Asking all my life.
I’ve got a little idea stirring in my head.
If I could open a store, I think it would be a beer store. And like wine, it would
have beer organized from region. And the first I would make sure is to have all
of Canada.
I would have no idea where to begin to do this, but it would be nice.
But to start with – I’m at least going to start sharing what I have tried.
Recently, The Knight Foundation has jumped on board the “fake news” bandwagon to assemble a commission1 to look at the challenges faced with the News today2. They are putting up a whopping $2.5 million. Combine that with other initiatives and you’re looking at roughly $4.5 million3.
How ’bout – if I come up with a solution, I get the money?
Here’s my 4 part plan ( 3, with part 2 as an I & II ):
There’s loads of words and symbols in organizations and companies that have meaning.
You can’t willy-nilly throw them around. If you do, there could be consequences.
“News” should be recognized as one of them.
Legislate protections of the word. Create symbology.
I am not a news organization. I am a blogger and pretty much anything I write about here is personal and editorial [enf_note]In public, and still subject to laws, at least in Canada[/efn_note]. I don’t pretend to be News
Calling yourself “news” should have meaning.
I believe that publicly traded companies kill specific industries. The striving for a +% at any costs kills long term vision and makes companies do pretty dumb things.
i.e. Last year company A did $2 Billion, but because of trading, it’s only if they make $2.1 Billion that they are a success. if they make $1.9 Billion, then they fail, and people start selling and loosing fail. When really, they made $1.9 Billion!!!
Media Companies, and more specifically News organizations can’t be subject to any of that.
This blog uses Ghost, and over and above the platform and software they’ve built – the organization is non-profit, open and transparent. Additionally one of the interesting legalese they’ve embedded is that it cannot be bought or sold.
That doesn’t mean people don’t get paid well. That doesn’t mean it can’t grow to be a massive organization.
It just means Ghost will remain Ghost. If it fails, and I’m hopeful it won’t, if a new organization takes the mantel, it still won’t be Ghost.
Perhaps clauses like these, similar to various corporate clauses, is what would define these new News organizations.
Lawyers have a very interesting structure, I think could be looked at.
The first hurtle is to be called to the bar. Here in Canada you get called up once you pass law school. In the States, there’s more nuance, but ultimately pass the Bar exam, and join the bar association, your in. You could skip to the end without school, but good luck.
After that there are several incentives to keep you going. Money through ownership and billable hours. Status through high profile cases. Satisfaction saving people ( on either side ). Career growth by becoming a judge and moving up the circuits. There are several more, but the diversity of motivation is my point.
If you were to combine all of these you would have a structure to nurture, grow, educate and incentivise journalists to stay true to their ethics and convictions. And sure, just like lawyers there are some who may stray a tad from the ethical line – there is still a watchdog “bar” making sure they don’t step out too far.
Then after indoctrinated into the Journalistic scribe, you end up in a system that helps you nurture the future without the compromise or desire to sway the ethics or push/tow the line you other media properties are, so that hopefully you could sell and make the big bucks.
Dear Knight Foundation:
Please make the cheque out to Nicholas Kempinski
This post was originally published on one of my old blogs. I backdated this to the original publish date.
There’s something humbling that as we advance in technology, we still need big fat cables under the ocean.
Recently, Facebook & Microsoft dropped their’s, though it won’t be running till early 2018
Last year, Google & NEC turned on theirs.
If you don’t like Google, Facebook & Microsoft and still need to get your digital signal hard-lined to Europe, fear not – I was amazed at the size of the List of international submarine communications cables
With physical devices like honking cables under the ocean; balloons and drones connecting wifi hubs; Alexa, google home, apple home; anything Elon Musk does – are we getting back to the hardware1?
This post was originally published on one of my old blogs. I backdated this to the original publish date.
Ethernick.com is now running off
linode.
Thought it was a good time to expand and play. Not many hosts are offering something
relatively cheap to run node. I’ve been antsy to see how Ghost is doing
in a real world context.
As of now, my previous medium hosted publication,
The aether, has been moved onto ghost.
There is no question the iPhone changed every owner’s washroom regiment. We don’t need that pile of readers digests anymore.
But did anyone see that happening?
Probably not, no one can see it all. But did anyone think about the interaction like that?
As the Internet of Things (IoT) advances and we put the internet in things like blinds and make new crazy things that never existed before, who is stopping to ask, or to teach to ask, what are the ecological ramifications?
I’m sure they are asking what are some of the ramifications, after all every VC pitch needs to know “why” and even the risks. But I’m not 100% sure we’re looking at the whole picture of risks.
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How we interact with our technology shapes us. Sure the technology itself is cool – but I honestly don’t know who’s really thinking about our future generations and how they will be shapped by these things.
This post was originally published on one of my old blogs. I backdated this to the original publish date.
What if the future of class is media choices?
Two things I like about this article.
One – Sputnik Moments
In recent months, China has quietly given the United States a series
of new Sputnik Moments
Although a tad fear mongering, still very very cool phrase
Two – Quantum Communications
China successfully tested the world’s first quantum satellite
communication – relying on the physics of quantum entanglement to send and
receive provably secure messages.
I beg your pardon? What did it just say? Quantum Satellite Communication
The more we get comfortable in our information age, the more valuable it is for immediacy.
Tidal uses immediacy with invested artists to get subscribers.
Record labels leverage it in negotiations with Spotify.
You want to watch Game of Thrones without spoilers? You’ve got to watch it sooner.
Maybe you should pay for HBO.
My iPhone 5C is dead.
Again
I thought we had lost it, but a friend saved it. Then in my excitment to tell the story of the saved iPhone,
I chucked it across the room and now the screen is broken. Dead again
Rogers now wants to charge me a stupid amount of money for not the newest iPhone 6…. ummmm?? What?
So until I come up with either some $$ or another plan… it shall remain dead.
Update: April 17, 2016
Never go to a “franchise” location!
Finally went to a real location, and while I didn’t get the latest 7. I got the SE for Free.
Much better. Plus it fits in my 5C case perfectly
I want to sign up to one of the mastodon instances
I Just can’t pick right now. It’s like registering for [insert absurd name here]@hotmail.com.
Or using hotmail or yahoo for an aplication to any tech job. I feel it will be important soon.
What’s really good is that Mastodon is the layer missing from Twitter. If twitter is the hum
and churn of a busy street. Mastodon are the shops and cafe’s along the way. Pop in an out of
mini communities all while being connected.
I’m surprised more businesses haven’t spun any instances or communities up yet