Apps Mail, Set up mail for your domain, http://www.google.com/apps

o   Google docs, Share documents and collaborate online, http://google.com/documents

o   Google Calendar, Create team and project calendars, https://www.google.com/calendar

o   Google Groups, Create a group for shared communication, http://groups.google.com/

·      Google Analytics, The go-to resource for measuring traffic and engagement on your web site, http://google.com/analytics

·      Google alerts: Monitor your reputation and what's being posted, http://google.com/alerts

·      Toggl, Time tracking for projects, http://www.toggl.com

·      Toodledo, time and task management tool, http://toodledo.com

 


]]> Jargon Watch: Words for the wise you'll want to know tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9572 2012-02-25T17:36:59Z 2012-02-25T17:40:54Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com

I just got back from the Knight Foundation Media Learning Seminar 2012 and wanted to share some of the materials I provided for the attendees. This list, Top Twelve List: Words for the wise you'll want to know, is part of  series of posts I did for attendees that I'll also share here:

Top Twelve List: Words for the wise you'll want to know

What are the emerging ideas, buzz words, and concepts you'll want to make sure you're familiar with in 2012? Here's a list focused on civic engagement, digital solutions and digital inclusion that will make you feel super-clued in to some of the topics we're discussing at the 2012 MLS.

Apps: Short for web application, an app (formerly known as a widget) is a piece of software that runs over the internet so that it can execute queries and display results in a web browser, or via a mobile platform

Civic media: What is the relationship between emerging forms of media and civic engagement? Civic media is media that goes beyond news and story-telling to help citizens and communities become more informed, engaged and involved in the issues of the day.

Crowd-funding: Why not ask the public to help fund a project? Sites like Indie GoGo, Kickstarter and Knight-funded Spot.us enable the public to give directly to projects they want to support.

Crowd-sourcing: Increasing, conferences are crowd-sourcing speakers by Marchhaving prospective attendees vote on speakers and programs and reporters are using social media to find original sources for their stories. Both of these are examples of crowd-sourcing.

Data catalog: A data catalog is a centralized, online listing of available information, often presented in both APIs and flat files, that developers can work with to build apps.

Data commons: A data commons takes the data in the data catalog and organizes it to ensure there can be standardized access, delivery and  accuracy of the information provided.

Data visualization: It's possible now to tell stories with numbers as well as pictures; data visualization is the art (and the science) of presenting large sets of complex information in visual form.

Digital inclusion: Digital Divide denotes the gap between information technology haves and have-nots; digital inclusion is the intention to make sure civic leaders, educators and industry work together bring everyone into the digital commons so they can participate and have a voice.

GIS services: As mobile phones become ubiquitious, location-based services, aka geospatial information technologies, become an important part of the data we need. Adding GIS data to projects is increasingly relevant and allows users to locate places, views maps, and add data to specific locations.

Engagement: On the internet, page views(the number of times pages on a website are loaded) surely matter, but user engagement--the amount of time a visitor spends on a web site and the number of pages they read per session  are increasingly important as ways to measure a reader's level of attention and even participation.

Gov 2.0/Open Government: How can technology solve civic problems, make information more accessible, and support government accountability? Gov 2.0 and Open Government are both catch phrases for projects--both local and national--that are built on these ideas

Hack day: Hack days are brief--often one to two day--public events where developers, product managers, designers and others gather to focus on identifying and discussing specific problems and then building software that offers solutions.

 

]]> Creating a web presence: workshop for business folks tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9571 2012-02-17T01:51:18Z 2012-02-17T01:53:07Z Just gave a workshop in Oakland on creating a web presence, focused on business folks. There were about 35 people there, very attentive. My fav moment: the woman who asked why social media would help her business, and when I explained why it might said, “Wow, I never realized that before.”Here’s the preso I made for it: Developing a web presence 2012View more presentations from Susan Mernit. Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Just gave a workshop in Oakland on creating a web presence, focused on business folks. There were about 35 people there, very attentive. My fav moment: the woman who asked why social media would help her business, and when I explained why it might said, “Wow, I never realized that before.”
Here’s the preso I made for it:
Developing a web presence 2012
View more presentations from Susan Mernit.

