The Guardian Exposes the Three Little Pigs in Open Journalism Promo

The Guardian - Open Journalism: Three Little PigsMy first exposure to the Three Little Pigs story was the Disney-ized version that was first released in 1933. In that version the wolf escapes at the end with nothing more than a scalded butt. For some reason I had never realized that in the original version has the Big bad Wolf being boiled alive after sneaking down the chimney.of the third little pig.

UK news organization The Guardian has re-imagined how the events of The Three Little Pigs fairy tale might be reported in 2012 using the concept of open journalism. From the gripping newspaper and website headline ‘Big Bad Wold Boiled Alive’, to the conversations and reactions being shared on social media sites.

The Guardian take the story beyond the ‘they lived happily ever after’ fairy tale ending into a story of conspiracy to commit insurance fraud due to the struggles of the pigs to make their mortgage payments. Then the people take to the streets…

You can read more about open journalism from The Guardian’s Editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger.

PodCamp Toronto 2012: 12 Tips and My Session Choices

A scene from Podcamp 2010, photo by EvaBlue

A scene from Podcamp 2010, photo by EvaBlue

The city of Toronto was spared an epic (10cm) snowstorm today, so weather is now officially off the list of excuses you can use for not attending Podcamp Toronto tomorrow. And staying home to figure out how to make millions using Pinterest is not going to work either. If you are heading out to Podcamp tomorrow here are a few of my tips.

My Podcamp TO Tips
1. Arrive early-ish, the registration tables open at 8:30
2. Plan your day in advance using the session schedule posted at the PodCamp Toronto site
3. Know the official hashtag, it’s #pcto2012
4. Why not leave the laptop at home? Unless you’re presenting, I really don’t need to see you playing Solitaire during a session
5. Do write your twitter name in large letters on your badge. Add flare or glitter is you have it. Seriously; go ahead and pimp that name tag out
6. Don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to your Twitter and Facebook friends in person. Capture the moment with an awkward photo
7. Make your lunch plans in advance – nothing sucks more than spending two thirds of your lunch break standing in line somewhere. Also, friends don’t let friends eat alone
8. Don’t friggin’ talk through the sessions. If you are not getting something out of the session you are in, use the ‘Law of Two Feet’, leave and find something else that interests you. Or create your own session (see next point)
9. Don’t complain that there are no sessions suited to your interests. Create your own session; find some folks, grab some floor and start a discussion (and invite me)
10. Make sure you thank your hard-working Podcamp Toronto organizers in person, this is what they look like.
11. Spruce up your social media profiles with an awesome picture taken by @photojunkie
12. Come out to the Saturday night social at The Ram. The conversation will get lively as the social juices get flowing.

Here is a list of the sessions I am most looking forward to. What sessions are you looking forward to?

SATURDAY

10:00am

1st Choice: Jumpstarting Digital from Inside the Belly of a Traditional Publisher: Andre Gaulin
2nd Choice: 6.5 million stories: how Canada’s largest museum is moving online: Mark Farmer

10:45am

1st Choice: Multiple Channel Disorder: Brooke Robinson, Sarah Long
2nd Choice: The Bout to Knock the Other One Out: Search vs. Social: Steve Taylor, Danny Brown, Laurie Dillon-Schalk, David Jones, Daryl Peddle, Hessie Jones

11:45am

1st Choice: Social Psychology of Social Media: Brian Cugelman
2nd Choice: Content may be KING… but without Context no one will pay attention: Josh Muirhead

2:00

1st Choice: How to Talk to Journalists: Pixels, airtime and ink: Saleem Khan
2nd Choice: The Evolution of Democracy: Richard Pietro

2:45

1st Choice: Sincerity is Everything: Kathy Buckworth, Adria MacKenzie, Theresa Albert, Sharon Vinderine, Eden Spodek
2nd Choice: The Great Canadian Latency: Julie Tyios, Hessie Jones

3:45pm

1st Choice: Track, Measure and Reward Social Sharing: The Gamechanger for the next 10 years: Jon Cogan
2nd Choice: Facebook’s Open Graph: The Semantic Wallet: Jonathan Laba

4:30

1st Choice: Getting the Insiders Onside: Working with Bloggers and Influencers: Dave Fleet
2nd Choice: A Live #SMmeasure Chat: Sheldon Levine, Rob Clark

SUNDAY

11:00am

1st Choice: Marketing in the Flow: Content Marketing and the Attention Economy: Leona Hobbs
2nd Choice: Social Media ROI: The Kirk Gambit vs the WOPR Maneuver?: Rob Clark

12:00pm

1st Choice: The Technological Singularity: Rapture of the Nerds or the Next Step in Evolution: Nikola Danaylov
2nd Choice: Transmedia, Fandom, and Housewives: Renee Mitson, Veronica Heringer

Cheers, and see you around the hallways.

WSJ Hurricane Irene Live Blog Pulls in Instagram Pics

WSJ Live Blog - Hurricane IreneWhile I am safe and far away from the effects of Hurricane Irene here in Toronto, I am still entertaining myself watching CNN reporters being pummeled by the driving rains and high winds. Hopefully everyone will stay safe and any property damage from the Irene will be minimal.

Besides watching coverage on TV throughout the day, I’ve been checking in as The Wall Street Journal posts storm updates on the Hurricane Irene Live Blog. The reports are supplemented by a feed of Instagram user’s photos that feature the hashtags #Irene, #HurricaneIrene and #hurricane.

Dealing with a hurricane usually involves heading inland to higher ground or hunkering down behind plywood-covered windows, but according to these Instagram photos it appears most people are coping with the storm with board games, great food and wine. The photos of user’s regular life are a welcome relief from the non-stop visuals of weather maps, tornado warnings and yes, reporters being rained on.

Instagram now at 7 million users
On August 3rd Instagram reported that 150 million photos have now been shared by its 7 million users since October, 2010. In fact, Instagram users are now sharing photos with each other at the rate of 15 photos per second adding up to 1.3 million photos being shared per day.