The Linchpen List of cognitive biases Systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. They are often studied in psychology, sociology and behavioral economics.[1] Although the reality of most of these biases is confirmed by reproducible research,[2][3] there are often controversies about how to classify these biases or how to explain them.[4] Several theoretical causes are known for some cognitive biases, which provides a classification of biases by their common generative mechanism (such as noisy information-processing[5]). Gerd Gigerenzer has criticized the framing of cognitive biases as errors in judgment, and favors interpreting them as arising from rational deviations from logical thought.[6] Explanations include information-processing rules (i.e., mental shortcuts), called heuristics, that the brain uses to produce decisions or judgments. Belief, decision-making and behavioral[edit] Anchoring bias[edit]
Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die! Posted by Tom Foremski - February 27, 2006 I've been telling the PR industry for some time now that things cannot go along as they are . . . business as usual while mainstream media goes to hell in a hand basket. I've been saying this privately and publicly and having some very useful discussions on this topic. Since I have a disruptive role to play in mainstream PR, here is my demolition of the press release as we know and hate it today: The press release is a statement announcing a product, service, office opening, financial results, partnership, customer win, and a hundred other types of commercial activities. Press releases are nearly useless. Press releases are created by committees, edited by lawyers, and then sent out at great expense through Businesswire or PRnewswire to reach the digital and physical trash bins of tens of thousands of journalists. This madness has to end. Here is my proposal: -Provide a page of quotes from the CEO or other C-level execs. Let me explain:
The Conversations Network » Recording Worldwide Interviews and Events The PodCorps.org web site is closed. In 2007 The Conversations Network launched the PodCorps.org website, a place to match producers with audio and video stringers around the world. Nearly 1,000 stringers joined PodCorps.org, but the site never achieved the kind of critical mass required to make it a success in anyone's book. We therefore decided to close PodCorps.org as of July 5, 2010. The reason we failed to reach that critical mass is rather straightforward: We were spread too thin among multiple projects and didn't commit the resources required for PodCorps.org's success. We thank everyone who registered for their participation and support of the PodCorps.org concept.
The 99 Greatest blogs you aren't reading :: 10,000 Words What’s the best way to keep track of journalism and technology? Read non-journalism blogs. When I am asked how do I find all the cool and innovative sites and tools featured at 10,000 Words, I quickly reply that I subscribe to more than 150 blogs, using Google Reader to keep track of them all. For the first time, here is a list of many of those blogs and sites, edited for relevance. Most of these blogs have little relation to journalism and cover everything from technology to design to photography and everything in between. You’ll find my absolute favorites and suggested reads at the top of the list and even more great sites following after. 1. Advice and opinion on the art and business of photography 2. Tips on how to become a better blogger FFFFOUND! 4. FlowingData explores how designers, statisticians, and computer scientists are using data to understand ourselves better – mainly through data visualization. 5. 6. information aesthetics 7. kottke.org The best linkblog on the net 8. 9. 10.
Multimedia Reporter 40 Essential Tools and Resources to Visualize Data | FlowingData One of the most frequent questions I get is, "What software do you use to visualize data?" A lot of people are excited to play with their data, but don't know how to go about doing it or even start. Here are the tools I use or have used and resources that I own or found helpful for data visualization – starting with organizing the data, to graphs and charts, and lastly, animation and interaction. Organizing the Data by sleepy sparrow Data are hardly ever in the format that you need them to be in. PHP was the first scripting language I learned that was well-suited for the Web, so I'm pretty comfortable with it. Python Most computer science types - at least the ones I've worked with - scoff at PHP and opt for Python mostly because Python code is often better structured (as a requirement) and has cooler server-side functions. MySQL When I have a lot of data - like on the magnitude of the tends to hundreds of thousands - I use PHP or Python to stick it in a MySQL database. Ah, good old R.