]]> California Media: Sites that are thriving without giant budgets tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9570 2012-02-09T13:37:47Z 2012-02-09T13:49:45Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Ken Doctor's post about it leaves out so many things I had to write my own post. You see, if you just read Ken's post, you might think tat things today were just like in 1999, or maybe 2003, and that the only new news models to get excited about were the big ones, with budgets over $2MM (The Bay Citizen had a projected 2012 budget of $6.2MM before the merger; CIR's was about $3.2MM).  In reality, local news entities can't and shouldn't aspire to budgets of this size unless they are a) in wealthy communities b) have friends with deep pockets  c) are doing a scale of work that requires 17 + reporters, a rarity for most news operations today).

What's more viable--and not mentioned by Doctor's post--are the smaller local news outlets bringing valuable news and discussion to their communities and making a go of it.  Not only is there the no-so-small Voice of San Diego, there is the Voice of Orange County, Noozhawk in Santa Barbara, Oakland Local, Berkeleyside, Sacramento Press, SF Appeal, SF Public Press, Natomas Buzz, Lake County News, YubaNet,  and all the local sites supported by local J-Schools, Mission Local and The Alhambra Source. And that's far from a complete list.

Most of those sites are 1-8 person operations and they're making it work--and the scale of the budgets are much more in line with sustainability.

One of the things I'd like to see come out of the CIR/Bay Citizen merger is a way for the new entity to work MUCH more effectively with smaller local news partners than Bay Citizen did in the past. These sites are the drumbeats of their communities, Ken, and they are another important piece of the media landscape of the future.

Update: Maybe some of us are "surviving", as much as thriving. But let's not be overlooked.
]]> Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead: Inspiring tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9569 2012-02-07T07:32:22Z 2012-02-07T07:43:53Z Okay, I just watched the Joe Cross movie, and it is inspiring. Getting off processed foods will save your life, whether you go raw vegan or not. And the standard American diet is toxic.But I have some issues with this movie:It's all men, big brawny menNo one seems to struggle with going on juice and going cold-turkey on everything elseHow enduring is it? As with May I be Frank, the Cafe Gratitude/Frank Ferrante film the big issue isn't only the miracle transformation, it's the sticking with it.Hell, I weighed 40 lbs less 10 years ago and 20 pounds less 4 years ago.Warching this movie made me go look up my BMI. Looking up my BMI made me view photos of people with this BMI. And that...well that made me think about how I could do better with what I ate--and didn't eat. Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Joe Cross movie, and it is inspiring. Getting off processed foods will save your life, whether you go raw vegan or not. And the standard American diet is toxic.
But I have some issues with this movie:
It's all men, big brawny men
No one seems to struggle with going on juice and going cold-turkey on everything else
How enduring is it? As with May I be Frank, the Cafe Gratitude/Frank Ferrante film the big issue isn't only the miracle transformation, it's the sticking with it.
Hell, I weighed 40 lbs less 10 years ago and 20 pounds less 4 years ago.

