Posted by: Chris | June 8, 2009

AT&T Drops Ball With iPhone 3GS

iphoneThe internet is all a’buzz about the brand-spankin’-new iPhone 3GS announced today by Apple, but AT&T users are upset with how the carrier has prepared for its new device.  The new phone looks the same, but upgrades to the hardware and a soon-to-come iPhone OS have ushered in a boatload of new features, some of which AT&T won’t be able to provide when the phone launches.

Apple boasts the new iPhone’s ability to send multimedia messages through MMS (including pictures and video) and the new tethering feature which allows users to turn their iPhone’s in portable 3G modems for their laptops.

AT&T is still in the process of upgrading its system to allow for a greater flow of data from devices like the new iPhone, and features like MMS and tethering will likely not be available until they finish.  When will they finish? AT&T has arbitrarily said, “later this summer”, but that both features WILL be supported.  Eventually.

And as if that wasn’t enough to boil the blood of its subscribers (like myself), AT&T has set higher purchase points for those who already own an iPhone 3G.  While the new iPhone tops out at $299 for new subscribers, existing users could have to pay as much as $699 to upgrade. This is likely because AT&T offered a discount with a 2-year contract for the iPhone 3G, and allowing those users to upgrade their plans at another discounted price would cost them the difference.

In response to outrage over the charges, AT&T said that “an iPhone 3G customer in most cases can early upgrade at $399 [16GB] or $499 [32GB]“.  Still, $200 extra for a new phone and new contract?  I could understand a $100 boost (equal to the discount attained by purchasing the 3G at a subsidised price), but why $200?

Perhaps AT&T is anticipating the fact that Apple wants to move the iPhone to other carriers (such as Verizon) in the near future.  The extra $200 to switch from 3G to 3GS is more than AT&T’s $175 early termination fee, so at this point, its more economical to switch to Sprint and get the new iPhone-worthy Palm Pre (with a cheaper monthly plan also).

For me, the possibility of Apple developing an iPhone for Verizon in the near future is enough to give me pause on jumping on the new 3GS.  I need the 3GS.  I want the 3GS.  But at this point it may be a bad deal.  I may just have to settle with the new iPhone OS on my 3G, or bite the bullet and pay the extra $200 to get the 3GS, and I know many other 3G users in my position are thinking the same thing.

AT&T also announced plans to allow for pre-ordering of iPhones, and will have a separate line for pre-orders at its stores when the phone launches.  I doubt we will see the insane mad-rush of AT&T and Apple stores we saw last year when the new phone goes on sale.  The fact that it was as crazy as it was last year attests to the fact that Apple is drying up the “going to buy an iPhone” market.  A lot of those who were going to get one have bought one already, and my guess is a lot of 3G owners will not want to pony up $200 extra to get a 3GS.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Chris | May 16, 2009

Two-Thirds Master

4401_715649495611_10001279_45016058_3274866_nNot bad! I only managed to neglect writing for just over one month.

That being said, it’s summer time again in the desert, and I just wrapped up the second semester of my three semester masters program.  I worked the majority of this semester in the New Media Innovation Lab, which takes on tasks from various media clients to think-tank ideas and come up with ideas for solutions to their problems.  I had a lot of fun because I basically got paid to be the geek that I am while getting experience and exposure making website mock-ups, flash utilities and other fun things.

This summer is chock-full of great experiences for me.  I am part of the News21 program, which is a nationally funded program that promotes the creating of unique, innovative multimedia journalism.  Arizona State is one of several “incubator” schools, and our groups is focusing on Latino issues in America.

My partner and I are beginning a story this Monday on Latinos in the military, specifically in regard to service as a path to citizenship. Since it is well funded, the program allows for a lot of traveling, so I will be travelling across the nation gathering sources for our story.

In addition to the News21 program, I am also working as a research intern for the popular social media and web technology blog, ReadWriteWeb.  I just began this week and so far it is going great.  I am assisting with some short term and long term research projects, and I hope to expand my role as the summer evolves.  Who knows, it could turn into a full time position later on.

