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category archive listing Category Archives: psychology

Talking with Nokia About US Service/Repair Problems (Finally!)

Gdugardier, via YouTube

Charlie Schick, the guy from Nokia USA who just reached out to me about my N95 nightmare.

This morning, I was pleased and relieved to see that a representative of Nokia USA, Charlie Schick, left a constructive comment on my most recent post about my recent N95 fiasco. I’m glad to see that at [...]

Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber

OpenDemocracy, via Flickr (CC license)

What might this Malian girl and I have in common, and what might we learn from each other? How could we know if we can’t really connect?

This morning I listened to an excellent Radio Open Source interview. Host Christopher Lydon was talking to Global Voices Online founder Ethan Zuckerman and GVO [...]

Serious motivational music!

In need of some extra ooomph to get you going? This should do the trick: The Helian’ Man, sung by Matt McGinn, a ballad about Scottish raids about a thousand years ago that led Roman emperor Hadrian to build a 73-mile wall across Britain.

I heard this song on the radio about 15 years ago, [...]

Twitter Up, Blogging Down

Yes, I’m Twittering more than I’m blogging here lately. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

Just a few minutes ago, Jeremiah Owyang posted to Twitter:
“Is your blogging reducing due to Twitter usage? It has for Adam Stewart.”
…So I hopped over to see what Adam Stewart had to say. This part of his post rang true [...]

Conversational Media Mindset 101

Gaetan Lee, via Flickr (CC license)

Is your wetware due for an upgrade?

On Monday I’ll be co-presenting a session on “Future Tools” at the Knight Digital Media Center seminar: Best Practices: Editorial/Commentary in Cyberspace. My fellow presenter Leslie Rule (who runs KQED’s Digital Storytelling Initiative) and I will be explaining to a room full of [...]

Why Blogging Your Problems is Good

If you get really creative about it, failure and frustration can be the most engaging part of your blog. Don’t be scared to be human.

On a discussion list, a colleague recently asked for opinions about whether it’s a good idea to sometimes blog about the sucky stuff: Obstacles, frustrations, disappointments, setbacks, etc. Several people on [...]

The Perils of Political Romance

KoAn, via Flickr (CC license)

Questioning romance may not be popular, but it’s vital when stakes are high.

This morning I finally figured out why I’ve been feeling so utterly disengaged from the inescapable frenetic quest for Presidential candidates.
Well, actually Canadian blogger Rob Hyndman figured it out for me in his post this morning: We Won’t Get [...]

Preview: Sex, Journalism & Trust

RabbleRadio, via Flickr (CC license)

Prudishness and journalism were never a good mix.

Today I started pulling together a bunch of stray threads that have been nagging at me for some time. Anyone who reads my work knows that I have longstanding admiration for quality journalism — and growing frustration with the culture and attitudes of professional [...]

Matthew Murray and The Dark Side of Support Forums

Ex-Pentecostals.org forums

Colorado gunman Matthew Murray displayed a disturbing pattern of behavior in these forums. Could this community have acted earlier to prevent tragedy?

Make no mistake: Online support forums, whether grassroots community efforts or run by organizations, generally do a hell of a lot of good. You can find support forums dealing with just about any [...]

Live Microblogging: What I’m Learning

(NOTE: I’m cross-posting this from Poynter’s E-Media Tibits.)
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m currently using Twitter to provide live coverage of many of the sessions at a seminar from the Knight Digital Media Center called Total Community Coverage in Cyberspace. You can check in anytime today or tomorrow for my three most recent posts on the [...]