Warching this movie made me go look up my BMI. Looking up my BMI made me view photos of people with this BMI. And that...well that made me think about how I could do better with what I ate--and didn't eat.
]]> Bay Citizen may merge with California Watch, CIR tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9568 2012-02-03T16:31:44Z 2012-02-03T17:17:33Z I started hearing these rumors three weeks ago, and then, today, the Bay Citizen scooped itself, posting that Phil Bronstein would likely come in as CEO for the troubled Bay Citizen--and help it merge with California Watch and The Center for Investigative Reporting (disclosure: I consulted for CIR for a year).This is one of those moves that is not only fiscally sound (merging two organizations each having annual budgets of over $3.4MM would surely result in economies of scale), it's editorially wise, since The Bay Citizen's problems all along have had to do with finding a unique voice and making good use of all their resources and people, and California Watch's issues have been not around a voice or content (they have some terrific editors), but around distribution.Further, the story goes that folks like Bronstein and CIR's director, Robert Rosenthal, were instrumental in helping Warren Hellman shape his thinking before The Bay Citizen was launched, and that in fact, there was some surprise that Hellman formed the organization without CIR.There's also the important cash flow fact, which is that while CIR has done a brilliant job raising money from both national and local foundations to support California Watch, some of its largest funders are now pulling back, both because o f a change in direction and because it is rare for a foundation to supply large funding for more than 3 years.One interesting question is--what would the merge look like? With two organizations that both have reporting teams of more than 13 people each, a "reduction in force" would seem inevitable, even as efficiencies of scale would be valued.I'd love to see this happen--there are some terrific people at both organizations--and the Bay area could use a broadly focused digital news voice that had the funds to do deep-dive investigative reporting--and partner with organizations like Oakland Local for more local coverage. Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Bay Citizen scooped itself, posting that Phil Bronstein would likely come in as CEO for the troubled Bay Citizen--and help it merge with California Watch and The Center for Investigative Reporting (disclosure: I consulted for CIR for a year).
This is one of those moves that is not only fiscally sound (merging two organizations each having annual budgets of over $3.4MM would surely result in economies of scale), it's editorially wise, since The Bay Citizen's problems all along have had to do with finding a unique voice and making good use of all their resources and people, and California Watch's issues have been not around a voice or content (they have some terrific editors), but around distribution.
Further, the story goes that folks like Bronstein and CIR's director, Robert Rosenthal, were instrumental in helping Warren Hellman shape his thinking before The Bay Citizen was launched, and that in fact, there was some surprise that Hellman formed the organization without CIR.
There's also the important cash flow fact, which is that while CIR has done a brilliant job raising money from both national and local foundations to support California Watch, some of its largest funders are now pulling back, both because o f a change in direction and because it is rare for a foundation to supply large funding for more than 3 years.
One interesting question is--what would the merge look like? With two organizations that both have reporting teams of more than 13 people each, a "reduction in force" would seem inevitable, even as efficiencies of scale would be valued.
I'd love to see this happen--there are some terrific people at both organizations--and the Bay area could use a broadly focused digital news voice that had the funds to do deep-dive investigative reporting--and partner with organizations like Oakland Local for more local coverage.
]]> Tearing through work tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9567 2012-02-01T07:31:25Z 2012-02-02T18:10:57Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com
After 5 hours, I've rewritten the big, clunky paper into something still long (25 pages) but very readable, planned out the webinar, and feel able to write the preso and spend no more than 2-3 hours on it. (This is a huge relief).  I also realized what the follow up project should be--and have plans to do a one-sheet on value and impact for my idea.

What else did I do today?
Work on Oakland Local
Write proposals for a panel and a workshop for Netroots Nation
File 2 FOIA requests
Play with the dog
Get photographed with my fabulous friends
Go out to dinner at Ninna with same friends
Hit the local hot tubbery with said friends
Play with the dog
Come home and talk about how to change the world with my super great housemate
Hit the interwebs

It was a really  productive day, and getting my big rock done makes me feel very calm.
]]> The Bay Citizen: $6.2MM budget and no leaders? tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9566 2012-01-30T16:17:36Z 2012-01-30T16:27:09Z In about ten days,editor Steve Fainru is leaving the Bay Citizen, just around the same time their CEO, Lisa Frazier, is departing. Has there ever been an organization whose benefactor--the recently deceased Warren Hellman--made sure there was millions in the bank--but whose entire leadership team has departed? (Original EIC Jon Weber left several months ago).Rumor has it that the Bay Citizen's traffic numbers are not strong, and that the company is so focused on their deal with the New York Times that it's taken attention off building traffic to their web site. But as an organization--with a union, no less--that has more writers than just about any California non-profit (except for maybe California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting)--the whole situation is just plain strange.(And of course, despite all the money raised, Hellman's death may have left large sources of future funding in limbo).So, whither Bay Citizen? Are more consultants in the wings to take over or plan next steps?This is such an unusual situation--it would be interesting to know. Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Steve Fainru is leaving the Bay Citizen, just around the same time their CEO, Lisa Frazier, is departing. Has there ever been an organization whose benefactor--the recently deceased Warren Hellman--made sure there was millions in the bank--but whose entire leadership team has departed? (Original EIC Jon Weber left several months ago).

