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DigiDave

Journalism is a process - not a product.

Image credit to Tom Cheredar (an upcoming journalist in Nashville).

In many ways my career took its first major upswing because I linked out as much as possible.

In late 2005 I became an avid Digger. At my height I was ranked 37th on Digg. Of course the community has changed a lot over the the last three years, but I'll spare the analysis for another post.

Being a good curator and linker is an editorial service. It is something that, if you are not doing, you've lost. You will never save the princess Zelda, you will not pass "Go" and you will not collect $200.

If you serve up tasty hyperlinks, people will come back for more. It is that simple.

There are two types of bloggers: linkers and thinkers.

What is important to know is that you can be both. On this blog I tend to post my longer-drawn-out thoughts. But on Digg, Propeller, Publish2, etc - I create my links.

Background: Social Bookmaring 101 for journalists.
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Why We Should Feel Bullish For the Future of JournalismNovember 14

What a week!!!!!

Sunday I left San Francisco for a wedding in Charleston.
Tuesday I left Charleston to visit Columbia's J-school to speak (video here).
Thursday I left New York for Miami to help out with this years Knight News Challenge screening.
Meanwhile: I launched a website and trying to keep startup hours. (Shameless plug here: it'll take you three seconds to register on spot.us and make me a happy blogger).

But I don't want this post to be about me or focus on Spot.Us. Instead it will reflect the feelings I'm left with as I meet people along the road I've been traveling.

I'm sitting here at LaGuardia feeling absolutely bullish about the state of journalism. Between the successful launch of Spot.Us and this visit to Columbia I've been in touch with entrepreneurial journalists from around the globe. I'm only going to encounter more as I view entries in this year's News Challenge.

From VidSF and ReelChanges in San Francisco to Global Radio News and FeatureWell at the international level to Leapfrog News Technologies which is thinking way outside the box.

Launching The Spot.Us Ship: Community Funded ReportingNovember 11

It's a simple principle: Journalism is a process, not a product - and that process should be participatory.

That sentence describes what I have worked for throughout my journalism career. I am constantly trying to push that principle forward. It started as a freelancer for Wired.com, continued through my work at Columbia Journalism Review and freelancing for Seed Magazine. Working for Jay Rosen and Jeff Jarvis obviously pushed my career forward and gave me the opportunity to work on amazing citizen journalism projects like Assignment Zero, Beat Blogging, NewsTrust and the Networked Journalism Summit and more.

I've been very lucky in my career that I've had the opportunity to always push boundaries. I hope I can continue to do so for many years to come. Today it's official - Spot.Us, my most recent and perhaps largest project, is launching.

I'm looking to tackle a large problem with a small executable solution.

The problem: Revenue.

Journalism is a process not a product, but that process takes time and people who do it professionally need to be compensated.

The Solution: Community Funding.

The process of journalism

A Civil Rights Movement in San Francisco - Gay Marriage ProtestNovember 8

As the liberal U.C. Berkeley graduate now living in San Francisco I was bummed about Proposition 8 being passed, which outlawed gay marriage.

From the video below, I think you'll see that this is more than just a proposition on the California ballot - this is about civil liberties. Why should I have the right to marry a person of my choosing if a homosexual can't?

That's just as absurd as me being able to drink from a certain water fountain or having first dibs to the front of the bus because of my skin color. It just seems wrong to me.

As I see things, it's only a matter of time before gay marriage becomes legal. That's how civil rights movements go. Does anybody really believe passing a law making gay marriage illegal will squash the desire of homosexuals to marry. That their fundamental desire to be together will just disappear? Like anybody else they love their partners and if they are lucky enough to find somebody they want to spend the rest of their lives with, they want a legal ceremony to recognize that union. Making it illegal is stalling the inevitable.

Maybe if you aren't exposed to gays in your daily routine you think the issue of gay marriage will just disappear. That is naive. I just walked out my apartment and saw the following. If you watch the video below then try and leave a comment below that all this is a fad and it will disappear. I'm all ears.

Obama Goes Trick-o'-Treating - Palin Accuses Him of Being a PaganNovember 1

No, Palin didn't actually accuse Obama of being a male witch, putting his daughter through a Pagan ride of passage ritual this Halloween, but the political satirist in my brain could just imagine that comic strip in the Sunday newspaper.

He's been called everything else under the sun.....

(and for those curious - my "I Too Have a Crush On Obama" disclaimer post)