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DigiDave

Journalism is a Process, Not a Product

Five Tools to Increase ProductivityAugust 25

My last blog post “Generations in the Desert” was abstract, theoretical and academic. I do that from time to time. I’m honored that it inspired folks like Steve Butry, Rick Waghorn and  Stjin Debrouwere to write related posts. But I do not, at this time, see myself as a “thought leader” or an academic. Maybe in the future. But for now – I prefer demos not memos.

With that in mind, I wanted to write a practical post. Five simple things that increase my productivity. Before the list begins a disclaimer: The only way to increase productivity is to do things. You can be equipped with every tool out there – but if you don’t focus it won’t help. As my friend Cyrus says “Being a good writer is 3% talent, and 97% not being distracted by the Internet.”

What tools save you time?

Generations in the Desert – Thoughts from AspenAugust 21

Much like FooCamp, the Knight Focus event in Aspen was very invigorating. FooCamp had a “FrieNDA” policy about blogging (I went ahead and assumed things were off the record). This event was the opposite and while I could never fully capture every brain spark on this plane ride home, I do want to try a brain dump. (Some of it was written on the plane ride to Aspen and much of it is personal ramblings).

ON GENERATIONS

One personal thread to the last three weeks of my life is a continuing fascination of generational theory. I’ve never blogged about this here (I put these thoughts on my side/lazy blog) but the story goes like this.

I am on the cusp of generations. I am either the youngest of Generation X or the very oldest of the Millennials. I prefer to think of myself as the later, a leader of a new generation. But the fact is, I am older than the heart of the Millennial generation (who are still in high school or entering college).

To put this in concrete terms: I am old enough to remember watching re-runs of Gilligan’s Island and young enough to remember seeing Power Rangers after school. But I was never i

Aspen Institute – The Next Generation of Healthy Informed CommunitiesAugust 16

I’m at a roundtable event at the Aspen Institute this week. The table consists of 48 individuals ranging from Dean Singleton, Vivian Schillier and other big hitters in the media sphere. I’m literally sitting next to Marcus Brauchli, executive editor of the Washington Post and the lead council for News Corp. Putting aside the fact that I’m a bit out of my league – I’m super pumped to be here.

Meanwhile I’m trying to do double-duty since it’s a busy week at Spot.Us starting off with a great piece from Investigate West on the cruise industry and impacts on the environment.

You can follow along!

Watch live streaming video from aspeninstitute at livestream.com

P.S. Aspen is beautiful

Are the Paper Cuts Over?August 11

In 2008 there were roughly 15,992 layoffs or buyouts. This was followed by 14,783 layoffs or buyouts in 2009.

I know this because Erica Smith knows this. These numbers are arrived via her site Paper Cuts which she started as a non-scientific way of estimating newspaper layoffs.

Here’s the nut graf: Eight months into 2010 and we are still shy of 2,000 layoffs or buyouts. Now, if there were ever a number you’d want to see lowered, it’s this. But it does raise an eyebrow.

This is a dramatic shift. I thought maybe it was a mistake so I contacted Erica, who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, to see if it was accurate and if she had any thoughts. Her quote below.

Either I’ve gotten back at tracking them down or, more likely there’s no more meat on the bone. There’s not much bone left either. The only cutting left seems to come from outsourcing and consolidating. Granted, there are several black pins on the map [for 2010] — those are “unknown” markers — but not enough (I hope) for

My Vision of Tech BlogsAugust 3

Tech blogs play an important role in the larger journalism community. I have long said that tech reporting/blogs/journalism will often be at the forefront of our industry. It is an occupational hazard. This is possibly why Dan Gillmor was one of the first to blog (don’t forget he started out as a tech reporter). I refer to my time as a tech reporter as the saving grace of my career. I was studying blogs and internet culture so it made sense for me to dive in head-first. Not only are tech blogs/reporting/journalism at the forefront but the way they interact makes an important statement about where our industry is and where general internet culture has become mainstream and accepted.

I do not think we hold our tech blogs to high enough standards. I think we let them take us on cult of personality rides and we get infatuated. Today I am a total back-seat tech-writer. As I read various tech blogs I find myself wondering how I would cover issues. I have lots of praise but also constructive criticism for the current tech blog scene. Since people often ask me what sites I follow to stay on top of things I figure a post like this will let me rant and answer that question.

Disclaimer: I’m focusing on organizations that cover technology. If this list were to include tech pundits or individuals (Kottke, Laughing Squid, Rou