Rumor has it that the Bay Citizen's traffic numbers are not strong, and that the company is so focused on their deal with the New York Times that it's taken attention off building traffic to their web site. But as an organization--with a union, no less--that has more writers than just about any California non-profit (except for maybe California Watch and the Center for Investigative Reporting)--the whole situation is just plain strange.

(And of course, despite all the money raised, Hellman's death may have left large sources of future funding in limbo).

So, whither Bay Citizen? Are more consultants in the wings to take over or plan next steps?
This is such an unusual situation--it would be interesting to know.
]]> Shit Silicon Valley Says (Video): Priceless tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9565 2012-01-25T18:50:48Z 2012-01-25T18:51:42Z OMFG, this is so funny—and so true. Well done, folks! Tom Conrad/Kaie Imbach, more, more! Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com OMFG, this is so funny—and so true. Well done, folks! Tom Conrad/Kaie Imbach, more, more!

]]> Business Insider on Jim Bankoff, AOL & Vox Media, great piece tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9563 2012-01-10T07:25:49Z 2012-01-10T07:31:23Z I had a blast reading The Raid on AOL: How Vox Pillaged Engadget And Founded An Empire by Kevin Lincoln. As a former AOLer who worked closely with Jim Bankoff back in the day, this account rings true on so many levels.But I was also thrilled to learn that SB Nation, Bankoff's company, has Oakland, CA roots--turns out SB Nation was a side project started by Markos of Daily Kos and his friend Tyler Bleszinski. Lincoln writes, looking back to the 2003-2005 era:"Unhappy with how his favorite team, the Oakland A's, was being covered - and inspired by the cerebral sabermetrics of A's manager Billy Beane, as chronicled in Michael Lewis' book "Moneyball" - Bleszinski decided to start Athletics Nation. He corrected what he saw as the mistakes of other baseball writers by doing away with the veil of objectivity, which he believes is a myth in sports media coverage. He proudly displayed his pro-A's bias and covered the team obsessively, 24/7, and particularly in the offseason."And from that..magic--and a growing company that's launching all sorts of big media-and a terrific, well-researched piece on AOL, Vox and how things came to be, Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com The Raid on AOL: How Vox Pillaged Engadget And Founded An Empire
by Kevin Lincoln. As a former AOLer who worked closely with Jim Bankoff back in the day, this account rings true on so many levels.

But I was also thrilled to learn that SB Nation, Bankoff's company, has Oakland, CA roots--turns out SB Nation was a side project started by Markos of Daily Kos and his friend Tyler Bleszinski. Lincoln writes, looking back to the 2003-2005 era:

"Unhappy with how his favorite team, the Oakland A's, was being covered - and inspired by the cerebral sabermetrics of A's manager Billy Beane, as chronicled in Michael Lewis' book "Moneyball" - Bleszinski decided to start Athletics Nation. He corrected what he saw as the mistakes of other baseball writers by doing away with the veil of objectivity, which he believes is a myth in sports media coverage. He proudly displayed his pro-A's bias and covered the team obsessively, 24/7, and particularly in the offseason."

And from that..magic--and a growing company that's launching all sorts of big media-and a terrific, well-researched piece on AOL, Vox and how things came to be,
]]> Community media--or big company? The Oakland Tribune cease and desist letter tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9562 2012-01-08T20:58:23Z 2012-01-08T22:19:32Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com covered this story for my independent Oakland news non-profit, Oakland Local--and though it just said so much about where big media is today. (Alert: opinions follow).

Corporations need to protect their trademarks.  Without a creative commons license, legal counsel at BANG surely felt they had to protect their trademark or risk diluting it. Ergo, C&d to the offenders, even if it's a grassroots, volunteer organization.

