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Monthly Archives: December 2005

Gmail Web Clips: Not Ready for Prime Time

December 14, 2005 – 3:38 pm

Google’s Gmail service recently added a new feature: “Web Clips,” a built-in feed reader. The good news is that Web Clips is a very user-friendly way for non-geeks to get familiar with reading feeds, whether RSS or other formats. The bad news is that, so far, this system has a serious fundamental flaw that leads me to discourage anyone (even newcomers to feeds) from relying on Web Clips as a primary feed reader at this point. What’s the problem with Web Clips?…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Resources | Comments (4)

Seeking New Host for Contentious.com

December 14, 2005 – 1:09 pm

Managing a server can be a major hassle, and my husband and I don’t want to deal with it anymore. So I need to find a new host for Contentious. To jump-start my search, I’m looking for suggestions…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Amy's Adventures | Comments (5)

My E-Mail Disaster

December 14, 2005 – 12:57 pm

It happens to all of us sometime… A crucial system fails, and you have to pick up the pieces….

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Amy's Adventures | Comments (2)

More Female Podcasters

December 10, 2005 – 7:14 pm

I’ve just updated the Women in Podcasting list again, with about 20 more shows hosted or co-hosted by women. This update includes a couple of new videologs…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Audio Show | Comments (4)

Rare Bird Sighted: The Fact Checker

December 8, 2005 – 12:23 pm

Over at MWGblog, podcaster extraordinaire Michael Geoghagen noted yesterday that, after being interviewed for 50+ media stories on podcasting, for the first time ever, “I had a reporter contact me specifically to verify a fact regarding a statement someone had made about a podcast I produced.”

See: “Hope for journalism”

Ah, the elusive fact-checker… Here’s what I commented over on Michael’s blog, plus a few additional tips on fact checking…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Media Musings | Comments (1)

Citizen Journalism: More Reasons to Get Out

December 8, 2005 – 9:33 am

Over at I, Reporter yesterday I wrote about how citizen journalism can be both an excuse and a motivation to get out and about in your community. Here are five ways citizen journalism can get your butt out of the house…

Full story at I, Reporter…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Media Musings, Net Effects on Society | Comments (0)

The Art of the E-Mail Interview

December 5, 2005 – 5:55 pm

Today American Journalism Review published a pretty good article by Kim Hart, “Inbox Journalism.” (Incidentally, I liked it for more reasons than because I’m quoted in it.)

In this article, Hart explores attitudes toward e-mail interviews among journalists, editors, and journalism educators. While many of my journalism colleagues still harbor a fair amount of resistance to e-mail interviews, I think the anecdote that leads Hart’s article demonstrates the value of e-mail not just for getting quotes, but for building relationships with sources.

Here’s my take on e-mail interviews…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Amy's Adventures, Content Style & Business, Media Musings | Comments (8)

More Women in Podcasting

December 4, 2005 – 3:01 pm

Just a quick note: I’ve just added a fresh batch of updates to my Women in Podcasting list…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Amy's Adventures, Audio Show | Comments (0)

Web 2.0 and Science: Behind the Hype

December 4, 2005 – 2:55 pm

Recently I was quoted in an article by Declan Butler in Nature magazine, “Science in the Web Age: Joint Efforts.” (Thanks, Declan!)

A few weeks ago Butler sent me an intriguing list of observations and questions about whether and how “Web 2.0″ technologies are affecting science, to which I responded at length. He chose to only include a brief quote from me – which is fine, he obviously had a lot of great material to choose from. But since I put a lot of thought into my response, I thought I’d share it here…

By Amy Gahran | Posted in Content Style & Business, Net Effects on Society | Comments (3)