HOW TO: Use Social Media in Your PR Pitch Plan Susan Payton is the Managing Partner of Egg Marketing & Public Relations, an internet marketing firm specializing in blogger outreach, social media, and PR. She is also the blogger behind The Marketing Eggspert Blog. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing. It’s clear that the public relations landscape is changing. How do you get your pitch heard above the din? Social Media is Key in Your Pitch Why? Pamela Johnston of PJ Inc. • pimping client news• straight out traditional pitching• sending random things to people/journalists she doesn’t know I like that she doesn’t use traditional methods of pitching on social media. The world is small these days. Social Media as a Learning Tool I always like to learn about the journalist I’m targeting before I contact them. I make notes in my contact database with links to all her sources. Pitching a media contact is a process. Be A Resource This goes back to monitoring social media. How to Pitch Properly Forming Your Overall Strategy
25 things journalists can do to future-proof their careers | Blog I know a number of journalists who are growing increasingly concerned about the sustainability of their careers. Those working for offline publications tend to worry more than most, and with good reason, given the tide of bad news in this space. But despite the problems with business models, there will always be a need for journalists. As much as anything it is a cultural shift: a mental challenge for traditional journalists. Over the years I have evangelised about technology and the internet as something that helps – rather than hinders – journalists. Or is it? Considering all of the above, I think it’s up to the journalist to broaden their skills, to help futureproof their careers. So here, in no particular order, are some suggestions that I often pass on to journalists who want to learn practical new skills and expand their horizons: Start a blog. What did I miss? [Image by gsfc via Flickr, various rights reserved]
43 Folders | Time, Attention, and Creative Work Exclusive > The Spark Series, Part 3 - eGuiders. We Search. You by Michael Sean Wright Fellow documentarian Marc Ostrick and I continue our journey through the real-time web with the release of ‘OPEN." We traveled to the sleepy but progressive community of Petaluma. This Northern California town, once known as the "Egg Capital of The World" and the film location for George Lucas' American Graffiti, isn't the first place that comes to mind when thinking of creating a media empire. Leo Laporte has carved out a nearly idyllic existence here in the land beyond Silicon Valley. The story of TWiT really began at the Paul Allen backed TechTV Network, which Laporte helped launch in 1998 (formally known as ZDTV). Laporte still has a presence on terrestrial radio through his syndicated 'The Tech Guy,' heard on over 200 radio stations throughout the country. As Filmmakers, we are focused on the story of connection; we hope to elevate the level of conversation happening in and around the social media community. Appearances By: This Week in Tech Panelists:
The Web Is Your CMS It is amazing what you can do these days with the services offered on the web. Flickr stores terabytes of photos for us and converts them automatically to all kind of sizes, finds people in them and even allows us to edit them online. YouTube does almost the same complete job with videos, LinkedIn allows us to maintain our CV, Delicious our bookmarks and so on. We don’t have to do these tasks ourselves any more, as all of these systems also come with ways to use the data in the form of Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs for short. APIs give us raw data when we send requests telling the system what we want to get back. The problem is that every API has a different idea of what is a simple way of accessing this data and in which format to give it back. Making it easier to access APIs What we need is a way to abstract the pains of different data formats and authentication formats away from the developer — and this is the purpose of the Yahoo Query Language, or YQL for short. Summary
How journalists can use Facebook | Save the Media If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! One of the more interesting aspects of the interactive Web for journalists is the ability to connect with readers directly through social-networking sites. I really believe journalists have just begun to see the value of social networking as a reader-interaction, news-gathering and news-dissemination tool. In 10 years, I suspect, we’ll look back and wonder how we ever covered out communities without social networks. This post will explain to journalists eager (or not so eager) to try social networks, how to get started. What are social networks? I define social networks broadly as any site that allows you to connect directly with other people and network. Before I go into tips, I think it’s important to remember that the primary value of sites such as Facebook for news organizations is not about publishing per se. “Local is people.
AP Stylebook Adds 42 New Guidelines for Social Media The AP Stylebook has released its new social media guidelines, including the official change from “Web site” to “website” (a move first reported back in April) and 41 other definitions, use cases and rules that journalists should follow. Among the more interesting changes –- at least from a grammar and style standpoint –- are separating out “smart phone” as two words, hyphenating “e-reader,” and allowing fan, friend and follow to be used both as nouns and verbs. Beyond that, the AP has also defined a number of acronyms that are commonly used in texting and instant messaging. According to the AP, this stands for “parent over shoulder” (I’ve used POS to refer to something else occasionally, but I digress), and is used by “teens and children to indicate, in an IM conversation, that a parent is approaching.” The full 2010 AP Stylebook, which includes the new social media guidelines, was released today and is available on the AP's website.