One group doesn't know what the other group is doing.  Who hasn't worked for a big company at some point where the interests of one department slap right up against the interests of another? Surely no one bothered to tell Digital First/ANG honchos John Paton, Jim Brady or Steve Buttry about this letter, and maybe not BANG's Randy Keith, either.

Is community media talk--or walk?  Can big newspapers stop seeing the community--and local media like Oakland Local or even OOT--as their competition and their enemies--and actually learn how to support independent voices? Let's say the *new* Trib is trying-or likes to say its trying--and then ask how far that perspective goes and how many legal,financial and policy decisions it informs--and what's just spin.

Unfortunately, if I worked at BANG in legal, I'd send that letter as well.  But if if worked at BANG in management, or at Digital First, I'd damn well want to make sure I heard--before it happened---about company plans that reached out in and affected grassroots community--so I wouldn't be in the embarassing position--as one BANG staffer called it--of hosting talks with Occupy folks with one group--and sending them cease and desist letters from another in the same company.

And I'd also tell my reporters to attribute their stories--like this one from the Trib, that doesn't even mention Oakland Local breaking this story DAYS before they ran theirs. DOH!!
]]> Steve Spiker is so right re local government and innovate--or stagnate tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9561 2012-01-06T22:44:52Z 2012-01-06T22:51:31Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com
Some of Steve's points that resonated with me:
"Many of our tech problems have been solved in other cities and all we need to to is pick from existing open sourced applications and implement them in our town."
And:

From my work here are a few quick areas that I've seen solutions for either out of CfA or in the Civic Commons:

  • Contracting processes: currently a small business contract with the city for perhaps a few thousand dollars requires the business to complete approximately 12 different documents, from word docs to locked PDFs, so they must print them all and fill them out by hand, and then submit copies. I can only imagine the city process for recording and managing these various forms when they are received. Take a look at the SmartPDF work in SF for a powerful solution, or just make the effort to combine all these forms into a single, fill-able PDF at the very least, and one day perhaps implement web based forms?
  • Adopt an Open311 system for calls for service. This platform, developed in SF and DC is an open source 311 system that has open connectors and a new public dashboard feature developed by CFA. Very powerful and no proprietary software required.
  • Work with the county to build a unified property addressing system.
  • Implement Classtalk.org across the OUSD and help our teachers keep in touch with their students via SMS - perfect for a community with low internet access at home!
  • Implement ChangeByUs, a great new tool for community engagement and collaboration.
  • Implement an OpenData policy and work with our tech community to build an OpenData portal for our city. Free up valuable city data to encourage innovation, engagement and new startups! We're doing this anyway, but it should be supported by our city!

Steve, you are so right.

]]> QOTD: May on "social justice technologist" tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9560 2012-01-02T15:27:56Z 2012-01-02T15:33:28Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com May May, maybemaimed.com, http://bit.ly/vPBkDP

Great post by May on his journey, asking some questions I want to think about as well:

Doing more with less: "It's all just stuff I don't need, distractions I can't afford, things I hardly used. The only reason I have them is because I was afraid of not having them, because I was made to believe I was supposed to have an apartment, with stuff, purchased using money from a job I don't like to make me feel better about having that job I never really even fucking wanted. And now, I'm not so afraid of that anymore."

Doing work that matters: "What is my career when I have achieved, for me, an unprecedented level of recognition after 8 long years of being in the workforce? What is my contribution to my own future, and to people like me who are still young children today?"

We make our own home inside us--or we don't: "Maybe I never had a home. Or maybe I ought not have defined "home" so narrowly."



]]> Blogging is back--so what does that mean? tag:www.susanmernit.com,2012:/blog//2.9559 2012-01-01T16:00:45Z 2012-01-01T18:05:15Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Or, I'm resolving to blog again, but actually meaning to do it.
Or, I'm just blogging again, dammnit.

Back in 2002/2003, when I started to blog, it was the coolest thing possible.
Two years ago, I was in the throes of a start-up (Oakland Local), and blogging seemed redundant with all the Twitter, Facebook, social media energy.

Here we are at 2012, and even with Tumblr (susanmernit.tumblr.com), Pinterest (just checking it out) and  Google Plus (profile here), there are still things I want to say that the blog seems the right format for. So here, we go.