That should do it for now, just a quick update on me and the coming summer.  I will make a point not to neglect the blog all summer long.  I will likely be inserting posts about the progress of News21, the RWW internship and other big news and ideas I have.  Enjoy the summer!

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grad School, Other/Random, journalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Chris | April 9, 2009

Sarah Lacy vs. Journalism

headshot_sarahlacySarah Lacy is one of those people you hear of and – in my case – you shake your head in jealously and amazement. I first heard of the tech/business writer a few months ago when TechCrunch welcomed her as a guest blogger and then later hired her on as a regular contributor.

Lacy has her own blog on BusinessWeek called “Valley Girl”, co-hosts Yahoo’s Tech Ticker, has published a book, is halfway through her second book, and on top of all that now she writes for TechCrunch. Aside from the business stuff, she’s living my dream.

And apparently, she’s living several journalism students’ dreams.

Today, Lacy wrote a terrific and bold article on TechCrunch called “Who the Hell Is Enrolling in Journalism School Right Now?” which caught my eye on my RSS feed and made me think, “uh oh”.

In the article, Lacy says “I’ve gotten farther in ten years than I thought I would in fifty” while a friend of hers who chose journalism school is not even in the industry. She then launches into a powerful affront on why journalism school is a bad idea, including this gem:

“Journalism schools are like foot-binding. They force you into a style that a bunch of dinosaurs all agreed was acceptable a zillion years ago. So in an age of blogging, you have no voice. In fact, if I were in J-school now, I’d have my knuckles rapped for using the rhetorical “you” in those last two sentences.”

If I weren’t on a crowded train at the time, I would have started a slow-clap for Lacy. That paragraph pretty succinctly sums up part of the reason I do not like traditional reporting and why I do not want to find myself in a traditional journalism setting. To close her article, Lacy hits it out the park:

“Journalism isn’t dying; it’s just in a period of extreme volatility. And in any time of volatility, there’s huge room for opportunity. But you’re not going to learn how to exploit it in a stuffy classroom taught by people who got there by working at newspapers.”

The funny thing is a graduate journalism student like myself should be offended by this article, but instead I’m feeling more assured about my position. I do feel the urge, however, to explain that not all journalism schools are alike, and that The Cronkite School is encouraging this non-traditional path as well.

I read this article on my iPhone while riding the train home from journalism grad school and just after, I noticed that Lacy had posted this on her Twitter account:

picture-1

She of course is referring to her BuisnessWeek article also written today called “AP and News Corp.: Wrong About Google” in which she wags her finger and warns that “asking web companies to pay up for content won’t fix a business model that Old Media should have remedied a long time ago”.

Two amazing articles published within hours of eachother? This girl is my hero for the day. Call me a fan-boy, but she has a hell of a silver tongue:

“The AP’s rant followed News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch telling Forbes that Google should have to start paying for linking to News Corp. content. What’s next? Charging Twitter for the privilege of all those editors and reporters who try to drum up interest in their articles via Tweets? …

Once you’re reduced to legal threats and whining, you’re one step away from admitting total defeat. Just ask the music industry. What’s next, suing our own readers for clicking on Google links?”

I encourage everyone to read both of these articles, because they are flat out amazing. Lacy has written some things that some would hesitate to say, but the truth is a lot of people share her opinions.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grad School, Online/Web, Technology, journalism

Posted by: Chris | April 8, 2009

Point/Counterpoint: URL Shorteners

picture-4

It seems that these URL shorteners are a dime a dozen these days, what with Bit.ly, Tr.im, TinyURL and now even Digg.com has rolled out their own service for keeping those pesky hrefs in line.

With the increased use of short messaging services (such as – dare I say? – Twitter), these shortened URL’s have become increasingly popular on the Web. But are these services a good or bad thing? Could they put you at risk? Or are they just a useful tool?

Perhaps Ben Parr over at Mashable decided to play devil’s advocate, but his April 5th post entitled “5 Reasons Why URL Shorteners Are Useful” is a worthy response to blogging superhero Cory Doctorow’s April 4th BoingBoing post “Why URL shorteners suck“.

