Blog – Page 190 – Stilgherrian

15 July 201015 July 2010

Whaler failure: social media is rubbish

So, my old blog post about the Japan’s chief of whaling is just plain wrong. And it took you arsehats two and half years to notice! There’s a big pat on the back for social media, eh?

Here’s what happened. My original post quoted Japan’s commissioner to the International Whaling Commission and director-general of the Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo, Minoru Morimoto. And that’s who’s pictured in the original post.

But I confused his surname with Hideki Moronuki, director of the Far Seas Fishery Division of Japan’s Fisheries Agency, who’s pictured here courtesy of a photo by Boyd Harnell.

Completely different people.

But hey, they’re both in favour of whaling and all look the same, right?

Thanks to credible Japan-based journalist David McNeill for politely pointing out the difference.

10 July 201013 June 2011

Weekly Wrap 5

A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets. I didn’t intend for this to be my only post this week, but that’s how it turns out sometimes.

Articles

Filter delay: backtracking or backburning? for ABC Unleashed, my summary and commentary on yesterday’s announcement by Senator Stephen Conroy of the Outcome of consultations on transparency and accountability for ISP filtering and a review of the Refused Classification category.

Podcasts

Patch Monday episode 47 in which I chat with Greens Senator Scott Ludlam about the Senate inquiry into the adequacy of protections for the privacy of Australians online, and to Gunther Bloemen from Verizon Business on the European Directive on Data Retention. The latter is being discussed as a potential model for Australia.
I recorded an interview for an episode of A Series of Tubes but it hasn’t emerged yet.

Media Appearances

The Future of News Reporting, a webcast panel discussion for Viocorp along with Gaven Morris, Head of Continuous News, ABC; Eric Beecher, publisher of Crikey; Mark Hollands, Chief Executive of PANPA; and Sam North, Media Director at Ogilvy Public Relations; and moderator Mark Jones. You can watch the one-hour webcast on demand, free registration required.
Internet filter postponed for more review, a story on ABC TV’s Lateline, 9 July 2010. I have a brief appearance in this news story as a “technology blogger”. I’m always amused at the variation in how I’m billed. The MP4 video of this individual story will be available for around a week.

[Photo: “Waiting for Conroy“, taken at Senator Stephen Conroy’s ministerial media conference at the offices of NBN Co Ltd, North Sydney, 8 July 2010.]

02 July 201030 October 2011

Weekly Wrap 4

A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets, posted a day early because I’m about to go off-grid for the weekend.

Articles

Inside Microsoft’s Security War Room, my debut for iTnews, along with a photo gallery. During my Microsoft-funded trip to Redmond, Washington, I visited the War Room where they work on critical security patches for all Microsoft products.
The political naivety of the digital elites for ABC Unleashed, in which I bemoan the way some people seem to see all politics through the narrow, narrow prism of the Australian government’s mandatory internet censorship policies. The comments are fascinating, especially those who seem to think I’m in favour of Senator Conroy and the government’s internet censorship plans.

Podcasts

Patch Monday episode 46 covered the news from Canberra: the calls for the sacking of Senator Stephen Conroy as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and replacing him with Senator Kate Lundy; and the parliamentary report Hackers, Fraudsters and Botnets: Tackling the Problem of Cyber Crime.

[Photo: A sign spotted outside the ZanziBar, Newtown, last night, offering free Snuggies for hire. “Snuggie”? If you haven’t heard of this device before, check their website or watch the infomercial.]

02 July 2010

Short Story or Rock Band?

While reading about an unusual new embuggerance over at the always-excellent Language Log, I’ve been introduced to a curious theory about naming practices.

Has anyone ever explored the apparent lack of overlap between short story titles and rock band names? I mean, is there any doubt which category e.g. “The pit and the pendulum”, “A perfect day for bananafish”, “REO Speedwagon”, and “Neutral Milk Hotel” belong to?

I think Mark Liberman may be on to something here. Perhaps we need to test this theory, using something similar to Steak House or Gay Bar? or a gamed-up version of the rather awesome Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be thinking so early in the morning…

30 June 2010

Labor’s Plan for Cyber Safety, November 2007

The Labor Party has removed their pre-election policy on internet censorship from the ALP website, so here it is. Labor’s Plan for Cyber Safety (November 2007) [61kB PDF].

This policy, with Senator Stephen Conroy listed as the author, was a last-minute addition to the ALP’s policies in the final weeks before the 2007 federal election.

(You can also still find it via this Internet Archive snapshot taken the day before the election, but it’s always good to have a spare, right?)

I’m posting this because I’ll be referring to it in various articles over the next few weeks. Stand by.

28 June 2010

Viocorp Future Forum: The Future of News Reporting

I’m one of the panellists on Viocorp’s Future Forum The Future of News Reporting next Friday 9 July at midday Sydney time.

The other panellists are: Angelos Frangepoulos, CEO, Sky News Channel; Eric Beecher, publisher of Crikey; Mark Hollands, Chief Executive of PANPA; and Sam North, Media Director at Ogilvy Public Relations. The moderator is the redoubtable Mark Jones.

Now I’m a little worried about the topics listed, because some of them seem like we’re revisiting that tired old “bloggers are not journalists” (non-)debate. I thought we’d moved on from there. And “citizen journalism”? Haven’t we killed that term yet? Truly, I’ll end up stabbing someone. So I intend to derail proceedings at the earliest opportunity. Oh. Don’t read that bit, Mark.

In case you’re late to the party, some of my thoughts on this can be found in my presentation to Media140 Sydney and my Journalism in a hyperconnected world from late 2008. Maybe I need to do an update piece.

It’s a webcast thingy, so do please watch. And tell your friends. Unless they’re bloggers. Or journalists.