Why blog?

  • Social media is a bit like circling the drain unless you have some real content assets to share--or you like to chatter (and the short form is an art.)
  • Tumblr is a magnificent reclipping and image/photo/video sharing service, among other things, but it doesn't feel like blog post land to me (tho if I didn't have a blog, I'd definitely have a tumblr first)
  • Pinterest is ladies over 40 who like to do something tumblr-esque inside a walled garden.  It's the new Vox. m'thinks. (Cool, but not my focus.)

Who else is experiencing a revival  of interest in blogging? Anyone getting their words back?

]]> NYE resolutions, part 1 (the personal ones) tag:www.susanmernit.com,2011:/blog//2.9558 2011-12-31T23:36:02Z 2012-01-01T00:16:23Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com So, this year, I want to make more resolutions, and keep them all, so I am going to list them here so friends and family can check in and see if I am doing what I said I was going to do.  Here's a working list of personal resolves:
  • Get a full baseline medical check up. (I HATE going to the doctor.)
  • See my son once a month if possible, but not less often than every 6 weeks (because he is the most interesting person ever and I love him).
  • More time for friends on a weekly basis (hear that, everyone--PLEASE invite me to do stuff and see you!)
  • LOSE 30 pounds.  (Ouch! I have I would do this so many times that if I'd done it before, I would have disappeared by now, but I am going to put some strong focus and intention on doing this in a consistent and healthy way in 2012.)
  • Be active every day. What can I add to that 3X a week gym routine that keeps me sweating and moving? and having fun?

I will post some work and career-related resolutions as well; going to sit with these for now.

]]> Holiday breakfast 2011 tag:www.susanmernit.com,2011:/blog//2.9557 2011-12-25T02:10:36Z 2011-12-25T02:32:09Z So tomorrow morning is the big Christmas breakfast. We like to cook, so we're cooking.Menu:Home made three-fruit marmalade (bright and fresh)Home made lemon oxford cut marmalade (dark and more tart)Cranberry-Hazelnut quick breadBanana bread with pecans and dried cranberriesLeek and bacon quicheLeek quiche with mushrooms (for those vegetarians)Citrus fruit salad (love those fruits in the winter)Berry-melon fruit salad (what my partner likes)CoffeeTeaSparkling bubbly drinks for those who want themHome made ginger ale (made ginger simple syrup last week)Christmas cookies (friends will provideAnd then there will be: TalkWalkPlaying with dogOpening presentsFriends, family, funPhotos to come Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com Menu:
  • Home made three-fruit marmalade (bright and fresh)
  • Home made lemon oxford cut marmalade (dark and more tart)
  • Cranberry-Hazelnut quick bread
  • Banana bread with pecans and dried cranberries
  • Leek and bacon quiche
  • Leek quiche with mushrooms (for those vegetarians)
  • Citrus fruit salad (love those fruits in the winter)
  • Berry-melon fruit salad (what my partner likes)
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Sparkling bubbly drinks for those who want them
  • Home made ginger ale (made ginger simple syrup last week)
  • Christmas cookies (friends will provide

And then there will be:

  • Talk
  • Walk
  • Playing with dog
  • Opening presents
  • Friends, family, fun

Photos to come

]]> Knowing when to let go tag:www.susanmernit.com,2011:/blog//2.9556 2011-12-24T23:37:12Z 2011-12-24T23:43:51Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com
But I question whether persistence is always a good trait. I think my persistence has led me to hang on too long in other areas where a more sane person would have packed it in. I've stayed in personal relationships, friendships, and professional organizations after it really made sense to hang on, not always for the better.

I'm thinking ahead to 2012, and knowing I need to ask myself questions about how much I am willing to change and move on in 2012.  I think I am at one of those points again where I need to get out of my comfort zone and change some established behaviors around food, exercises and relationships--those things that truly, end up reflecting what the priorities really are, versus what I say they are.