To sum up Parr’s argument in defense of URL shorteners, he says they are useful because “they make links more manageable”, “they can track and compile click data”, “they can be transformed into social media services”, “they can provide users useful features” and “they promote sharing”. Go read Parr’s post to get more info, but for the most part these are good points about the usefulness of URL shorteners.

Doctorow’s challenge that these services “suck” is based on the ease at which a hacker could gain access to an unsuspecting user’s computer because of a tainted shortened URL. He cites a blog that suggests Twitter make their own service to ensure the safety of URL’s sent across its network along with another by Del.icio.us founder Joshua Schachter.

Schachter says that we are being burdened by clicking these blind links that could lead to malware, as well as by the middleman between us and the content we want to access. The later is a weaker argument than the safety argument, but it is interesting to note how much of our Web lives are in the hands of the cloud.

I don’t think Doctorow is claiming that URL shorteners are not useful, but rather, he is wary of their safety. A lot of things are useful but could potentially be dangerous, like an automobile, for example.  Perhaps the post should have been titled “Why URL shorteners are dangerous”.

As the smoke clears, it seems like URL shorteners are too useful to disappear due to safety, but taking precautions with them is good practice. Beware clicking shortened links from people you do not know, and make sure you tell this to your mom when she inevitably gets on Twitter.

Leave a Comment

Posted in Online/Web, Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Chris | April 2, 2009

Medium vs. Platform – Lunch with Jim Brady

jimbrady1

Today, former executive editor of WashingtonPost.com Jim Brady spoke to a round-table of students and professors at the Cronkite School.  Brady is seen by many as a ground-breaker for online journalism having spur the Washington Post to pursue more interactive and innovative media on the web.

Brady regaled the group with stories of when WashingtonPost.com was on its first servers, which were so old you could literally hear them start creaking, causing people to shout “Everybody save!” as a warning to the newsroom.  Today, the technology has advanced, but a lack of open-mindedness to the web has persisted.

Thanks to people like Brady, over 160 reporters at the Washington Post also know how to shoot video to supplement their reporting online, but Brady still feels that multimedia and web content is not at the forefront of reporters minds enough.

“The web is a medium in its own right, not just a platform,” Brady added.

Brady said that he has always “pushed and pushed and pushed” to get the web into reporter’s journalistic thought process, and not just as an afterthought.  Brady said reporters need to be thinking how a story could be interactive or include a database at the story conception stage, not after the story has been written.

Of the hardest tasks to accomplish with online media, Brady puts engaging the readership at the very top.  He mentioned that it was a struggle to convince management to allow for commenting on stories because at that time no one was allowing it.  Because of Brady’s lobbying to create a user community on WashingtonPost.com, the paper became one of the first to allow comments on their stories.

Brady said that building that community of users is key to creating a loyal user base.  He mentions that 80 per cent of the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal is commoditized, meaning people can read about that story anywhere.  To get users coming back to your site to read it means creating a sense of community for the users.

This ties into the fact that Brady is adamantly opposed to calculating “unique visitors” for site metrics.  Brady is much more concerned with having a strong loyal user base than a huge population of users that come by once a month.

As for the plight of newspapers, Brady offered a unique perspective on big media’s inability to see the coming storm.  The problem, he said, is that the web came around at a time when newspaper execs had never learned to change.  The newspaper business model had worked lucratively for so many years that it wasn’t that they were unwilling to change, it was that they didn’t know how to change.

To wrap up, Brady offered some unique advice to aspiring journalists and media employees.  While previous visitors have advised students to learn as much as possible, Brady said not to overwhelm yourself with too many skills.  He said skills are secondary to having a strong understanding of how media has changed in recent years and how it will change in the years to come.

“Skills are one thing, but you gotta know how things are changing… Some people just don’t get it.”

Leave a Comment

Posted in Grad School, Online/Web, journalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Older Posts »

Categories