I know this is all deliberately a bit obscure, but I can feel myself starting to question some things.
]]> What went viral in my life in 2011 tag:www.susanmernit.com,2011:/blog//2.9555 2011-12-24T07:42:47Z 2011-12-24T08:24:13Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com
1. Storify
I love Storify. The new design is confusing, accessing current data from the Twitter and Facebook APIs is pretty chancy, but the basic capability to put a narrative together using social media content , hashtags and text is just superb.  I covered everything from a teen group competing on a national TV show to Occupy Oakland using Storify.

2. Gmail filters and folders and labels
After my 300+ emails a day threatened to drive me insane, I did some serious research abut managing the inbox and took advice from Lifehacker. Strategies?
  • Create filters for everything and everything not essential straight to the folder to refer to later.
  • Use the labels "Action Needed,"  "File me" and, in my case, "Story possibility" and "Ad prospect" to sort mail.
  • Delete!

3. Music: Renting, not buying

I started paying for two music apps in 2011.  I'd started with Pandora, which I love, in 2009; I'm now also paying for Spotify.  The Pandora investment led me to British composer and pianist Helen Long, whom I adore and play all the time when I work; the Spotify investment allowed me to check out and play selections from several of the collections that the NY Times' Jim Fusilli named as top albums (for want of a better word). I'd never heard Paul Simons' "So Beautiful or So What" before. Wow.

4. Going to the gym 3 times a week and doing my circuit

I've been going to the gym for more than 2 years, but this is the year I've somehow internalized that I need to go regularly--and do aerobics and lift weights (and stretch). The consistency is hard-won, but hopefully not too fragile.

5. Kindle/e books

Amy Gahran got me to try her old Kindle and I got hooked. I've now bought two Kindles as gifts for family members (and linked them to my account) and downloaded more than 83 sample chapters and 38 books to my device (Some of the books are classics from Gutenberg). My rule is the Kindle is for travelling and actual books are for home, but I'm still sampling chapters like crazy on the Kindle, even at home. And it's great.

6. Kale & Mustard Greens

We didn't become vegan, and we didn't quite go paleo, but we did embrace the dark green veggie thing, big time. I have passed through the making kale crisps with curry in the oven phase (I think), and am more in the sauteed greens at many meals a day stage.

7. Excel

My partner is a math wiz who dreams in Excel; I have been fighting a math block that kicked in as a teen all my life. It's all A's doing that I can do do things like forecast prospective value, all on my own, through the wonders of Excel.

8. Netflix for TV/Cable series

Gave up TV in 2008, got Netflix in 2010. 2011 was when I discovered TV series had changed. In the past year, I have very much enjoyed making my way through:

  • Dexter
  • Saving Grace
  • Drop Dead Diva (gave up on it, kinda)
  • The L Word
  • Breaking Bad

I tried True Blood and Glee, but they didn't stick.

9.Family ties

I'm waaay too busy, with a job and a startup (okay, two jobs), but that makes maintaining close ties critical. My partner, my son, my siblings, my close friends...I made more effort this year to hold onto these connections, not that I always succeed as well as I might have. (And I won't mention the great friends I need to see MORE.)

10. Planning events

I've been planning events most of my life, but really got in the groove this summer with Code for Oakland and the InOak lunch series. Now planning lots more for 2012. Fun--and a play to your strengths kind of thing for me.

]]> What I learned at newsfoo #2011 tag:www.susanmernit.com,2011:/blog//2.9552 2011-12-05T06:12:43Z 2011-12-05T06:19:03Z Susan Mernit http://susanmernit.com What happens when you put 150 talented, passionate people in a set of rooms for 2.5 days and help them connect? 

If you're the Google, O'Reilly, Knight Foundation team that planned the second newsfoo, you're just part of the crowd, staying up late playing Werewolf and talking talking talking in-between product demos.  Part pajama party, part geek fest, part insider mingle sprint, my first newsfoo--and the second newsfoo organized by O'Reilly with the help of geekster media maven Jennifer 8 Lee, was amazing.

Parts of the event were definitely friendDA, but I'd like to share some of the flavor of the weekend, so if you're lucky enough to be invited (only 40% make will make it back for a second confab) you know you have to clear your scheduler and go.

When you're an obsessive, you never run out of things o discuss, particularly if everyone else is as obsessed as you are
Newsfoo made me remember that some people work at the intersection of tech/civic engagment/media and community because it's their job, but I don't think many of those people were at the meeting. Instead, I think the group was a whole lot of people like me, people who are so obsessed with solving particular sets of problems or answering specific questions that they would work on these things whether they made money from it or not. In other words, people who were so into their work they found ways to get paid for it because it was something they loved to do.

Newsfoo is a frieNDA kind of place, so I'm not going deep dive into who said what and where, but here's some info:

Topics/fields of newsfoo folks, in no particular order:

  • news apps
  • long form investigative journalism
  • community web-based radio
  • hyperlocal media, local mobile, local apps, local wikis
  • data visualization tools & models
  • scraping tools
  • e-pubs
  • organization change & the future of news
  • crowd-sourcing
  • research: organizational development, behavior of crowds, weighting algorithms
  • personalization
  • journalism (every flavor)
  • Journalism education and professional development
  • Internet freedom, journalists' rights
  • CMS (and beyond the CMS)
  • data research, metrics
  • new ad models and tools/platforms
  • video, video documenter, future of video
  • Occupy, Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Wall Street Journal
  • civic engagement

and then some.... so many interesting people and projects it was obvious I was never going to meet or talk to everyone I might.

Unconference formats work, but hallway con is always tasty
So our newsfoo was a series of sessions on topics we self-organized and a lightening fast Ignite series of talks with 17 brave souls on Saturday night (before those games of Werewolf kicked in).

Some of the session highlights for me:

  • Danny O'Brien talking journalism and rights
  • Our group panel on local with See Click Fix and Localwiki
  • Baratunde Thurston on satire and snark and who to pay attention to right now in satire



Hallway con highlights

  • Connecting with Sasha Constanza-Cohen VozMob around share mission, shared Drupal back end and share obsession with feature phones and mobile publishing and interactivity tools (especially for undeserved communities.)
  • Talking Google + with the Google content team lead
  • Getting a deep dive into my friend Dan Pacheo's excellent Book Brewer, a platform to do pub that I am going to jump into right now.
  • Occupy Wall Street: Michael Levitin is one of the editors of this NYC-based, moving to national Occupy site that is printing newspapers (remember them?) as a means to get the word out.
  • Catching up with Jody Brannon, Kim Bui, David Cohn, Maureen Jennings, Robert Rosenthal, Scot Rosenberg, Jay Rosen, Gabe Rivera, Dan Gillmore, Andrew Pergam, Jose Zamora, Brad Flora, and other smart folks I don't talk to enough.
  • Talking with folks newer to me like the wonderful and smart Javaun Moradi, Lorrie LeJeune, Cyndi Stivers (someone I have always admired, since the days of her editorship of Time Out NYC), Karen Templer, Dan Victor, Ellen Weiss, John Barth, Andrew Fitzgerald and Karen Wickre.
  • Finding out Jose Antonio Vargas knows and liked Oakland Local made me so happy, I admire him.


Ignite #newsfoo
http://digiphile.tumblr.com/

The level of polish, creativity, wisdom and--thank god--humor in these 17 presos would take more than Ignite's 5 minutes to express, but if they see the light of day, check them out.

So what did I learn from all these people that is going to affect my next 6-12 months? What were the high-level takeaways:

  • E-pubs: Get started now
  • Ad models: Some new tools have amazing promise, but everyone's still in search of a viable business model.
  • Data visualization: As the tools grow, still some frustration on how to make data viz even more accessible is out there--how can we make this growing discipline more accessible?
  • Mobile and geo-location are becoming seamless in apps
  • Cultural change: Was there a journalist or developer from a big media company in attendance who didn't reference the re sets that big media is going through (and needs to go through faster).
  • O'Reilly: Great company, you get a feeling why people who work here have stayed 10+ years
  • Fun: Games, drinks, talk--when the tribe gathers it is hella fun, so enjoy.




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